St. Louis Rams’ debacle: A look at the franchise’s performance in the NFL regular season (Part I)
So much has been said and observed about St. Louis Rams lately.
The franchise has been in the limelight after the end of the National Football League (NFL) regular season for more than one reason.
Firstly, it was the miserable end to the season in which the Rams lost 14 games.
Secondly, the dismissal of head coach, Steve Spagnuolo, and general manager, Billy Devaney also caught the attention of the masses.
Next was the appointment of former Tennessee Titans’ head coach, Jeff Fisher, as Spag’s replacement, and now the ongoing campaign of revamping the franchise’s tarnished image after recruiting new personnel in the coaching staff.
The Rams desperately want to improve their record in the next season and they are working efficiently to achieve that goal.
In this space, we’ll have a look at how Rams performed against different opponents in the regular season, and the causes that eventually led to the shuffling of faces in the franchise.
Against Philadelphia Eagles
St. Louis Rams have not reached the playoffs for the last six years, and when they started the 2011-2012 season, they were hoping to break the shackles.
However, the beginning was not so good, as they lost against the visiting Philadelphia Eagles, 31-13, in the season-opener.
Rams scored a touchdown early in the first quarter to get in front, but Eagles scored two in the same quarter to take the lead.
The second quarter witnessed a field goal from each side.
Eagles stretched the lead in the third quarter by scoring a touchdown, whereas Rams could only score a field goal.
Eagles scored another touchdown in the final quarter to seal the victory.
At New York
Rams played their second game against New York Giants, who went on to win the National Football Conference (NFC) East division and then the NFC Conference championship, while the Super Bowl game awaits them.
St. Louis was again affected by its inability to score touchdowns and perform well defensively.
Giants scored a touchdown in the first quarter while Rams managed two field goals.
In the second quarter, Giants got two touchdowns and the Rams struggled to get any scoring move.
The Rams managed 10 points in the third quarter against the Giants’ seven, but could not overcome the lead.
After the scoreless, fourth quarter, Giants won the game, 28-16.
Rams’ quarterback, Sam Bradford, completed 22 passes off 46 attempts for 331 yards. He threw one touchdown pass and got a quarterback rating of 79.2.
Against Baltimore Ravens
Rams’ defence continued to allow the opponents to score while the offence strived to rush and score.
The Rams were victimised badly in their third game when Ravens travelled to St. Louis.
Ravens scored three touchdowns in the first quarter to get 21 points ahead of the opponents.
The lead was stretched in the next quarter when the Ravens scored two field goals.
Rams managed a touchdown in the third quarter, but by that time Ravens had already scored 30 points.
Ravens scored another touchdown in the final quarter to win the game, 37-7.
Bradford was miserable throughout the game. He found it difficult to send accurate passes and could only find receivers for 16 out of his 32 passes for 166 yards only. He sent a touchdown pass and an interception, ending up with a quarterback rating of 62.8.
To be continued...
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