The Silver Lining In The St. Louis Rams Loss To The Green Bay Packers

Oct 21, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Chris Givens (13) carries the ball against the Green Bay Packers during the second half at Edward Jones Dome. The Packers defeated the Rams 30-20. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-US PRESSWIRE

Green Bay really rained on the St. Louis parade this week, blockading the Rams road to the top of the NFC West. Halftime adjustments by the Pack led to the dismantling of our secondary, something that fans in the Edward Jones Dome have not seen this year. If you tack on the garbage points at the end of the game, the Rams finished the day down by only 10 points after barely possessing the ball in the second half. However, it wasn’t all bad. In the midst of the grey and darkness, here is the Ramblin’ Fans silver lining…

1. Steven Jackson looked like a new man out there on the field. He had 12 rushes for 57 yards, good for a 4.8 yards per carry. Jackson also punched the ball into the endzone for the first rushing touchdown by a running back this season.

2. Jackson and Daryl Richardson averaged 4.6 yards per carry…

3. The St. Louis Rams offensive line, starting greenhorn’s Barksdale and Smith on the left side of the line, only gave up 3 sack to the top ranking Green Bay pass rush.

4. The offense has gained 816 yards in the last two games, pushing an average of 408 yards per game. They were able to get into the endzone twice against the Packers, something that was a problem last week against the Miami Dolphins.

5. Sam Bradford and the St. Louis Rams were 66.7% in the redzone, with both a passing and rushing touchdown when they managed to get inside the 20 yard line.

6. The Rams scored on 44.4% of their drives, and could have tacked on 3 points early in the game if Jeff Fisher hadn’t decided to go for it on 4th down.

7. Chris Givens set a rookie record by hauling in a 50+ yard catch for the fourth consecutive week. More impressive, is that this time it wasn’t on the long ball, but rather using his shiftiness and speed on a quick slant from Bradford and taking it down the field.

8. Rookies accounted for 55.9% of the total offense for the Rams. Givens led the team in reception with 3 catches for 73 yards, while tacking on a run for 14 yards. Daryl Richardson carried the ball 8 times for 36 yards and caught 3 passes for 43 yards. Brian Quick caught 2 big passes late in the game to set up the final score, adding 31 yards.

9. St. Louis continues to get sacks on the quarterback, tacking on 3 more against the highly elusive Aaron Rodgers.

10. Michael Brockers had his first “big game,” recording 4 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sacks, and 1 hit on the quarterback.

11. Craig Dahl finally made a big play in coverage, helping Janoris Jenkins over the top, who got burnt by James Jones, swooping in last second and making a good breakup on the would-be touchdown.

12. The rush defense that has been the weak spot of the Rams defense for half of a decade, has allowed only 151 yards rushing on 60 carries over the last three games. That means that opposing teams are only managing 2.5 yards per rushing attempt. Better yet, the Rams have not given up a rushing touchdown in any of those game.

13. The two “big plays” by the Green Bay Packers, the 52 yard bomb to Jordy Nelson and the 39 yard touchdown to Randall Cobb, both came on “free plays” from defensive offsides penalties.

14. Greg Zuerlein got back on track after missing those 3 field goals against the Miami Dolphins. He hit from 43 and from 50 yards yesterday.

15. James Laurinaitis had 14 tackles… nothing really exciting there, just thought it was cool.

16. The Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, and Washington Redskins lost in Week 7!