Tuesday, November 17, 2009

"Respectable Loss"

I hate when the Rams lose. I hate writing about how terrible they played. I try to keep being optimistic, reminding myself that this is a young team with a new coaching staff.

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints high powered offense came to St. Louis on Sunday. I was very nervous about this game. The Saints offense can put up points and I was expecting a game similar to the Colts 42-6 pounding of the Rams earlier this year. This was (pleasantly surprised) not the case. The Rams played well on both sides of the ball.

Yes, the special teams hurt us again. The Saints took the second half kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown. But I'm trying to be positive about this. The Rams actually had more total yards for the game 434-420. The Rams had the ball longer than the Saints in minutes 32:02-27:58. That will keep your defense fresh, and it showed.

I always talk about stopping the run, but in the Saints case, you have to stop Drew Brees and their aerial assault. The Rams picked Drew Brees off twice and also recovered a fumble. The Rams only gave them one turnover. Even though the Rams gave up 203 yards rushing, it was the pass defense that kept them in the game. When you can hold Brees to just 223 yards passing with only two touchdowns and two picks, you've done your job.

Even though I hate when the Rams lose, this loss wasn't as hard to take as most of them have been this year. For a young team and new coaching staff, it was a respectable loss.

"see you on the hit side" #21

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