> RamView, October 1, 2006
> From Row HH
> (Report and opinions from the game.)
> Game #3: Rams 41, Lions 34
>
> For Mike Martz's return to St. Louis, what could be more fitting than a
> crazy offensive shootout with bad Ram defense and kick coverage? For
> all the offense the Lions rang up, though, Scott Linehan's Rams more
> than kept up, and it turned out that Martz's team would be done in yet
> again by that old bugaboo, turnovers. The more things change, the more
> the importance of winning the turnover battle stays the same.
>
> Position by position:
> * QB: On a day where the Ram defense inexplicably cooled way off, Marc
> Bulger picked the right time to get hotter than he has all year,
> flinging to the tune of 26-42-328 with 3 TD. Give Marc the game ball
> today for his superb composure in the pocket, along with his accuracy
> and decision-making. A lot of Marc's key plays came with him stepping
> up to avoid the rush. There were a couple of screen passes to Steven
> Jackson that Marc threw from such wacky angles you thought they were
> actually playing with a ball on a string. Marc made a lot of big plays
> in leading the offense to 41 points, nearly doubling their season
> total. He hit Isaac Bruce for 33 to set up the Rams' first FG, but it
> may have been just as important that he hurried the offense to the line
> to avoid a possible coach's challenge. He helped turn Detroit
> turnovers into ten points, including a nice TD pass to Joe
> Klopfenstein. He brought the Rams back from a halftime deficit with a
> simply beautiful sideline pass to Bruce for 24 before hitting Torry
> Holt with a 16-yard TD. The Rams fell behind, retook the lead after a
> long DPI, then fell behind again. Down 34-30, Marc just barely missed
> Shaun McDonald for a TD, and the Rams settled for a FG. Driving again,
> after a rare defensive stop, Marc rolled right and made a tough
> completion to Bruce for a 5-yard TD with 2:00 left. The Rams got a
> crucial two-point conversion because Bulger hit secondary receiver
> Bruce in the back of the end zone after checking off a covered Holt.
> Today's performance, his second straight 300-game, and more
> importantly, second straight win, makes it seem safe to say that Marc
> Bulger has a good grasp on the Ram offense.
>
> * RB: Steven Jackson's run production is down a little the last
> couple of weeks (22-81 today), but he's more than making up for it in
> the passing game (6-65). Steven is really turning that middle screen
> into a dangerous play, making himself all the more dangerous a player
> in the process. He did break the dancing shoes out too often today,
> though. The Ram settled for their second FG because Steven couldn't
> punch it in on two tries from the 1, and lousy refereeing on 3rd down.
> He got the Rams out of a hole with a 27-yard run in the 1st, and he
> scored his first TD of the year in the 3rd, but neither was his biggest
> or coolest play. The coolest was the first down he gained on the
> Rams' last FG drive, using the umpire as a screen to break the play
> outside. His biggest play was the screen he took 22 yards behind a
> solid block from Torry Holt well into Detroit territory on the Rams'
> winning TD drive. Right after that play, Stephen Davis (4-26) came in
> from out of nowhere to bash Detroit for 18 yards on 3 carries. That's
> a heck of a good change of pace, and the Steves as a unit had a heck of
> a good game, rushing for over 100 yards.
>
> * WR: Torry Holt had a slow first half, 2 catches for 23 yards (though
> he was robbed of a 1st-quarter TD - ahem), and it looked like he was
> going to be owned by his old buddy Dre Bly just like in the Rams'
> awful loss to Detroit in '03. But Torry turned the tide right away in
> the second half, catching a short pass and putting a move on Dre that
> made him fall on his face, possibly interrupting Dre's obnoxious
> stream of smack talk. That play seemed to catch Torry on fire. He ended
> that drive with a 16-yard TD catch where he was open for the entire
> route. Torry also drew a brutal 40-yard DPI on Jamar Fletcher at the
> Lion 5 to set up a TD. Isaac Bruce (7-100) was probably more important
> today than Torry. Catching the game-winning TD and two-pointer
> conversion doesn't hurt that argument. Ike's 33-yard catch set up
> the Rams' opening FG, and he caught two on the drive that ended with
> Torry's TD. How about the blocking by the Rams' "finesse"
> receivers today? Isaac took out two Lions downfield on Torry's
> 33-yard reception that set up a FG in the 4th. Jackson's 22-yarder
> that set up Isaac's winning TD was broken open by a big block by
> Torry near the sideline. Great stuff. I don't want to forget Joe
> Klopfenstein's first career TD, a nice catch that put the Rams up
> 13-3. Glad to see Klop has good hands, because he needs to make the
> most of the rare chances he gets.
>
> * Offensive line: It didn't always feel like it watching them live, but
> with just one sack and 100+ rushing yards, the Ram offensive line had a
> very effective game, even without Orlando Pace. Especially major was
> the job they did on Shaun Rogers. Jim Hanifan raved about Adam
> Goldberg's performance all game long on radio, and it looked like the
> Lions were trying to get Rogers different matchups because he
> couldn't do anything with Goldberg. Kalimba Edwards beat Todd
> Steussie for Detroit's only sack, but the Rams actually gained from the
> play because of a facemask penalty. Steussie just doesn't have the
> nimbleness to keep speed rushers from pressuring the QB. Thanks to Marc
> stepping up or unloading just in time, though, Steussie's weaknesses
> didn't result in sacks, though there were many occasions to yell, "Look
> out, Marc!". Steussie did engulf the DE at the goal line to make
> Jackson's TD run an easy one. He and Richie Incognito each got flagged
> for holding, and Incognito had a low shotgun snap that messed up the
> timing of a third-down quick pass, but given the shake-ups this
> offensive line has been through, they did a very admirable job today.
>
> * Defensive line/LB: Oof. It was a frustrating day for the Ram defense,
> which shut Kevin Jones down early but couldn't sustain it, and which
> failed almost miserably at pressuring a Mike Martz QB. Fortunately, Jon
> Kitna (29-43-280) started the day in a gift-giving mood, bobbling a
> fake to his fullback almost like Bulger did last week. LaRoi Glover
> covered it up, leading to a FG. Leonard Little sacked Kitna at the Ram
> 9 to force Detroit's first FG, though Detroit had walked right down
> there. The combo of Will Witherspoon and Pisa Tinoisamoa stuffed Jones,
> who had only 35 yards at halftime, on 3rd down with the Rams up 13-3.
> That lead didn't last, though, as Kitna got all day to hit his
> receivers. Detroit took the lead on back-to-back drives ending in Mike
> Furrey TDs, the second one coming in the 2nd despite Pisa's sack of
> Kitna - the Rams' last of the day - the play before. Pisa knocked
> Kitna down with his shoulder, after re-injuring his elbow and getting
> it re-wrapped earlier in the drive. Five-O is playing with one arm out
> there, as gutsy as it is painful to think about. The Ram d-line could
> use some of Pisa's resolve. Leonard Little has become the Albert
> Pujols of the line, the only player doing anything out there and
> carrying everybody else. There's way too much of Leonard drawing
> double-teams while the rest of the line gets stood up. That? Is a
> formula for disaster. Victor Adeyanju couldn't carry over last
> week's success, and you won't find a tackle at NFL.com for either
> Anthony Hargrove or Brandon Green, both of whom were in there. A big
> goal line stand held Detroit to a FG after a long kickoff return and a
> couple of personal fouls on Little in the 3rd, but Detroit came back
> with a 34-yard Jones TD run on 3rd-and-2. Will Witherspoon whiffed on
> the play, or it's a tackle-for-loss. A play Will simply has to make.
> The Rams retook the lead at 30-27, but the Ram non-existent pass rush
> let Kitna and Co. stroll right back into scoring range, where Mike
> Martz suckered the Ram D with a Jones draw play TD. Blitzes did not get
> through at all, even against Detroit's depleted offensive line. With
> the Rams down 34-33 and needing a stop, though, the defense started
> coming up big. Pisa and Jimmy Kennedy stuffed a pass to Jones for a
> loss, and some actual pressure on third down rushed Kitna into throwing
> a poor pass that wide open Az Hakim couldn't corral. Once the offense
> got the 41-34 lead, the defense finally protected it. Little hit Kitna
> as he threw, gaining an INT for Jerome Carter. On Detroit's last
> desperate attempt to tie the game, Witherspoon dropped back deep in
> coverage to deflect a bomb that saved a pass interference penalty, if
> not a TD. Beautiful play. And pressure on the last play of the game
> made it too hard for Kitna to hit Roy Williams in the back of the end
> zone with a long pass. The Rams won, but clearly exposed a big question
> mark. They can't pressure with just a 4-man rush, and no one's
> stepped up to this point as a rusher to complement Little. The Rams
> need to answer that question quickly.
>
> * Secondary: Lack of pass rush really made the Ram secondary look like
> government mules, or heavy cream, or anything else that gets whipped a
> lot. Now, Roy Williams (9-139) is hard to cover. The Rams certainly
> have no one who could. Williams fueled Detroit's first FG drive with
> 43 yards. OJ Atogwe seemed to slow down the sangfroid and Roy show by
> jumping Williams' route for a great pickoff that helped set the Rams
> up with a 13-3 lead. Then, it hit, like some great fury. With little
> pass rush going, Mike Furrey made Ram DBs look like, well, himself last
> year. He beat Travis Fisher and Tye Hill on dumpoffs for a first down.
> Fakhir Brown next was so overmatched by Williams, he couldn't stop a
> 19-yard floater to the Ram 3 even though he had turned and saw it
> coming. Two plays later, TD pass to - Furrey. The fury had not yet
> abated. Fisher lost Furrey again on a 3rd-and-7 for 11. Three straight
> Williams catches for 41 got the Lions in close before Kitna threw a
> near-miracle pass on a line for - Furrey, who beat Hill in the back of
> the end zone. Six catches and two TDs in the first half for Mike
> Freaking Furrey! Ye gods (TM, TMQ). The second half started out better.
> Corey Chavous stuffed Kevin Jones for a loss at the Ram 4, and Travis
> Fisher made an excellent open-field play to keep Dan Campbell out of
> the end zone, to get the Rams a big goal-line stand. Then bad tackling
> set back in. Chavous was awful on Jones' long TD run, but that one
> never should have made it past the LOS. Atogwe got steamrolled on
> Jones' 2nd TD run. On that drive, FURREY beat Brown for 22 and Az
> Hakim - yep, him, - beat Fisher for 9 on 3rd-and-8. Down 34-33,
> Hakim gets left wide open on 3rd-and-5, but Kitna's throw is luckily
> off. The Rams took the lead after that, and you're screaming now for
> anybody to make a play, and anybody does, as Jerome Carter snatches an
> errant throw for an INT. Which slows Detroit only down a little. They
> get right back across midfield, and down 7 with :16 left, Hakim gets
> way too clean a run downfield, Kitna has him, and Hill crashes into him
> in the end zone for a brutal DPI, but - Will Witherspoon had made the
> rookie's gaffe moot by tipping the pass at the goal line, maybe the
> Rams' best pass coverage of the day. If Mike Martz becomes a head
> coach again, please let it be an NCAA or CFL job. I never want to see
> these guys attempt to defend his offense ever again. But if the Rams
> don't get a better pass rush, the secondary is going to have a hard
> time not sending the Mike Furreys of the world to the Hall of Fame on
> underneath crossing patterns.
>
> * Special teams: Tye Hill will be an overlooked star of the game. Eddie
> Drummond might have had three kickoff return TDs today if not for
> Hill's speed and tackling ability. Paul Smith's trainwreck collision
> with Frank Davis notwithstanding, the Ram coverage unit had an awful
> time trying to attack Detroit's wedge, which often gave Drummond wide
> gaps to hit. And left Hill to clean up, which he did each time. Matt
> Turk averaged 43.8 a punt with outstanding hang time, as Drummond
> managed only 2 yards returning punts, vs. 210 on 6 kickoffs. But have
> the Rams worn Jeff Wilkins out? He hit four more FGs, but one from 40+
> barely limped over the crossbar, and he missed a 47-yarder late that
> would have put the game away.
>
> * Coaching/discipline: Naturally, after a couple of exasperating
> seasons here, Mike Martz would come back and coach like a genius again.
> Where were the noodle-headed reverses on third-and-short? Where were
> the
> send-everybody-40-yards-downfield-and-get-the-QB-killed-when-he-has-no-outlet-receiver
> plays? Furrey slaughtered the Ram secondary with underneath patterns on
> plays where Kitna couldn't find a man deep. On Kevin Jones' first
> TD, Martz is suddenly Bill Cowher and calling a run between the tackles
> on third-and-short? Where was that last year, Mike? And the draw for
> Jones' 2nd TD was an excellent call; a pass was widely expected
> there. It was same-old-Mad-Mike in some ways; 44 passes called vs. 20
> runs and a couple of wacky timeouts, but Martz just about kicked Jim
> Haslett's ass up and down the field. Haslett found no way to put good
> pressure on the Lion QB, and didn't impress schematically by making
> his main blitz strategy just bringing Corey Chavous all the time.
> Before handing Martz a moral victory by unanimous decision, though,
> let's not forget about turnovers. They were all-but ignored here by
> Martz, but are very emphasized by the new staff. The turnover
> scoreboard today: Lions 3, Rams 0. So before cutting Haslett's game
> plan to ribbons, it's worth it to remember who won the war, and how.
> Mad Mike had a close-to-kindred spirit today in "Loony Linnie", as
> the Rams called 43 passes and 26 runs. Klop's TD was sweet; Detroit
> completely bought that he was in to block, and he slipped off the line
> just about unnoticed. And hey, look what worked this week: the goal
> line rollout pass, and this time, the primary receiver, Bruce, was
> open. Great idea to pass there, period, instead of running and likely
> settling for a 36-34 lead. I do think there's some constructive
> criticism for today's game, though. The hurry-up drill at the end of
> the first half was botched. No one seemed to have the right idea of
> when to spike and when to call timeout. And I'm still not sure if
> going for the late FG was the right move. I guess it was, since it was
> a chance to put the game away. I was leaning toward going for it on
> 4th-and-2, but a fumble there is probably more likely than a blocked
> kick. A pooch punt would have worked for me as well, because I wasn't
> too taken with the idea of putting any faith in the Ram defense at that
> point. But Linehan's decision worked out. Rod Marinelli may be
> Detroit's actual head coach, but as far as Rams Nation is concerned,
> Mike Martz is the main man, and Scott Linehan scored a big symbolic
> victory by winning out today.
>
> * Upon further review: It didn't take Larry Nemmers and crew very long
> to earn RamView's first officiating "F" of the season. Torry Holt
> SCORED A TOUCHDOWN on the second Ram possession. He broke the plane of
> the goal line with the ball while in full control of it. Anything
> afterwards didn't matter. The play ended when Torry SCORED THE TD. This
> looked obvious on the surprisingly many looks we got of the play on the
> Jumbotron; I have no idea why Nemmers didn't see it during the replay
> challenge, but blowing a TD call in a game this close earns an
> automatic F. The roughing penalty on Little in the third was very
> unpopular, but I'm one of the few present who thought that was a
> correct application of the Carson Palmer Rule instated before this
> year, even as I wonder why there wasn't a Trent Green Rule after the
> 1999 season. And I don't know what to say about the overruled DPI at
> the end of the game that nearly handed Detroit the tying TD. I'm glad
> they finally got the call right, but the official blew it badly
> initially by failing to account for Witherspoon tipping the ball.
> Congrats on managing to blow only one crucial end zone call, guys.
>
> * Cheers: It was a struggle in row HH today, what with the inadvertent
> nacho bath that made me miss Detroit's first fumble, to the drunken
> fratboys in GG who rendered my binoculars useless by standing up
> constantly in the middle of plays. Standing up during plays is always a
> hot topic around here. On one hand, you want to have enthusiastic,
> exuberant fans. Hell, Bernie Miklasz tells us stadium fans all the time
> we suck because we're not standing on every play. On the other hand,
> didn't I buy a ticket for a seat? And Sec. 414 would likely tell you
> that screwball in HH with the binoculars is perfectly capable of
> hootin' and hollerin' without standing up and blocking everyone's view.
> But every time I hear this discussed, the villain is the guy who
> complains about the people standing up, and I wasn't up for any
> villainy today. But dammit, good fans though you may be, stand up and
> applaud AFTER plays, people. The crowd was good and loud, though,
> especially when booing the referees. Martz got nice applause around the
> visitors' tunnel as the teams left for halftime. I didn't care for that
> any more than I did for the Warner standing O last year. Yeah, we're
> losing at halftime; cheer for one of the other team's coaches. The
> halftime show was another raucous flag unfurling, this time a
> heavily-official-bank-of-the-Rams-sponsored banner paying tribute to
> breast cancer survivors. Oh, and there was opera music, that is, a
> soprano singing something, and I don't mean Tony. Who's the
> buzz-harsher at Rams Park that decided halftime shows should be
> sobering events, as opposed to having, oh, I don't know, marching
> bands, or dogs catching Frisbees? Who are they going to bring in to pep
> us up at halftime next game? Katrina survivors? Holocaust survivors?
> Burn victims?
>
> * Who's next?: Green Bay's Lambeau Field has long been one of
> football's cathedrals and one of the toughest places on road teams. The
> latter hasn't been the case so far this year, though Green Bay's home
> losses are to the powerhouse Bears and the surprising Saints. The last
> time the Rams were in Lambeau, though, they bombed 45-17 on national
> television, as Isaac Bruce coughed up two fumbles returned for TDs, and
> the defense completely crapped out against Najeh Davenport's 178 yards,
> nine-plus a carry.
>
> The good news for the Rams is that defense is a mere memory, and so is
> the now-Steeler Davenport, who they never seemed to have an answer for.
> The Packer running game is entirely on the back of Ahman Green, who is
> trying to bounce back from a season-ending injury last year. Heading
> into today, Green averages just 71 yards a game and 3.7 a carry, and
> continuing a career-long pattern, has already fumbled three times,
> losing two. A lot of the rushing struggles can likely be attributed to
> the Green Bay offensive line, which is very, well, green, with rookies
> at both guard positions. The Pack are capable at tackle, though,
> especially with Chad Clifton at LT, and allowed just five sacks in
> their first three games. Though it looked this preseason like Brett
> Favre made a monumental mistake not retiring, he already has a couple
> of 340+ yard games this year. Besides his favorite receiver Donald
> Driver, the Rams will have to be wary of the Packer TEs near the goal
> line, and of speedy rookie Greg Jennings, an emerging field-stretcher.
> On the other hand, if the Rams can successfully pressure Favre, and it
> seems like blitzes right up the middle should be there all day, look
> for the Hall-of-Fame QB to bust out his myriad repertoire of idiotic
> throws for INTs. Brett can play as dumb as he can brilliant, and it is
> square on Jim Haslett to bring out that quality in him. Hopefully Corey
> Chavous will not be the Rams' only blitzer next week.
>
> The Pack are 30th in the NFL in total defense, 32nd against the pass,
> where they allow over 300 yards a game, and I doubt taking Donovan
> McNabb on tonight will help that rating much. You would think they'd
> be better against the pass with Al Harris and Charles Woodson in their
> backfield, but that's not the case. They seem pretty stacked at LB
> with Nick Barnett and rookie AJ Hawk, too. But the biggest threat on
> the Packer defense right now may be LDE Aaron Kampman, who has four
> sacks, though he didn't have any against Detroit, either. Kampman's
> a long-underestimated player who will be more than a handful for Alex
> Barron, and if Orlando Pace is still out, KGB on the right side could
> be way too much for Todd Steussie to handle. Bulger threw for 448 in
> his last visit to Lambeau, and the Rams were thoroughly dominated in
> the trenches in that game. If the Ram tackles hold their ground a
> little better than today, and the offense continues to take care of the
> ball, the rest may just take care of itself.
>
> Since one of our local sports radio jocks has ruined the Latin phrase
> forever, I'm left to ask the Rams to "seize the moment" next
> week, or actually, seize the momentum. Coming off two big wins, the
> Rams have a shot next at a team coming off a short week, likely with
> their third loss in four games. With a game against Seattle looming on
> the 15th, this looks like the first time Scott Linehan's had to keep
> himself and his team from looking ahead on the schedule. Avoiding that
> foible, and beating struggling teams while they're down, are a couple
> of qualities of consistent winners. The Rams will show us next week in
> Green Bay how close they are to achieving that level of play.
>
> -- Mike
> Game stats from nfl.com
>