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All's well that ends well for Rams
By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Sunday, Sep. 12 2004
This, of course, is the start of the 10th season for the Rams in St. Louis, and
things haven't changed all that much.
Ten Septembers ago, Isaac Bruce scored the first touchdown of the very first
game for the "St. Louis" Rams. (Chris Miller to Isaac Bruce vs. Green Bay in
'95.)
On Sunday, Bruce got the 10th year started in the same fashion - scoring the
first TD of the season.
"Hey, that's karma," defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson said. "That might be a
good sign for the whole season."
Bruce's eight-yard TD catch on Sunday helped the Rams to a 17-10 victory over
the surprisingly stubborn Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome. Up until
that play, the day was shaping up as some sort of weird Bidwillian prank on the
football fans of St. Louis.
What better way to spoil the start of season No. 10 than to have Bill Bidwill's
Big Red spring a big upset? Such a scenario seemed a very real possibility when
the Cardinals took a 10-9 lead into the fourth quarter.
"It was a little frustrating to look up at the board and see 10-9, and we
really felt like we were handling them," offensive guard Adam Timmerman said.
That's because the Rams were handling them. By game's end, they had
outgained Arizona by nearly 200 yards (448 to 260). They spent enough time in
the red zone to establish residency for tax purposes. Defensively, they kept
Arizona bottled up in its own end most of the afternoon.
But there was the not-so-little matter of three turnovers, one on each of the
Rams' first three possessions. Then there was a 71-yard kickoff return by
Arizona's Josh Scobey that set up a Big Red field goal. And a critical
defensive holding penalty against Jackson led to Arizona's only TD.
All of which made the Rams' 78th consecutive home sellout crowd unusually
restless.
"Sometimes we have to keep the crowd into it," safety Aeneas Williams said. "We
don't want them to leave early. . . .We need to get a little drama."
There was drama all right. Particularly when Arizona linebacker James Darling
intercepted a Marc Bulger pass and returned it 95 yards for an apparent
touchdown, a TD that would have given Arizona a 17-9 lead with 14 minutes 35
seconds to go in the fourth quarter.
That play brought more boos from the crowd. They booed Orlando Pace in pregame
introductions, booed Bulger a time or two after an errant pass, and booed a
burned timeout or two from the Rams as well.
What about all that?
"I usually don't hear the crowd anyway," Williams said. "To me, they were
saying, "Bruuce!"
That cheer would come a couple of plays later after the Darling runback.
Darling wasn't even in the end zone yet, when Bulger calmly motioned to bring
it back because of a penalty on the play.
"I saw the flag before he even got in the end zone," Bulger said. "But you
don't even want to know what I was thinking for those first three or four
seconds."
Arizona linebacker LeVar Woods was penalized for holding intended receiver
Brandon Manumaleuna. That nullfied the play, bringing the ball all the way back
to the Arizona 8 and making it first and goal for the Rams.
"I watched the guy mug him, so I saw the flag coming out," Rams coach Mike
Martz said. "He got collisioned (sic) as soon as Brandon stopped. I mean, it
was pretty obvious."
Arizona coach Dennis Green disagreed. "Look into the rule," Green told
reporters. "Ask, 'Can you have a defensive holding within five yards,
particularly if the receiver has the potential to be a blocker?'"
Two plays after the flag, the Rams were finally in the end zone on the
Bulger-to-Bruce pass.
"It's a play that we run a lot," Bulger said. "It's what we call a post route,
but there was a lot of clearing out that had to happen. Basically I had trust
(in Bruce) to get underneath."
Bruce got underneath, all right. He got in front of Cardinals cornerback
Renaldo Hill for the catch, and then rolled his way into the end zone.
Bruce, 31, finished with nine catches for 112 yards. It is the 34th 100-yard
receiving game of his career.
Up 15-10 after the score, Martz opted to go for a two-point conversion.
Marshall Faulk ran in off left tackle to increase the lead to 17-10.
Faulk, 31, finished with 22 carries for 128 yards, the 39th 100-yard rushing
game of his career.
It was quite an afternoon for two of the Rams' Old Reliables.
"Every week, or every year, it's the same thing," Martz said. "People want to
know if Isaac or Marshall is diminished. Maybe I see them too much. I'm too
close to them, I don't know. But I don't see it. Maybe you all do.
"They always rise to the occasion. Just incredible competitors. What a blessing
to have them."
Arizona's offense had three more possessions following the Bruce touchdown, but
never crossed midfield. As a result, St. Louis posted its first opening day
victory since 2001.
Too close for comfort?
"It was a little close," defensive end Leonard Little said. "But when it was
time to get down and dirty, and try to hold them down, we were able to do
that."
By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Sunday, Sep. 12 2004
This, of course, is the start of the 10th season for the Rams in St. Louis, and
things haven't changed all that much.
Ten Septembers ago, Isaac Bruce scored the first touchdown of the very first
game for the "St. Louis" Rams. (Chris Miller to Isaac Bruce vs. Green Bay in
'95.)
On Sunday, Bruce got the 10th year started in the same fashion - scoring the
first TD of the season.
"Hey, that's karma," defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson said. "That might be a
good sign for the whole season."
Bruce's eight-yard TD catch on Sunday helped the Rams to a 17-10 victory over
the surprisingly stubborn Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome. Up until
that play, the day was shaping up as some sort of weird Bidwillian prank on the
football fans of St. Louis.
What better way to spoil the start of season No. 10 than to have Bill Bidwill's
Big Red spring a big upset? Such a scenario seemed a very real possibility when
the Cardinals took a 10-9 lead into the fourth quarter.
"It was a little frustrating to look up at the board and see 10-9, and we
really felt like we were handling them," offensive guard Adam Timmerman said.
That's because the Rams were handling them. By game's end, they had
outgained Arizona by nearly 200 yards (448 to 260). They spent enough time in
the red zone to establish residency for tax purposes. Defensively, they kept
Arizona bottled up in its own end most of the afternoon.
But there was the not-so-little matter of three turnovers, one on each of the
Rams' first three possessions. Then there was a 71-yard kickoff return by
Arizona's Josh Scobey that set up a Big Red field goal. And a critical
defensive holding penalty against Jackson led to Arizona's only TD.
All of which made the Rams' 78th consecutive home sellout crowd unusually
restless.
"Sometimes we have to keep the crowd into it," safety Aeneas Williams said. "We
don't want them to leave early. . . .We need to get a little drama."
There was drama all right. Particularly when Arizona linebacker James Darling
intercepted a Marc Bulger pass and returned it 95 yards for an apparent
touchdown, a TD that would have given Arizona a 17-9 lead with 14 minutes 35
seconds to go in the fourth quarter.
That play brought more boos from the crowd. They booed Orlando Pace in pregame
introductions, booed Bulger a time or two after an errant pass, and booed a
burned timeout or two from the Rams as well.
What about all that?
"I usually don't hear the crowd anyway," Williams said. "To me, they were
saying, "Bruuce!"
That cheer would come a couple of plays later after the Darling runback.
Darling wasn't even in the end zone yet, when Bulger calmly motioned to bring
it back because of a penalty on the play.
"I saw the flag before he even got in the end zone," Bulger said. "But you
don't even want to know what I was thinking for those first three or four
seconds."
Arizona linebacker LeVar Woods was penalized for holding intended receiver
Brandon Manumaleuna. That nullfied the play, bringing the ball all the way back
to the Arizona 8 and making it first and goal for the Rams.
"I watched the guy mug him, so I saw the flag coming out," Rams coach Mike
Martz said. "He got collisioned (sic) as soon as Brandon stopped. I mean, it
was pretty obvious."
Arizona coach Dennis Green disagreed. "Look into the rule," Green told
reporters. "Ask, 'Can you have a defensive holding within five yards,
particularly if the receiver has the potential to be a blocker?'"
Two plays after the flag, the Rams were finally in the end zone on the
Bulger-to-Bruce pass.
"It's a play that we run a lot," Bulger said. "It's what we call a post route,
but there was a lot of clearing out that had to happen. Basically I had trust
(in Bruce) to get underneath."
Bruce got underneath, all right. He got in front of Cardinals cornerback
Renaldo Hill for the catch, and then rolled his way into the end zone.
Bruce, 31, finished with nine catches for 112 yards. It is the 34th 100-yard
receiving game of his career.
Up 15-10 after the score, Martz opted to go for a two-point conversion.
Marshall Faulk ran in off left tackle to increase the lead to 17-10.
Faulk, 31, finished with 22 carries for 128 yards, the 39th 100-yard rushing
game of his career.
It was quite an afternoon for two of the Rams' Old Reliables.
"Every week, or every year, it's the same thing," Martz said. "People want to
know if Isaac or Marshall is diminished. Maybe I see them too much. I'm too
close to them, I don't know. But I don't see it. Maybe you all do.
"They always rise to the occasion. Just incredible competitors. What a blessing
to have them."
Arizona's offense had three more possessions following the Bruce touchdown, but
never crossed midfield. As a result, St. Louis posted its first opening day
victory since 2001.
Too close for comfort?
"It was a little close," defensive end Leonard Little said. "But when it was
time to get down and dirty, and try to hold them down, we were able to do
that."
