Fourth Quarter: Rams Cut Into Lead But Lose 28-23
The Saints just kept moving the ball, with Drew Brees using all his targets. A 16-yard pass to tight end David Thomas moved New Orleans to the Rams 43.
Then came a 9-yard pass to Marques Colston, a 7-yard run by fullback Kyle Eckel . . . and a 27-yard TD pass to Robert Meachem.
That put the Saints ahead 28-17 and gave them the sort of edge they expected to build much earlier in this game.
The Rams needed to gun the ball downfield in response to this score. Instead, they played it safe and departed after another three-and-out sequence.
The Saints don’t believe in three-and-out sequences. Brees when over the top of safety James Butler for a 25-yard pass to Jeremy Shockey. Mike Bell slashed for a rushing first down.
The Rams defense finally made a stand, stopping the Saints just short of scoring range. New Orleans had to punt. Rams safety Craig Dahl ran into Saints punter Thomas Morstead, giving the Saints an opportunity to go for a first down fourth-and-2.
New Orleans went with fullback Kyle Eckel and Rams defensive tackle LaJuan Ramsey gobbled him up for a loss, turning the ball back the Rams on downs.
Bulger caromed a first-down pass off the stone hands of Randy McMichael. After Steven Jackson rushed for nine yards, Bulger hit Danny Amendola for what could have been a TD pass.
But Amendola somehow dropped the pass while pondering his free run up the field. Yikes!
On fourth-and-1, the Saints stuffed Jackson and got the ball back to its offense.
The Rams defense earned another stop, though, with defensive end Chris Long (!) sacking Brees on third down.
Bulger moved the chains with a 24-yard completion to Brandon Gibson, who keeps making Saints defensive backs miss. A downfield pass to tight end Daniel Fells earned another first down as the Rams finally picked up their tempo.
Another downfield strike to Daniel Fells moved the ball to the Saints 19. And then Donnie Avery (!) adjusted to Bulger’s loft toward the right flag and caught his second TD pass of the game.
Fells couldn’t hang onto the two-point conversion pass, so the Rams only cut the deficit to 28-23. That prompted Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo to call for an onside kick, which failed.
This put the onus on the Rams “D” to get a quick stop as the team burned the last of its timeouts. On the critical third-and-3 play, Brees misfired on a quick slant pass, so the Saints punted the ball back to the Rams.
With 2:21 left, Bulger and the offense came back on the field, starting at their 20. Steven Jackson rushed for six yards on the first play.
After the two-minute warning, Bulger scrambled seven yards (!) for a first down and got out of bounds.
Bulger tried to go deep to Gibson, but the receiver didn’t adjust his route into a huge downfield opening.
On a fourth-and-4 play, Bulger threw low to Gibson. The officials on the field ruled it a catch . . . and it held up under video review.
With the first down on the Rams 48, Bulger completed passes to McMichael and Jackson, then underthrew Donnie Avery streaking down the right sideline. A little more loft there and the Rams would have had the winning TD.
On the final play of the game, Bulger heaved a jump ball into the end zone. It fell incomplete — and there was also a Rams holding penalty on the play.
So that was that.
See what happens when you have a quarterback that can throw the ball. If that was Bulger it would have been underthrown and intercepted. We all know thats the truth.
to all you haters this is the real deal this team is going to be really good soon being a life long RAMS fan not a transplant it sickens me that you will get to represent like you deserve it. A fan is a fan through thick n thin try something new like being true to your team you ll know what you had when it’s gone AGAIN!
Come on, Rams, get it done! Make us proud!
I’m reaDY to eat crow–whether we win or lose today. This is becoming a real team which in itself is a miracle. Spags has goten our scrubs to play lkie they belong here. There is light at the end of the tunnel. We should contend by 2011.
I have been a rams fan since Vince Ferragamo was their quarterback.(You know who that is?) I know a bad football team when I see it. I represent enough to be able to bash a team when they stink. This team stinks. I will say that they play hard and I agree that they will be a better team in the years to come. I look forward to the future. Maybe the receivers on the team wont drop the ball when the quarterback finally makes a good pass.
Good Job MEN!!!! You fought hard and took a step closer today and I will proudly wear my RAMS jersey this week don’t listen to the Jeff’s of the world they should all be forced to wear cowboys hats and live in philadelphia! Rock on Spags ur doin more with less I can’t wait for next year we’re on the Edge of something truly special!!!!!!!
Why do we bang Bulger? 1.Underthrown ball that if thrown properly could have been a touchdown to win the game. 2. No timeouts left 20 seconds or so left on the clock and instead of throwing the ball away he throws to the middle of the field. Stupid stupid mistake!
Where are all the Spags haters? This guy is the real deal and he has done nothing but good for this team. He is bring in guys that are hungry to win and play. This is a turning point for sure! We play like this the rest of the year we beat most of the teams. LETS GO RAMS!!!!!!!!!!!
Two things are painfully obvious:
#1 Bulger has a bad right shoulder. He throws mostly sidearm and can’t put a good arc on a long ball. The last play of the game he tried to throw overhand and you could see that he has no strength or control when doing so. Damaged goods.
#2 Randy McMichael can’t catch.
With one of the top three QBs on the opposite sideline, Bulger played pretty well today. Sure, it would have been nice to connect on that pass to Avery at the end and win the game, but let’s give Bulger some credit. I’ve been a critic as well, but you have to be even-handed about this, unlike the disgruntled and the plain idiots that so often post here.
NO may have taken the Rams for granted early on and got caught, but they were in it seriously by halftime, and the Rams still played them pretty much even. Let’s give our team a good grade for taking a powerful NO squad to the last play of the game, with the outcome in doubt.
The Rams will improve and turn the corner; we can see that. There will be days like this when they get close, but suffer a bitter defeat. But we’re headed in the right direction and this team plays every down — all out.
I’m encouraged.
You should be, too.