Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

That's odd: Rams aren't favored

Collapse
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • #1

    That's odd: Rams aren't favored

    In an oddity, the odds are against the Rams this weekend.

    For just the second time since early in the 1999 season -- when the Rams began their run in which they have been to the Super Bowl twice and in the playoffs four times in five years -- they're an underdog at home.

    New England was made a 2 1/2-point favorite over the Rams when the point spreads for this weekend's NFL games were set Sunday night in Las Vegas, and the line hasn't wavered this week. Kickoff is 3:15 p.m. Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

    On the Vegas money line (where bettors merely pick the winner of the game with no point spread involved), New England also is the favorite as a risk of $13 is required to reap a $10 profit on the Patriots. Conversely, a successful $10 wager on the Rams would return an $11 profit.

    Since early October 1999, when the Rams' run began gathering steam, they have played 46 home games (including playoffs) and have been favored in 44 of them, with one being rated a toss-up -- the final game of their disappointing 2002 season, in which they beat San Francisco 31-20 to finish at 7-9.

    The only time they were a home underdog in that stretch was Oct. 13, 2002, when they were 0-5 heading into a contest vs. Oakland. That ended a run of 28 consecutive home games in which they were favored. But they won 28-13, as an eight-point underdog, in Marc Bulger's first NFL start.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: That's odd: Rams aren't favored

    what is even more interesting is that as of this morning, despite the fact that the pats announced that ty law wont play, the line has not moved.

    general counsel

    Comment

    Previous template Next

    Related Topics

    Collapse
    • RamWraith
      On the road again? Usually, it spells defeat
      by RamWraith
      By Bill Coats
      Of the Post-Dispatch
      01/11/2005


      "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
      - John Howard Payne

      * * * * * *

      The Rams have a chance to make NFL history over the next few weeks. That is, win the Super Bowl after getting there by prevailing in three playoff games on the road.

      Three wild-card teams have taken home the Lombardi Trophy - Oakland in 1980, Denver in 1997 and Baltimore in 2000. But each opened the postseason at home. Only one team - New England in 1985 - reached the Super Bowl after prevailing three times on enemy turf. But the Patriots lost to Chicago in the title game.

      So, if the Rams follow up their victory last Saturday in Seattle with wins at Atlanta on Saturday and at Philadelphia on Jan. 23 and then beat the AFC champion in the Super Bowl on Feb. 6 in Jacksonville, Fla., it would mark a league first.

      Of course, Minnesota and the New York Jets are in the same position - wild-card entrants that could become the first Super Bowl winner via three road wins.

      But don't hold your breath.

      True, home teams won just 55 percent of the games during the 2004 regular season, but the edge usually soars in the playoffs. Since 1990, when the current format was adopted, home teams have won 102 of 140 games - a 72.8 percent success rate.

      The disparity is greatest in the conference semifinals, which will be contested this weekend. The home team has prevailed in 45 of 56 of those matchups, an 80.3 winning percentage.

      So even though road teams won three of four games last weekend for the first time ever on wild-card weekend, the magnitude of home-field advantage shouldn't be underestimated. "I think it is important, I really do," said Rams coach Mike Martz.

      The Rams, in fact, hadn't won an away playoff game since the 1989 season before turning aside the Seahawks 27-20 at Qwest Field. So to avoid what he called a "negative attitude," Martz doesn't want his players to focus on the difficulty of winning on the road in the postseason.

      "I think the more you make of it with your team, the more that becomes an issue for you," he said. "The more you talk about fumbling the ball, the more apt they are to fumble the ball; the more you talk about dropping the ball, the more apt they are to drop the ball; the more you talk about how hard it is to win on the road, then they buy into, 'This is hard.' "

      It's even harder when facing a team that had a bye in the first round, as did the four home teams this weekend. Teams coming off byes have won 25 of 28 playoff games.

      The four home teams this weekend posted a combined 30-2 home record in the regular season. Pittsburgh and New England were 8-0, and Atlanta and Philadelphia were 7-1. Of the four road teams, only one...
      -01-12-2005, 06:05 AM
    • MauiRam
      Rams have shot at rare three-peat ..
      by MauiRam
      BY JIM THOMAS Wednesday, December 8, 2010 12:25 am

      For more than a calendar year, the Rams had no success on the road. Zero. Zilch. Couldn't buy a road victory. That all changed in Denver two Sundays ago, and again at Arizona this past Sunday.

      "Two weeks ago, at that point, we were winless on the road," running back Steven Jackson said. "So for us to get two wins on the road back-to-back weeks, it shows that this team responds to challenge."

      The challenge this week is about as big as it gets, with yet another road game against the New Orleans Saints, 9-3 this season and defending Super Bowl champs.

      "We have another huge game, and it's going to be rowdier in New Orleans," Jackson said following the Rams' 19-6 victory over the Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. "We have to get ready for this. As games approach, and each and every week as we continue to be successful, games are going to get bigger. And I think this team is starting to understand that. We've just got to continue to execute and play together."

      If the Rams can pull off an upset in the Louisiana Superdome — and that's a huge "if" — they also would pull off a "3-peat" of historic proportions. They would become only the third team in the 73-year history of the Rams' franchise to win road games in three consecutive weeks.

      The Rams have had some successful road teams, most notably the 2001 NFC championship squad that went 8-0 on the road that season. But that team never played away games in three successive weeks. The best they did was back-to-back road victories twice.

      The current league policy, according to Rams executive vice president of football operations Kevin Demoff, is to have teams play as many as three consecutive road games only about once every eight years.

      And the Rams last played three in a row on the road exactly eight years ago, losing at Washington 20-17 on Nov. 24, 2002, then losing 10-3 at Philadelphia on Dec. 1 and 49-10 at Kansas City on Dec. 8.

      Quarterback Kurt Warner suffered what turned out to be a broken hand in that Washington game, insisted he could play against Philadelphia but was very ineffective. That led to the first "Brenda-Gate" controversy, in which Brenda Warner — Kurt's wife — called a local all-sports radio station to complain about coach Mike Martz's handling of the injury.

      So far, this year's three-game road swing has gone much more smoothly, with the Rams surviving a fourth-quarter meltdown to hold off Denver 36-33 and then recording the workmanlike victory in Arizona.

      So have the Rams finally figured out how to handle this road thing?

      "I've said this from the beginning, I never thought there was really anything to figure out except you go play football between the white lines," coach...
      -12-08-2010, 10:58 AM
    • RamWraith
      Road show will impact Rams' fate
      by RamWraith
      By Jim Thomas
      Of the Post-Dispatch
      Monday, Nov. 15 2004

      The Rams will be home for the holidays, closing the regular season with games
      against Philadelphia (Dec. 27) and the New York Jets (Jan. 2).

      But if they are to make the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons, they
      must get something done on the road, ASAP. That's because the only time the
      Rams play in the Edward Jones Dome until after Christmas is Dec. 5, against San
      Francisco.

      Sunday's game at Ralph Wilson Stadium in suburban Buffalo begins a string of
      four road games in five contests for the Rams - a stretch that will largely
      make or break their playoff chances.

      "It's a dangerous thing to talk about," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "I think
      the more you talk about it, the more the players get the idea that you don't
      think you can win on the road."

      In other words, the more Martz talks about the difficulties of winning on the
      road, the more the players are prone to start thinking about ... how tough it
      is to win on the road.

      "You just prepare and go play," Martz said. "That's what we did in Seattle and
      San Francisco. And you just don't pay much attention to it."

      The Rams are 2-2 on the road this year, with the victories coming in October in
      Seattle and San Francisco.

      "You know Seattle was probably as loud a crowd as we've ever played in front
      of," Martz said. "And we handled it very well."

      Well, at least they did after falling behind 24-7 at halftime. The Rams rallied
      for a 33-27 overtime triumph.

      "I think the younger players will take their lead off our veterans," Martz
      said. "I think they know how to respond. We talk to them about the environment
      that they'll walk into, and then put it to rest."

      No "St. Louis" Rams playoff team has finished a regular season with a losing
      road record:

      Last season's NFC West championship team went 4-4 away from home.

      The '99 Super Bowl championship team, and the 2000 wild- card squad,
      finished 5-3 on the road.

      The '01 Super Bowl runner-up became only the sixth team since the
      1970 AFL-NFL merger to go unbeaten on the road. Not only was that Rams team 8-0
      away from home, it won those contests by an average of 14.6 points a game.

      "There's a significant number of (2001) players still on this team," Martz
      said. "Last year, I think we turned the corner when we went on the road and
      beat Chicago, particularly Pittsburgh, and Arizona in some really tight
      ballgames."

      But can the Rams turn the corner this season?...
      -11-16-2004, 06:40 AM
    • RamWraith
      Rams are ready to take show on the road
      by RamWraith
      By Jim Thomas
      St. Louis Post-Dispatch
      09/10/2005


      SAN FRANCISCO -- As they trot out of the tunnel Sunday at creaky Monster Park, the Rams will be greeted by hundreds - perhaps even a few thousand - Rams fans.

      Some still sport team gear in the franchise's pre-2000 colors. Some even have shirts and hats that read: "Los Angeles Rams." Some still make the trek up the Pacific Coast from southern California every year to cheer on their transplanted franchise.

      Cornerback Travis Fisher calls it the West Coast Branch of Rams Nation.

      "There's a lot of fans over on that side," Fisher says.

      Meaning, "on that side" of the country. But even in the best of times for Rams teams, those fans quickly get drowned out by ***** loyalists in a stadium that seats more than 69,000.

      These may be the worst of times for the Niners, but triumphs here remain few and far between for the Rams. Dating to the 1991 season, the Rams have won only four times in San Francisco - in 14 tries.

      "It's hard to win on the road," wide receiver Isaac Bruce said.

      Particularly on opening day.

      "When you go into someone else's stadium, you're going to hear rockets, you'll probably see some B52s flying over your head," Bruce said. "And everyone in the stands is just rowdy from start to finish. From pregame till the end of the game. It's special."

      If the Rams can start off well on the road, this season can be special. But there's been nothing special about the Rams away from the Edward Jones Dome in recent seasons.

      On Sunday, the Rams will try to end a string of five straight regular-season losses on the road. Since the start of the 2002 season, the Rams are 8-18 on the road - a figure that includes playoff games.

      In comparison, since the start of the 2002 season, the Rams are 20-5 at the dome - a figure that also includes regular- season and postseason games.

      "The book says you're not supposed to win more than half your games on the road," defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson said. "And you try to win all your home games. But that's not the way we look at it. We want to win every single game we play.

      "Obviously, it doesn't always work out that way. But that's what you're trying to do. Road games are huge, because it helps to build confidence for your team."

      If so, the Rams have plenty of early opportunities for confidence building. Beginning with Sunday's season opener in San Francisco, three of the Rams' first four contests are on the road.

      And for only the seventh time in the 68-year history of the franchise, the Rams open with back-to-back road games. (San Francisco is followed with another NFC West road game, Sept. 18 at Arizona.)

      "Yeah, two...
      -09-10-2005, 07:44 PM
    • RamDez
      Variety Show
      by RamDez
      Variety Show


      By Jim Thomas
      Of the Post-Dispatch

      08/28/2005


      Based on last season's records, the Rams have the easiest schedule in the NFL.

      The Rams face only four teams that had winning records in 2004: Philadelphia (13-3), Indianapolis (12-4), Seattle (9-7) and Jacksonville (9-7).

      They face only four teams that made the playoffs: Philly, Indy, the Seahawks and Minnesota (8-8).




      But given the current parity-driven state of the NFL, the Rams should take nothing for granted. Teams can change from the "Same Old Sorry (Bleep) Rams" into the "Greatest Show on Turf" in an instant.


      The 2005 schedule features familiar rivals New Orleans and Philadelphia. And, of course, NFC West opponents Arizona, San Francisco and Seattle. But it's really characterized more by the unfamiliar than the familiar:

      On Thanksgiving weekend, the Rams play the Houston Texans - a 2002 expansion team - for the first time.

      The day before Halloween, they play former St. Louis expansion rival Jacksonville for just the second time, and for the first time since 1996.

      In a Sunday night affair on New Year's Day, the Rams play a regular-season game in Dallas for the first time since the move to St. Louis in '95.

      The home opener on Sept. 25 marks the first visit of the Tennessee Titans to St. Louis for a regular-season contest, and the first meeting of the teams other than the preseason since Super Bowl XXXIV.

      Perhaps the marquee game of the season occurs Oct. 17 when the Rams make their first visit to Indianapolis since '95. As such, it will be running back Marshall Faulk's first game against his old club since the memorable trade that sent him to St. Louis in 1999. It's also the Rams' only Monday night appearance of this season.

      There will be some new faces to go along with the new places. The Rams get their first look at young quarterbacks David Carr of Houston, Byron Leftwich of Jacksonville, Eli Manning of the New York Giants and, quite possibly, No. 1 overall draft pick Alex Smith of San Francisco.

      At the other end of the QB spectrum, they'll face some of the top QBs in the league, including Eli's older brother Peyton, Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb and Minnesota's Daunte Culpepper.

      Obviously, no opposing quarterback will draw as much interest as the one who now calls Arizona home - Kurt Warner. A two-time NFL MVP with the Rams, Warner faces his former team twice in the NFC West. As long as Bill Bidwill owns the Big Red, playing Arizona will always be a big game for any St. Louis football fan over age 30. Putting Warner in a Cardinals uniform turns up the rivalry several notches.

      We won't have to wait long for the first meeting. It figures to be 100 degrees-plus in the Valley of the Sun on Sept.
      ...
      -08-28-2005, 03:47 AM
    Working...
    X