PHILADELPHIA — Wow . . . just wow.
Those of us who have been witness to all the Rams practices since the start of training camp, who engaged in hours of discussion and conducted dozens of interviews with players, coaches and team execs, never saw this coming. There is hardly a way to describe how hard the Rams fell Sunday in their season-opening 38-3 loss to the Eagles.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” QB Marc Bulger said. “It’s terrible. That’s about as bad as you can get beat in the NFL.”
In fact, the Rams never had been beaten as badly on opening day in franchise history. And they’d been defeated more decisively only twice overall since moving from LA in 1995.
A bright sun was high in the sky in Philly, but it was a dark, dark day for a club trying to rebound from last year’s 3-13 debacle.
The Rams did almost nothing on offense: just 166 total yards and a stunning 0-for-11 on third downs. The defense surrendered 522 yards, the second-highest total in “St. Louis” Rams annals.
“I think discouraged is not a very good word; I refuse to use it,” coach Scott Linehan said. “I’m very disappointed, though. We’ve got to use it as motivation to not go back here. We expect to play a lot better next week.”
That would be when the New York Giants — the defending Super Bowl champs — come to the Edward Jones Dome. Not exactly a great recipe for redemption, eh?
Grasping for any positive karma, CB Ron Bartell used the ‘07 Giants as a beacon of hope for the staggered Rams. The Giants lost their first two games, 45-35 to the Cowboys and 35-13 to the Packers. They went 14-4 thereafter, including their 4-0 march through the playoffs.
“They came out in Week 1 and laid an egg, just like us. And they ended up winning the Super Bowl,” Bartell noted. “So you could look at that situation and get some confidence with it. . . . It’s a marathon, not a race. We have 15 more” games to go.
True. But the Rams really need to lace up their running shoes and get moving.
<><><>
Notes & quotes:
>>None of the Rams’ injuries appeared to be serious, with the possible exception of WR Drew Bennett (foot). He’ll have an MRI Monday.
>>TE Randy McMichael was Bulger’s favorite target, with five catches for 77 yards.
>>After getting burned twice on long passes, CB Tye Hill was replaced in the base defense by Fakhir Brown. Hill became the nickel back.
>>Brown reported no problems with his left shoulder, which kept him out virtually the entire preseason after he was hurt in the first practice at training camp. “It turned out pretty good,” Brown said. “I didn’t have to make any hard contact on it.”
>>The Rams secondary slogged through an awful day, and at times it looked as if confusion was the culprit. No so, insisted S Oshiomogho Atogwe. “No, we weren’t confused,” he said. “They executed their plays very well. And on those plays, they beat us.”
>>Donnie Jones punted a whopping 10 times. He averaged 48.5 yards (38.8 net).
>>According to the unofficial press-box stats, newcomer Gary Stills had a team-high two special-teams tackles.
>>DE James Hall was the Rams’ top tackler, with 10. He entered the game after Leonard Little tweaked a hamstring on the game’s first series.
>>Bulger committed the only Rams fumble, and he recovered it.
>>Nice day for Philly rookie DeSean Jackson. He caught six passes for 106 yards and averaged 12.1 yards on eight punt returns.
>>The Rams seriously considered drafting Jackson in the second round, but instead made Donnie Avery the first wide receiver taken. Avery was out Sunday with a sprained knee.
All for now . . . more after Linehan’s media session Monday afternoon.