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St. Louis Rams 2009 Preview: Out With Greatest Show, In With Spagnuolo

Posted: Sep 9th 2009 12:00PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Rams, NFC West, FanHouse Previews

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

The Rams enter the 2009 season in full-on rebuilding mode. Another bad season wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for the future of the franchise as a whole, as they need to continue to grow their young players. The remnants of the strong Rams rosters from earlier this decade are either gone or aging quickly. New head coach Steve Spagnuolo will look to mold the next generation his way, starting immediately.

Continue Reading St. Louis Rams 2009 Preview: Out With Greatest Show, In With Spagnuolo

St. Louis Rams: Spagnuolo Era Begins

Posted: Feb 26th 2009 11:00AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)

4 COMMENTS

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

The 2008 season was an unmitigated disaster for the Rams. They had their star running back hold out, only to be re-signed and get injured -- an injury which lingered far too long. They fired their coach after four embarrassing games, won two straight under his replacement, but then dropped their final 10.

It was hard to find a strength on this team. The offense ranked 27th in the league, while the defense was 28th. Then again, Donnie Jones was one of the best punters in the league. So there's that.

Continue Reading St. Louis Rams: Spagnuolo Era Begins

St. Louis Rams Players Rightfully Peeved Their Punter is Not a Pro-Bowler

Posted: Dec 18th 2008 3:17PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Rams, NFC West

2 COMMENTS

When you are 2-12 -- and probably worse than the 0-14 team -- you shouldn't expect to see any of your players headed to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl in February, unless he's having an individually historic season. So, when the St. Louis Rams players are complaining about the snub of their punter, Donnie Jones, your initial inclination is to just tell them to shut up. Except for one thing, Jones kind of is having a historic season.

- Jones averages over 50 yards per punt. The only other person in the history of the NFL to average over 50 yards a punt? It happened in 1940. Coincidentally, he passed away yesterday. The great Sammy Baugh did it for the Redskins.

-Also:

Jones' net average is an NFC-best 40.9 yards; the league record, dating to 1976, is 41.1, set last year by Oakland's Shane Lechler.

I guess it would make more sense if Jones was brutal at pinning opposition in the red-zone, but he's done so 18 times with only five touchbacks. Basically, if you look at the numbers in front of you, it's obvious he's punting from deep in Rams territory frequently this season, and bailing them out.

Continue Reading St. Louis Rams Players Rightfully Peeved Their Punter is Not a Pro-Bowler

Dolphins 16, Rams 12: Rams Are Better With Steven Jackson, Just Not Good Enough

Posted: Nov 30th 2008 5:08PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Dolphins, Rams, AFC East, NFC West

3 COMMENTS

The Rams were a significantly better team on Sunday than they had been the past three games. That team was easily worse than the Detroit Lions, but it seemed like Steven Jackson being back changed the complexion of everything, including the defense and special teams. Well, everything except the man taking snaps.

Jackson ran the ball 21 times and gained 94 yards. Josh Brown and Donnie Jones were excellent kicking and punting, and the defense held the Miami Dolphins to only 16 points. Alas, it still wasn't enough for a Rams victory. Marc Bulger -- despite good run support from Jackson and Antonio Pittman -- was simply dreadful. He connected on less than half his pass attempts and was intercepted three times -- including a game-ender on their last-gasp attempt, when he badly overthrew Derek Stanley.

A head-to-head battle between the top two draft picks was also of interest. Jake Long was squaring off against Chris Long. Considering Chris didn't record a single stat, it would appear Jake got the best of Howie's kid. It was a close matchup, though, as Chris wasn't severely abused by any means. Both have worlds of potential in this league moving forward.

Continue Reading Dolphins 16, Rams 12: Rams Are Better With Steven Jackson, Just Not Good Enough

Rams Botch Fake Punt; on Upside, Bears Ensuing Touchdown Didn't Affect Outcome

Posted: Nov 24th 2008 2:15PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Chicago Bears, Rams, NFC North

0 COMMENTS

It's not like the Rams had a shot at beating the Bears yesterday, but I'm sure it must be frustrating for, well, everybody even remotely involved in the team. And that includes those fans who regularly waste three hours a week to watch them, or worse, fork over money to see the horror unfold in person.

Whatever, St. Louis has now dropped five straight, and could only must three points against Chicago. And while one play didn't decide the game, the fake punt that went horribly awry was certainly memorable for head coach Jim Haslett. Punter Donnie Jones tried to complete a pass to Eric Bassey on fourth-and-15, except Bassey was mauled before the ball arrived. Pass interference, right? Uh, no. As Haslett correctly reasoned, "there is no pass interference on a fake punt." Huh, that sucks.

But it gets worse. Apparently, the Rams had no business even attempting a fake punt in that situation.

"It was dumb play by the upback to call on a fourth-and-15, that's what it was," Haslett said. "We ... worked ... all week for if it was fourth-and-less-than-10. This was fourth-and-15. The chances of getting it done aren't very good."

"Aren't very good" is being optimistic, I think. Naturally, Bears rookie running back Matt Forte would rip off a 47-yard touchdown run two plays later, and Chicago would take a comfortable 21-0 lead with just over 30 minutes to go.

For the glass-is-half-full set: there are just 300 minutes remaining in the Rams' 2008 season. So there's that.

The Rams Were Embarrassed in the Meadowlands Today

Posted: Nov 9th 2008 5:15PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Jets, Rams, AFC East, NFC West

7 COMMENTS

The Rams had to figure it would be an uphill battle against a quickly improving Jets defense, especially without their best offensive player, Steven Jackson. The Jets' front is strong enough to hold down any of Jackson's backups, so they could then put their emphasis on stopping the passing game.

And the whole thing just turned into a disaster. Let us count the futility, bullet-point style:

-- Five turnovers, zero takeaways. You can't win a football game with a minus-five turnover ratio on any level.

-- The Rams were outgained 206 to 80 on the ground.

-- The Jets scored more points on defense than the Rams did on offense.

-- Jets' rookie tight end Dustin Keller -- who entered the game with only 147 receiving yards -- outgained the entire Rams receiving corps.

-- Thomas Jones shredded the Rams abysmal run defense for 149 yards and three touchdowns.

There's more ...

Continue Reading The Rams Were Embarrassed in the Meadowlands Today

Making One Good Team Out of All the NFL's Winless Teams

Posted: Oct 10th 2008 10:35AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, Lions, Rams, Texans, NFL Fans

3 COMMENTS

The Bengals, Lions, Texans and Rams are the NFL's winless teams. They are a combined 0-17 and all seem to be staring down another bad season. One team has already lost its GM while another has fired its coach.

But what if we brought the four teams together and picked off the best guys to form a new team? Maybe they could win a game or two this season. So here we go.

QB-Carson Palmer (Cin), Marc Bulger (StL).
RB-Steven Jackson (StL), Steve Slaton (Hou), Rudi Johnson (Det)
FB-Vonta Leach (Hou)
WR-Andre Johnson (Hou), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Cin), Roy Williams (Det), Calvin Johnson (Det)
TE-Owen Daniels (Hou), Randy McMichael (StL)
OT-Orlando Pace (StL), Stacy Andrews (Cin), Alex Barron (StL), Eric Winston (Hou)
OG-Bobbie Williams (Cin), Jacob Bell (StL), Chester Pitts (Hou)
C-Dominic Raiola (Det), Chris Myers (Hou)

Continue Reading Making One Good Team Out of All the NFL's Winless Teams

Some Athletes Try to Hit a Drive Over the Mississippi River

Posted: Sep 3rd 2008 2:34PM by Shane Bacon (author feed)
Filed under: Golf, PGA

0 COMMENTS

Lets be honest, most charity events ideas aren't really that much fun. Sure, they benefit things and are great and help our society, but nobody really likes watching two professional tennis players playing doubles with the star of "Ugly Betty."

That is why I found it extremely ~~dumb~~ interesting that yesterday afternoon, golf pro Bubba Watson, Rams receiver Dane Looker and punter Donnie Jones tried to drive a golf ball across the mighty Mississippi River during a charity event for Evans Scholars. The goal was to drive the ball, in the air, 560 yards. Let me repeat. The goal of this event was for a human being to fly a golf ball without a jet pack or the ability to disprove gravity the entire length of a solid par-5.

As you move closer to the edge of your seat, I'll go ahead and spoil the ending -- nobody did it. Weak sauce guys, very weak sauce.

Bump [Deadspin]