Drawing from the past,and hoping for a better second season in 2007.The St. Louis Rams could not ask for a better setting than New Orleans. The Saints to be exact. It was fitting do to the paper bags that showed up in the Dome at the Cleveland Browns game before the bye week. Sure, we are skeptical about the second season. 0-8 was not the happiest of times for diehard Rams fans. This 2007 team was labeled winless. Not St. Louis but Winless Rams. This was embarrassing.
The worst start in franchise history. Coach Linehan probably is not to be blamed for everything that has gone wrong. But this is the NFL and the coach is to blame no matter what happens. So given that statement. The gameagainst the New Orleans Saints was to be different. A bye week and time to heal was the remedy for the injuries incurred in the first half.
As thoughts drift from Halloween scares to Thanksgiving turkeys, Rams fans pondered whether a win would happen on the first game of the 2nd Half of 2007. The Saints were at best a good team through the first half. Take a hungry wolf(Rams) and feed them stake (Saints), and you have a bloody mess.
On Sunday Nov 11th,2007 in the Superdome in New Orleans. The Winless Rams came to feast. Injuries and poor performances were just hard to bear. And with all the talent in the world. This team was just plain fed up at the 0-8 start. It was not what the franchise expected and team pride needed to be enforced on the players.
For
Jim Haslett, this was a bad memory to come back to. He was hoping never to play the Saints ever. But wishes are not always granted. Haslett's defense held the Saints scoreless for three quarters. And he added later, " We blitz a lot." This showed great pride. Efforts by Atogwe, Tinoisamoa , and
Will Witherspoon propelled the Rams to victory on Sunday. By pressuring Drew Brees and containing Reggie Bush. The defense held there own.
Offensively this team was horrid. Given but two games of 20 points or more. The rest of the first half games were just unbearable to watch. Almost killing our defense. This Sunday in the Superdome. The Rams offensively came to feast. Red zone scoring was 80%. In the 1st Quarter with
Steven Jackson back, the Rams scored. A 14-7 lead in the First half,adding to the feasting was scores by Bruce,Bennett, and Randy McMichael.
Torry Holt was 8 for 124 and at the top of the weekly list for receiving yards.
Marc Bulger was a top ten view. Bulger was 27 of 33 for 302 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bulger commented on
Steven Jackson's presence," When he is in there, he affects what the defenses will call." This performance was what Rams fans were waiting for during the first half of 2007. The Cleveland game was so close.
The offensive line held strong for four quarters ,but overall the production and game planning was a whole lot better by the coaching staff. For three quarters this unit scored 37 points. Greatest Show on Turf?. Not yet. But it did seem the past had been revived. Bruce, Holt, McMichael ,and Bennett finally producing what was expected. With Linehan utilizing all weapons and standard veterans. The Rams just feasted for three quarters. The Saints did make a comeback and our defense probably should have held them to 20 points , but they do also have weapons. A 37-29 victory was long over do for this franchise. The monkey is off our backs for now.
Sean Payton was not surprised at the Rams win. He stated," Credit St. Louis, it's disappointing to loose this game. They came out and played better. Those guys played better offensively and defensively." And Brew Brees added," They wanted it more after losing for so long. They have veterans with pride."
Coach Linehan seemed stunned at the victory. He approached the podium and added," I am very proud of our football team. I am certain not many people gave this football team much of a chance going on the road, the way we started the year." He continued," I do not blame them. For us to go against the odds and come on the road and put together a most complete game." Yea ,so was every Rams fan coach. But it was a victory. The coach stated," I'll never treat a win without all the respect in world, that comes with it whether you score 37 points or two. You know you have to enjoy them all." He added, " It's hard to win in this league, we proved that this year. You can get in a downward spiral that is hard to come out of." It seemed that Coach Linehan was happy, but also realized that there is still a lot more to do. He stated," We got eight games left, now seven. Regardless what happen in the first eight games. We need to focus on the last eight." 1-0 in the second half. Awesome start.
It is only fiiting that the first victory was against the Saints. And
Jim Haslett got revenge in a way. And now we all can enjoy a peacful week. No more brown bags over our heads. Let Miami show them.
1-0. Sounds so promising. We know it's been tough. So this Sunday Nov 18th. Rams fans want a pre turkey dinner in the form of the wounded *****. Why not gravy and stuffing in San Francisco. And 2-0 for the second half. So let's thank the team for the great outing in the Superdome. This is positive thinking.
Linear Mode
