Have I ever told you guys how much I love the St. Louis Rams?
I’ve had my moments of doubt, where I’ve begged them to move to LA or sworn on all that is holy that I would never watch another one of their games. Yet here I am, giddy following a dominant win against an admittedly horrendous Redskins team, asking myself if we really are as good as so many in the preseason thought we would be.
I’ve watched nearly every Rams game in its entirety this season, save for the Philadelphia game (I was still making my way back to Columbia following a weekend in Vegas to celebrate my 21st. The things that happened in Nevada can not be repeated in this column.)
Having watched so much Rams football, I can tell you that the growth of this team has been simply remarkable. It hasn’t taken place on a week-to-week basis, but it has manifested itself now. When we played the Chiefs at Arrowhead and we missed a field goal in the second quarter, I turned to my buddy next to me and said, “I don’t want to leave, but I can tell you right now that this game is over.” The Chiefs scored 24 unanswered points following that miss.
Fast forward to last Sunday, when kicker Greg Zuerlein missed two field goals in the second quarter. A couple months ago, this team would’ve let something like that derail the entire game. Instead, on Sunday, they stayed even keeled and proceeded to keep their foot on the gas to finish off the Redskins in the second half.
The majority of the credit for the sudden turnaround goes to the much-hyped Rams defense. The defense is finally starting to play like one of the league’s top five best. With the return of Chris Long two weeks ago, the Rams have been compiled 13 sacks. The defensive line has now proven that it deserves to be in the conversation as possibly the best in the league.
Aaron Donald is rated the best defensive tackle in the NFL by Pro Football Focus and Robert Quinn is playing like Robert Quinn. Going back all the way to the Denver game, though the defense is clearly playing with more overall confidence and swagger. The young secondary (which could be dominant in the next couple years if the Rams can develop these guys) has been flying all over the field, with a number of memorable big hits from the past couple of weeks. With the exception of a blown coverage play against the Broncos, this secondary has looked completely in sync. There is little in life that brings me more joy than watching the Rams’ defensive backs celebrating a big play with each other.
While the defense has been outstanding the last several weeks, it’s important to point out that quarterback Shaun Hill is now 3-1 since returning to the starting role. Hill performed perfectly on Sunday, going 16-22 with two touchdowns and most importantly no interceptions.
And sweet mother of God, Tavon “I’m Awesome” Austin is scoring touchdowns! Sunday made it three straight weeks that Tavon has found the endzone, and while none of them have been receiving touchdowns (damn you, Brian Schottenheimer) it has still been a relief to see the first round draft pick from two years ago find paydirt.
The Rams won’t make the playoffs. That is a fact I admitted long ago. But if they can win out, they’ll go 9-7, which is about one game short of what people projected they would do had Sam Bradford been healthy.
I realize that’s a huge “if,” and if the Rams drop all three, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest. That said, I encourage Rams fans to hold nothing back while cheering on this team the next three weeks. Although the team hasn’t played perfectly the past few weeks, it’s certainly the best the team has looked in years.
With the Rams, you never know if this is as good as it’s gonna get.