By Bernie:
BALTIMORE — This was the worst beat down witnessed in Baltimore since Season Four of the violent HBO crime series, "The Wire," which is set on the city's gang-infested west side.
At times it appeared that pummeled Rams quarterback Gus Frerotte would collapse and never rise again. You expected to see cops hurrying onto the field to screen off the crime scene with yellow tape and make chalk outlines where Frerotte's body fell. The Rams didn't need a team doctor Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium; they needed a medical examiner.
With everyone except Marlo Stanfield jumping on Frerotte, the Ravens piled on punishment until the end of a gruesome 22-3 victory that left the Rams crawling out of town with the massive contusion of an 0-6 record.
Frerotte threw five interceptions, lost a fumble and was rocked by four sacks. The sack total offered only a partial account of the misery that this poor backup QB endured. At least the Ravens didn't tape him to the goal post for kicks.
The Ravens were so nasty, I was surprised they didn't go over to the Rams' sideline to smack around injured Rams starter
Marc Bulger, just for the heck of it. At least Bulger's broken ribs got another day off, which undoubtedly pleased his family and loved ones and the overworked Rams' medics.
After the game, Frerotte said, "It makes you sick, it makes you want to throw up."
OK, Gus was talking about
:
— His play, which has netted eight interceptions and a 45.3 passer rating in two starts in relief of Bulger.
— His physical pain, the throbbing in his ribs and jaw.
— His offensive line. From what I could tell, Ray Lewis would holler "Boo!" and the pass protection would crumple.
— His team's record; the Rams are 0-6 for the first time since John F. Kennedy was in the White House (1962).
— His coach, Scott Linehan, who sent Frerotte out there with a minute remaining to attempt yet another pass, which resulted in Gus getting smacked in the mouth for the official knockout punch.
Linehan's approach was confusing. When the Rams theoretically had a chance to make a game of it in the third quarter, Linehan opted to kick a field goal on fourth-and-one. The Rams were trailing 16-0; what's the benefit of a field goal there? What did the Rams have to lose except maybe a few more teeth? Instead of trying to score a touchdown and cut Baltimore's lead to 16-7, Linehan backed off.
And yet the same coach was calling timeouts in the final three minutes of the game instead of letting the clock run out, apparently because he was the only person among the 71,000-plus in the stadium who thought the Rams could still win. And Linehan had Frerotte flinging a final pass and needlessly getting clobbered with a minute left. What's the point?
If you're going to go for the gold medal by calling timeouts and exposing your battered QB to more hits after all hope is gone, then why settle for the silver medal — a field goal — when the team still could compete? It does not compute.
Then again, what's the point of me or anyone else barking about Linehan? The team around him has fallen apart. He comes into Baltimore with a backup QB, backup running backs, backup receivers who don't know the offense and O-linemen who need to wear name tags because no one knows who they are.
And Linehan had to put this glorified practice squad up against the notorious mob of Ravens defenders in the NFL's toughest home stadium? Did you really expect a fair fight? The outcome was predictable: another grim episode in the lost-cause season of "The Greatest No Show on Earth."
Only one piece of suspense remains: Are the Rams destined to become the first team in NFL history to finish 0-16? Well, if it happens, at least they'd secure the first overall selection in the 2008 NFL draft. That's the good news. The bad news? The same people will probably be in place at Rams Park to screw up another draft, another offseason.