‘Hawks pull out narrow victory despite ‘Little’ resistance

By Steve Reynolds  |   Tuesday, October 17, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

St. Louis Rams
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In a production that had been played out seemingly countless times before, the St. Louis Rams were staring defeat in the face when the fates of fortune intervened and once again handed them a chance at a miracle victory.

They're fickle, those fates.

Holding a six-point lead, the Seahawks needed only to bleed the final 2:48 from the clock and kick an easy field goal for an insurmountable lead. Then, with his only concern being to protect the football, Maurice Morris was stripped by Leonard Little. Jimmy Kennedy recovered and gave the Rams their latest shot at an improbable victory (Disclaimer: The writer and RealFootball365.com cannot be held responsible for the strong sense of déjà vu instilled by the previous paragraph).

Leonard Little, as he has done many times this season, gave his team a shot at a miraculous comeback, and the Rams' offense would make good on its opportunity. With 1:54 remaining on the clock, Marc Bulger made the mistake of hitting a single-covered Torry Holt deep over the middle for a 67-yard bomb and the touchdown that would put the Rams up with a little more than a minute-and-a-half left in the game.

That's right, I said mistake.

You see, the Rams failed to heed the lessons of history. Let's set the way back machine to Feb. 3, 2002, and a little game known as Super Bowl XXXVI. The heavily-favored Rams were being handed their heads by the upstart New England Patriots. The Patriots were up 17-3 in the fourth quarter, when the Rams woke up and mounted a furious comeback to tie the score with (stop me if this sounds familiar) a minute-and-a-half left in the game. The whole world was privy to what happened next: the Patriots easily drove down the field against a suspect Rams defense, stopped the clock in field goal range with a handful of seconds left and launched the kick heard 'round the world.

Are we beginning to see a pattern here? On Sunday, Seattle drove into field goal range against little resistance and won a game that should have been the latest in a series of miracle comebacks for the Rams. The Rams' offense shouldn't need to worry about scoring "too early" at the end of close games due to the porous defense's penchant toward giving up at the end.

Now, the Rams can blame the loss on any number of factors, such as the two highly suspect pass interference penalties that launched the Seattle comeback or Steven Jackson's Saturday Night Fever-like performance in the backfield. He netted a mere 56 yards at a 2.8 average per carry. However, there is a much more insidious culprit that can be fingered.

Blame, thy name is defense.

The Rams dominated the first half, mounting impressive drives that led to three touchdowns. The defense allowed only a single score, forcing Seattle to punt on the remainder of their drives. At halftime, conventional wisdom suggested continued dominance by the Rams in the second half.

If the 2006 Rams have proven anything, it's that their games are anything but conventional.

The Rams' defense crumbled in the second half, allowing Seattle's slumbering offense to spring to life to the tune of two touchdowns and four field goal attempts (three were made, including the final blow). While the special teams regressed with an ill-timed fourth quarter Kevin Curtis fumble that led to a Seattle touchdown, the Rams' offense played well enough to win and cannot be blamed for a defeat that puts the team at a serious disadvantage to Seattle in the battle for the NFC West crown.

In order to remain in contention with the Seahawks, the Rams must shore up their defense and cannot rely on Leonard Little, nor the hand of fate to intervene after the 'D' turns victory into defeat. Granted, despite the loss, the Rams showed up for this game and head into their bye week with a decent record of 4-2. In playing the defending NFC champs to a standstill, they have earned the respect of the league.

That respect is little consolation to the Rams.

Get more perspective on the St. Louis Rams at RealFootball365.com
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