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Joshua Bacott
Sundays From the Cellar: So Close...
Posted by Joshua Bacott, October 19, 2009
Record: 0-6

Sunday's Inevitable Outcome: Jacksonville 23, Rams 20 (OT)

Week 6 Viewing Strategy: Positive energy
After one of the most horrific stretches of sports watching in recent St. Louis history - the Cardinals NLDS sweep, another Rams blowout and two Mizzou frustrating football losses over the span of 10 days - it's about damn time we get ourselves a victory to enjoy.  And looking at the Rams schedule, there aren't a whole lot more opportunties for wins with this team. 

On the road at Jacksonville, who has no home field advantage to speak of, taking on a Jags team that just got steamrolled 41-0 by the Seahawks a week ago represented a legit chance at winning for the Rams. 

For the first and possibly the last time this season, I came into a Rams game thinking they may win. 

Of course, that type of thinking makes the inevitable loss - the team's 16th in a row - more difficult to swallow.  I should know better.

Coach Spag's prediction
How many points you see your offense putting up today, Coach...

 Spags

By the Numbers...
Number of quarters the Jaguars had gone without scoring a TD coming into the game : 4
Number of plays for the Jaguars to score their first touchdown: 5
Number of touchdowns by Maurice Jones-Drew on Sunday: 3
Number of touchdowns by Steven Jackson in 2009: 0
Amount of times the lack of crowd noise in Jacksonville allowed me to hear David Garrard scream some variation of "Green 90": 3,876 

Offensive "Rams" of the week - Wide receivers
#1 wide receiver Laurent Robinson is out for the season; #2 wide receiver Donnie Avery went down in the first half with a bruised hip; #5 wide receiver Tim Carter injured early in the third quarter.  Midway through the game, the Rams receiving corp was essentially a two man rotation featuring Keenan Burton (306 career receiving yards) and Danny Amendola (51 career receiving yards).  Not surprisingly, running back Steven Jackson led the team in receiving on Sunday.

This fact was all the more depressing watching Torry Holt, who will likely go into the Hall of Fame wearing a Rams uniform, gain over 100 yards for the Jags...even with a mangled finger.

holt

The Moment of "Holy Shit this team might actually win this game"
Likely sick and tired of waiting for a Marc Bulger-led offense to do anything, Leonard Little steps in front of a David Garrard swing pass and rumbles 36 yards (in full flight for the final five) for a touchdown  to give the Rams a 17-13 with 4:36.



The Moment of "Holy Shit this team might actually win this game" Part 2
After following up Little's score by allowing Jacksonville to go 75 yards in 9 plays to score a touchdown and take a 20-17 lead, the Rams offense inexplicably drives 70 yards down the field in under two minutes and have the ball at the Jags 10-yard line with 7 seconds and one timeout...

The Moment of "Holy Shit this team has no testicles"
Down 20-17, seven seconds on the clock, ball on the 10-yard line, one timeout in hand and instead of taking a final shot at the endzone and the win, Steve Spagnoulo elects to kick the field goal to send it to overtime.  In a development that I would have bet my first child on, the Rams lost the coin toss and never saw the ball again en route to their 16th consecutive loss.

I suppose I can understand the decision not to go for the win considering an INT in that spot might have really done some damage to the team's playoff chances.    

Competition for #32
#27 Kansas City - Won me a nice chunk of money by not only covering the spread but outright beating the Redskins for their first win

#28 Oakland - Beat Philly 13-9.  Considering Jamarcus Russell played the entire game at QB, I have no idea how.

#29 Washington - Officially enter the discussion of worst team after losing to KC

#30 Tennessee - Have largely stayed out of the discussion for league's worst but after their absolute thrashing at the hands of the Patriots, they have also entered the picture.

#31 Tampa Bay - Took Carolina to the wire but came up short losing 28-21 to the Panthers to fall to 0-6.

#32 St. Louis - Still dead last

What the hippy UPS guy thinks of the Rams season...

 UPS-guy

Up Next: vs Indianapolis (5-0)
Read More:  St. Louis Rams    Sundays From The Cellar   
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Kilo, October 21, 2009 07:10 AM
Thank God the NFL didn't let Rush buy into the Rams. That could've been disastrous to the franchise. At least you don't have to hear about the Greatest Show on Turf anymore. Also, there are a lot of God-Awful teams this year, it is impossible to get them all in a top 5 list. Don't forget Buffalo!
JB, October 20, 2009 08:10 AM
The Browns and Lions were both left off this list. Bad Power Ranking my me. The Browns are easily one of the worst teams in the league.
Eric Mangini, October 19, 2009 06:10 PM
How dare you not rank us in the bottom of the leagues rankings, we are trying to lose to draft another QB in the 1st round of next years draft. so we can sit him for two years then bench him after 2 games too
The Anti-Dave, October 19, 2009 02:10 PM
The stadium was obviously quieter than when it is full, but Garrard does call signals exceptionally loudly as best as I can tell. It was more noticeable yesterday because I thought on more than one occasion he was trying (and failing) to draw the Rams offsides. Having been a Broncos fan pre-Jaguars, I forever link Garrard and Elway as 1) being extremely loud and 2) being obsessed with the number 98.
Marc Bulger, October 19, 2009 02:10 PM
I usually start every play call with the word "whatever"
JB, October 19, 2009 01:10 PM
Josh G, the Lions are certainly on the cusp of the bottom five. I'd probably say the Chiefs could beat them if I went back and looked at it again.
JB, October 19, 2009 01:10 PM
Either Garrard has impressive pipes, Fox has awesome sound equipment near the field or the place was quiet as hell yesterday because you could hear Garrard loud and clear on every snap. Of course, you couldn't hear anything out of Bulger - but that may be because he doesn't speak. I think he just shrugs his shoulders and nods his head a signal to his center.
Josh G, October 19, 2009 12:10 PM
Where's the Lions on your worst list? They were shut out by Green Bay for the first time in 50 years and suffered their first overall shutout in 8 years. I was surprised to hear that, given how bad they've been this decade. Personally I'd have the Chiefs at
The Anti-Dave, October 19, 2009 12:10 PM
I promise Jacksonville has provided a heck of a lot more of a crowd and a home field advantage in every year besides this one. Wish I could figure out what is going on with our fan base...Garrard's inexplicable announcement before every play is "Green 98." John Elway used to announce "Red 98" before nearly every play. I have no idea what these magical 98s mean.
Bud Selig, October 19, 2009 12:10 PM
If I had been there, I could have ended the game in regulation for a least a tie
Dave, October 19, 2009 11:10 AM
Next week is gonna be rough. I'm pretty sure Manning could throw lefty and still shutout the rams, although the way he's playing, he could do that to a lot of teams

Juan Beniquez

A young Derek Jeter, complete with jheri curl, snuck into the Blue Jays clubhouse in 1989 wearing a Juan Beniquez jersey and managed to go the entire game without being recognized.

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