The RAMS are back in town

Confident Rams will take new mind-set to Atlanta

by RamWraith

By Bryan Burwell
Of the Post-Dispatch
Thursday, Jan. 13 2005

By now, most of the Rams players have whirled and clicked their way through the
footage of that 34-17 debacle in the Georgia Dome last September so often that
their eyes are red and bleary. Revisiting that Game 2 loss to the Atlanta
Falcons was a horror film of monumental proportions. They saw all that poor
tackling. They saw all that poor blocking. They saw all those drive-killing,
self-destructive mental errors.

Maybe a few weeks ago, this was just the sort of disaster film that you wanted
to keep away from this staggering, unsure bunch.

But now that the Rams have taken a good, hard look at that game tape in
preparation for Saturday night's prime-time rematch with the Falcons in the NFC
semifinals, it's a film study that has opened their eyes in ways you could
never imagine.

Now that mess in the Georgia Dome looks a lot more like a "before" photo for
these decidedly improved and confident Rams. That team was a mistake-prone
bunch that had no idea who they were or where they were going. That team was
full of mystery and doubt.
"Man, it doesn't look anything like us now," Leonard Little said earlier this
week. The Rams' star defensive end shook his head slowly and laughed softly
when recalling how bad things looked back then.

"A lot has changed since that game," Little said with a positive smile.

Four months later - and riding on the emotional high of a three-game winning
streak at just the right time - this is a team full of self-assurance.

Yes, these Rams have a different strut about themselves now, and with good
reason. They will walk into the Georgia Dome with absolutely no pressure on
them. They are the underdogs. They are the road team. They are the team we all
left for dead three weeks ago. They are the team that history said couldn't
possibly be here.

This is not the way we're used to seeing them storm into the postseason. The
Rams were always one of the most highly decorated teams in the postseason, full
of high-profile Pro Bowlers and a gaudy won-loss record that caught everyone's
attention.

But things are just a bit different now. This is the team everyone forgot - or
at least wanted to forget. So now they are here in the conference semifinals
against the NFC's No. 2 seed. They are here against the game's most exciting
player, "The Michael Vick Experience." They are here inside another rowdy,
hostile stadium full of screaming folks who want to make the Rams' lives
miserable.

Yet the more you listen to and observe the Rams, you can't get over the...
- Channel: RAMS NATION TALK
-01-14-2005, 04:32 AM
Mora and Vick say:

by RamWraith

Head Coach Jim Mora on his team�s recent transactions:
�We made a couple of moves today on the offensive line. We put Mookie [Michael] Moore on injured/reserve with a shoulder. He completely tore that rotator cuff, so they�re going to have to do surgery and he�s going to be lost for the season. We brought [Jared] Peck up from the practice squad and then we signed Bubba. His name is Brandon Evans and he likes to go by Bubba. He played at the University of Houston and then he was with the Houston Texans. So those are the moves we made.�

Mora on how offensive tackle Kevin Shaffer is doing:
�He�s doing good. He felt good today. He said he felt a lot better today than the did yesterday. That�s encouraging. We�re hopeful that he�ll be able to play on Sunday.�

Mora on which of Shaffer�s injury is worse � his knee or ribs:
�I�m sure it�s probably a combination of both.�

Mora on the chance to play in front of the Georgia Dome crowd:
�I know I am. Preseason is one thing and [the Dome] is not totally full. I think this Sunday it�ll be full and they�ll be jacked up. I�m really looking forward to it and I know the players are, too.�

Mora on what he takes from the win against San Francisco:
�We�re so far past that. We�re on St. Louis. We�re so far past that game I can�t remember what happened in that game.�

Mora on St. Louis:
�They�re outstanding. They won the NFC West last year, they got to the second round of the playoffs and lost the overtime game to Carolina on that cover two bust that they broke down the middle. They rushed for 170-something yards the other day, threw for 270-something. The only reason they didn�t score more points was because they had three turnovers. They�re a very good team. I�ve faced them�in the last seven years, this�ll be my 15th time facing them. They�re a very dangerous team.�

Mora on the importance of third down conversions against St. Louis:
�It�s not necessarily the third down conversions. You just have to limit their chances. So that�s ball security, it�s controlling the football, it�s a lot of things. The kicking game. Not giving them long drives. All those things.�

Mora on what�s worked for him in his games against St. Louis:
�They�re a team that can frustrate you because you can hang with them, hang with them, hang with them�think you�re doing pretty good and all of the sudden they just explode on you. They�ve got so many weapons and so much speed. One of the great things about their offense specifically, and moreso now even with their defense, is that they�ve played together a long time. They know where each other is going to be and then defensively, what they did was they went and drafted a bunch of guys and now they�re playing. So they�re as efficient on defense as they ever were on offense, which is a scary combination.�

Mora on St. Louis not allowing...
- Channel: RAMS NATION TALK
-09-16-2004, 10:15 AM
Rams' season closes with a rush

by RamWraith

By Bryan Burwell
Of the Post-Dispatch
Sunday, Jan. 16 2005

ATLANTA - At the end of this draining night in Georgia, inside the visitor's
locker room in the lower reaches of the Georgia Dome, the Rams' traveling
football show was ready to close down. Down the hall in the upbeat Atlanta
Falcons locker room, little kids with footballs and Michael Vick jerseys darted
back and forth getting autographs from their hometown heroes. Players checked
their cell phone voice mails, and perused the gaudy stat sheet that gave all
the gory details of their 47-17 rout of the Rams in Saturday night's NFC
conference semifinal playoff.

The Falcons' dazzling show is still playing to rave reviews this morning. The
NFC South champs are on their way to the NFC Championship Game, and they are
brimming with a verve and confidence that only dominant victories like this can
bring. Yet here inside the Rams' subdued visiting quarters, the show was
closing down for the season. Equipment men packed all the pads and helmets,
jerseys, tape and footballs into large trunks and shoved them onto waiting
moving vans. The glum-faced front-office brass milled quietly around the room,
shaking hands with players and offering soothing words of comfort. The players
quietly stuffed their belongings into expensive leather carry-alls, then tried
to make sense of this abrupt and decisive destruction at the hands of the
Falcons.

"I just knew we were going to do better than that," Leonard Little said as he
leaned against his locker stall. "I swear, we practiced against every single
play they ran. We knew every scheme they threw at us. I just don't get how it
turned out so bad."

From start to finish, there was scant evidence that the Rams had a clue that
they knew what they were doing against the Falcons. If you believe in
premonitions, maybe the Rams should have known what was in store for them from
the beginning of the stunning pre-game pyrotechnics that were so hot they could
singe eyebrows from 50 yards away.

The Falcons came jogging out of the Dome end zone tunnel for pre-game
introductions to the dazzling fanfare of exploding fireworks, giant
flame-throwing torches and throbbing hip-hop music that was so loud and so cool
that it turned this rowdy place into a giant domed dance club.

Oh, if only that was the extent of the explosions. But unfortunately for the
Rams, the biggest bangs and most devastating detonations on this night were not
reserved solely for the pre-game festivities. From start to finish, the Falcons
detonated creative pyrotechnics in all of the very familiar weak spots of the
Rams.

We all...
- Channel: RAMS NATION TALK
-01-17-2005, 04:54 AM
Rams' season closes with a rush

by RamDez

Rams' season closes with a rush
By Bryan Burwell
Of the Post-Dispatch
Sunday, Jan. 16 2005

ATLANTA - At the end of this draining night in Georgia, inside the visitor's
locker room in the lower reaches of the Georgia Dome, the Rams' traveling
football show was ready to close down. Down the hall in the upbeat Atlanta
Falcons locker room, little kids with footballs and Michael Vick jerseys darted
back and forth getting autographs from their hometown heroes. Players checked
their cell phone voice mails, and perused the gaudy stat sheet that gave all
the gory details of their 47-17 rout of the Rams in Saturday night's NFC
conference semifinal playoff.

The Falcons' dazzling show is still playing to rave reviews this morning. The
NFC South champs are on their way to the NFC Championship Game, and they are
brimming with a verve and confidence that only dominant victories like this can
bring. Yet here inside the Rams' subdued visiting quarters, the show was
closing down for the season. Equipment men packed all the pads and helmets,
jerseys, tape and footballs into large trunks and shoved them onto waiting
moving vans. The glum-faced front-office brass milled quietly around the room,
shaking hands with players and offering soothing words of comfort. The players
quietly stuffed their belongings into expensive leather carry-alls, then tried
to make sense of this abrupt and decisive destruction at the hands of the
Falcons.

"I just knew we were going to do better than that," Leonard Little said as he
leaned against his locker stall. "I swear, we practiced against every single
play they ran. We knew every scheme they threw at us. I just don't get how it
turned out so bad."

From start to finish, there was scant evidence that the Rams had a clue that
they knew what they were doing against the Falcons. If you believe in
premonitions, maybe the Rams should have known what was in store for them from
the beginning of the stunning pre-game pyrotechnics that were so hot they could
singe eyebrows from 50 yards away.

The Falcons came jogging out of the Dome end zone tunnel for pre-game
introductions to the dazzling fanfare of exploding fireworks, giant
flame-throwing torches and throbbing hip-hop music that was so loud and so cool
that it turned this rowdy place into a giant domed dance club.

Oh, if only that was the extent of the explosions. But unfortunately for the
Rams, the biggest bangs and most devastating detonations on this night were not
reserved solely for the pre-game festivities. From start to finish, the Falcons
detonated creative pyrotechnics in all of the very familiar weak spots of the
Rams.

We all knew this...
- Channel: RAMS NATION TALK
-01-16-2005, 03:47 AM
Another unlikely upset could be four days away

by RamWraith

By Dan Arkush ([email protected])
Jan. 11, 2005

After becoming the first 8-8 team in league history to win a playoff game, can the better-late-than-never Rams continue to dismantle the NFL form sheet?

Since the current 12-team playoff format began in 1990, NFC teams with first-round byes are 25-3 in the conference semifinals.

We repeat: 25-3.

Can the Rams, who won just two games on the road during the regular season, keep their unlikely postseason dreams alive by beating the Falcons in what promises to be a very noisy Georgia Dome, where the Falcons won seven of eight games this season, losing only to Lions?

Well, stranger things have happened.

And we all must admit that this year's playoffs are off to a pretty wacky start, with three road teams already pulling off unlikely victories last weekend.

But we're talking about the Rams, a team where dysfunction is the norm. Will they come out this Saturday night looking like the team that played so well two weeks ago against the Jets and in its two visits to Seattle this season? Or will they look more like the team that lost in Atlanta back on Sept. 19, when it was outscored 17-0 in the fourth quarter of a 34-17 butt-whipping?

Can the Rams catch the same kind of Saturday-night fever that propelled the Jets past the Chargers (don't you just love pro football on Saturdays?)? Can head coach Mike Martz outsmart Jim Mora, an old nemesis, with the same kind of play-calling magic that enabled his team to make playoff history last Saturday?

OK, I'll finally give you the answer, even though scary factoids keep running through my head, threatening to keep my fingers from daring to throw my support in the Rams' direction.

Like the Rams' minus-24 turnover ratio, the worst ever registered by a playoff-bound team.

And the fact that the Falcons have the NFL's top-ranked rushing offense, led by RB Warrick Dunn (1,106 yards rushing) and QB Michael Vick (902), a ground game that netted a whopping 242 yards on 38 carries in their earlier victory over St. Louis this season.

And the . OK, enough with the factoids.

Yes. The Rams CAN win this Saturday night. Absolutely. I've watched them oh so closely all season, and they really do seem like a much different team than the one that frustrated its fans to no end during the regular season.

The offense appears to be operating on all cylinders at just the right time.

Fleet-footed youngsters Kevin Curtis, who has come up huge the last two games, and secret weapon Shaun McDonald, whose 31-yard third-down completion on the Rams' game-winning drive last Saturday was the best play I've seen called this season, are becoming very effective complements to WRs Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce.

"Both those guys...
- Channel: RAMS NATION TALK
-01-12-2005, 04:52 AM

Announcement

The RAMS are back in town

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