What has to sting the most is the fact that the Rams could have beaten the Seahawks. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they deserved to win, because they did all they could (eventually successfully) to ruin a feel-good first half, but, against a division-leading team who's given them fits, the Rams did enough to be in a position to win. And then Gus Frerotte happened.
"I'd like to smash his head into the wall for him," a dejected fan behind me at the sports bar said, referring to Frerotte's penchant for self-inflicted concussions, as Frerotte lost a fourth-and-goal snap on the Seattle one with :27 left that could have won the game. All he had to do was capably turn around and hand the ball to Steven Jackson. That, apparently, was too much responsibility.
After losing Marc Bulger to a concussion in the first quarter, Frerotte found himself in relief duty (Relief Duty being the title of the 2007 Rams' team video). Between the two of them, the Rams found themselves successfully moving the ball (dopey interceptions aside). The run and pass were operating in harmony. Frerotte was spreading the ball efficiently.
The crew at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch put the bye to good use, compiling an extensive account of how the Rams, who in three years broke records, dominated the NFL, and won a Super Bowl, became the team -- term used liberally -- we see today.
