Quick Thoughts On The St. Louis Rams Loss To The New England Patriots

Oct 28,2012; London, UNITED KINGDOM; General view of mannequins wearing the uniforms of St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) and New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo (51) in front of the merchandise tent at the 2012 NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Sadly, many Rams fans woke up with the realization that they weren’t as upset with this week’s loss, as opposed to the losses earlier in the season. The St. Louis team on the field yesterday looked strikingly similar to the Rams of old, producing nothing on offense, and getting ripped on defense, both on the ground and through the air. Maybe it was being on the “big stage,” maybe it was the pressure of snapping the losing streak heading into the bye, or maybe it was the fact that the Rams just do not match up well with the Patriots. Anyways, here are Ramblin’ Fans quick thoughts from the game…

1. Bradford is not the problem for the Rams… period. He was posed in the pocket, made the big throws when they were there, and handled the offense relatively well. Bradford completed 73% of his passes, and was nearly perfect on the day before throwing the desperation pick.

2. Daryl Richardson will replace Steven Jackson soon rather than later as the feature back. The more games that Richardson outgains Jackson on the ground, the more I feel like he will not be back next season. That would be a mistake…

3. Chris Givens has emerged as a playmaker in the NFL, and you can thank the injury to Danny Amendola for that progression. When Danny Amendola returns, Bradford will finally have two weapons that he can work with at receiver, which may help Quick progress a little.

4. Steve Smith will not be a St. Louis Ram, or on any other team, at the conclusion of this season… if not sooner.

5. Dunbar is an amazing player between the tackles, racking up 10 tackles and bullying the running backs for most of the game. He is still sub-par in coverage…

6. Craig Dahl and Quintin Mikell are not getting the job done in coverage. Dahl might be the best run support player on the team, but when it comes to the primary responsibility of a safety in the NFL, he should not be a starter on any team.

7. With that being said, the Rams should, and likely will, look very strongly at a safety with their first 1st rounder of the 2013 NFL Draft. Then, use the second 1st rounder on an outside linebacker than can cover. Hopefully, we have our answer on the offensive side of the ball with Quick and Givens.

8. Janoris Jenkins needs to have a long sit-down with Coach Fisher and Cortland Finnegan to fix whatever has been going on the last three weeks. He has been the least valuable defensive player in the last THREE games!

9. Can we trade all of our first rounders in 2013 and 2014 for Gronk? That would be sweet…

10. A couple of records were broken yesterday: Chris Givens “officially” broke the rookie record for consecutive games with a 50+ yard reception, and tied an overall receiving record for consecutive games from 1966. Greg Zuerlein broke his personal streak of consecutive games with a successful field goal attempt, after Johnny Hekker mishandled a snap.

11. Bradley Fletcher, please stop pulling on jerseys…

12. Glad to see Coach Fisher take Bradford out of the game at the end. Confident and intelligent, no need to get a franchise player hurt.

13. Where were Brandon Gibson and Brian Quick for most of the game? I feel like Quick doesn’t even see the field until the 4th quarter, with his last 4 receptions all coming at the very end of the game.

14. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are both very good…

15. Never have I seen a team score a touchdown on their first 5 consecutive drives. Is it fair to have New England play in Old England and still count as an away game?