Well how about that? I’m not going to lie and say I saw this one coming, because I didn’t. I was just hoping the Rams would be able to stay in the game. But the Rams came out today and played their best game of the season, and other that a little rough patch in the second half, I though they played as complete a game as they are capable of in their 31-21 win over the New Orleans Saints.

I have been highly critical of this team on here all season, so I think it’s only fair that I give them all the credit they are due today after this win. This isn’t to say that all the problems are fixed and that this team has completely turned the season around, but let’s just enjoy this win right now and recognize the great performances.

First off, the defense was absolutely outstanding. This is what I expected to see all season. The defensive line dominated in the trenches, and they got a ton of pressure with their front four. Chris Long was an absolute animal all day, and it showed on the stat sheet with his three sacks. This might have been the coming out party for Robert Quinn, who showed just how talented he is at times today. There have been a ton of people in St. Louis who have already started calling Quinn a bust, but I’ll repeat what I have been saying all along: Give him time, because he is a special talent. Darian Stewart had the huge pick and played well all day, and overall I thought the secondary gave their best effort of the season.

Offensively, SJ39 showed why he is not only one of the best backs in the NFL but is probably the most important player on this team. He is a leader and he addressed the team before the game, and then he went out an backed it up. Outstanding performance. AJ Feeley was solid and did his job, and despite a couple of drops, Brandon Lloyd caught the big touchdown and made another outstanding first-down catch. Greg Salas was very good as well, and he’s really turning into a nice player now that he has settled down and adjusted to the speed of the NFL. I could keep going on and on, but let’s save some for tomorrow. I will be posting a bunch of pictures I shot at the game in the coming week, but the one above of LLoyd’s TD catch was one of my favorites of the group.

As far as the rest of the injury front goes, Mark Clayton won’t be making his debut as he continues to deal with Achilles soreness, but it looks like Marquis Johnson will be active from what Spags said on Friday. It looks like the team will be without Danario Alexander as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury. He didn’t practice all week and he’s expected to be out along with LB Brady Poppinga, who also missed practice all week with his calf ailment. Obviously it’s never good when starters have to miss with injury, but it really hurts when it’s a guy like DX who has had so many injury issues already. They good news is that it’s not his knee, so hopefully he will be able to bounce back.

I’ve said this before, but I’m not 100% sold that Johnson is good enough to play for this team based on what I saw from him last season in limited time, but it looks like he’s going to get his chance. I guess it’s not really fair to judge a guy based on a few games during his rookie season. I mean, there have been plenty of guys who struggled as a rookie who turned out to be pretty darn good players. With that being said, and with the team in the position they are right now, I think it’s fair to give him a chance to prove he has what it takes to stay on this team. I think I’d rather see a guy we drafted get a chance as opposed to pulling another random player off a practice squad, so let’s be open-minded and see what he has.

In other somewhat disappointing news, the Chicago Bears have signed LB Jabara Williams after he was released by the Rams earlier this week. I really liked Williams during the preseason, and although he is raw I really thought he was a good guy to develop at that linebacker position. I understand why the move was made because we needed another body on the offensive line, but it’s still disappointing. The way this team has played so far this season I don’t like losing young players with upside, but sometimes this happens in the NFL.