Oct 31st 2008 11:28PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Rams, NFC West You have to love NFL receivers! They seem to have more drama surrounding them than any other position in sports. Well, add in Rams wide-out Torry Holt to the list of receivers who hate not getting any attention.Interviewer from St. Louis Post Dispatch: Are you surprised that you’re not getting the ball more?

Holt: “Yeah, absolutely, I’m surprised. But I guess they feel that Donnie obviously has been stepping up and making some huge plays, and they want to continue to get him the football.”

Interviewer: Are you frustrated?

Holt: “Absolutely. When you go from getting as many opportunities and touches that I’ve had in the past to not nearly as many, yeah, there’s definitely a sense of frustration.”By the way, Holt leads the Rams in receptions and is second to Donnie Avery for receiving yards. Lately, Avery has become a go-to guy for Marc Bulger and is getting a lot of attention for his good play.

Again, this is a St. Louis Rams team that started 0-4, then beat the Redskins and Cowboys before losing a close game in New England last week. Crying about your role now looks extremely selfish and petty.

Oct 28th 2008 2:45PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Colts, Eagles, Falcons, Giants, Patriots, Rams, Steelers, Titans, NFL Referees

We’ve already discussed roughing calls a few times this year. The calls deemed questionable to the masses, though, continue to appear at an alarming rate. Every time I send the email to our NFL FanHouse group asking for calls they’d like analyzed, I’m bombarded with emails about roughing the passer or unnecessary roughness more than anything else.
We also know the law has been laid down all season by Commissioner Roger Goodell about safety — to which Troy Polamalu had a few choice words. Coincidentally, the madness helped Troy’s team this week. Well, sort of. In a poetic justice-type move, the Steelers ended up turning the ball over a few plays after the drive was extended via a 15 yard penalty on the Giants’ Kenny Phillips.

Phillips laid Mewelde Moore out on the play, but he only appeared to take a step and a half or so before hitting Moore with his shoulder pads. The ball had gone in and out of Moore’s hands. At full-speed, there’s no way you can ask a defender to pull up from that close. He couldn’t avoid contact unless he wasn’t doing his job as a defensive player.Continue Reading

Oct 28th 2008 5:30PM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Patriots, Rams, AFC East, NFC West
Hey, NFL, Rams head coach Jim Haslett wants you to know that he knows that you know that the officials probably missed a call or 12 during Sunday’s St. Louis-New England game. You see, the Rams lost 23-16 thanks, in part, to a late Marc Bulger interception, but the whopping zero flags thrown on the Patriots probably didn’t help things.

Snyder touched on it in the latest Zebra Report: “I do wonder how it’s possible for an NFL team to play 60 minutes of football and not be assessed any penalty yardage.” Yeah, so does Haslett.

Which is why he’s going through the weekly ritual of sending the game tape to the league.Continue Reading

Oct 26th 2008 12:10PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Rams, NFL Injuries, NFL Rumors
Steven Jackson looked like the best early reason to make Jim Haslett another cool million … then the NFL stepped in and decided that Haslett’s contract wasn’t good.

Of course, with the news that Jackson has been officially deactivated, it may not matter.

Yes, that’s correct — the suddenly white hot St. Louis Rams are now without their best player as they head into a Week 8 matchup, because Jackson won’t be playing. He was heavily rumored to be “85% unlikely to start” all this morning and now NFL.com confirms that the Rams have put him on the inactive list.

Should be fun for Marc Bulger and Haslett. Okay, maybe it’ll be fun for Antonio Pittman, but he’s the only one.

Pittman is a last second gamble if you’re desperate for a low end RB2 or a flex play, but for the most part, the Rams running game should be avoided today. Obviously bench Jackson. Donnie Avery suddenly looks pretty appealing as a WR3 and Torry Holt should be heavily involved in the offense as well.

Oct 25th 2008 3:35PM by Bruce Ciskie (author feed)
Filed under: Rams, NFC West, NFL Coaching The Rooney Rule is well-intentioned.

It’s designed to assure that minority coaching candidates get their fair shot at jobs. It’s a jab at the “good ol’ boy” network, as you can’t just hire some random retread who has a .450 win percentage but led a team to a 9-7 season once. Well, you can hire that guy, but not before you go through an actual interview process.

Anyway, the St. Louis Rams tried to — in essence — sneak past the Rooney Rule. They fired Scott Linehan, named defensive coordinator Jim Haslett the interim coach, and then gave Haslett a contract that calls for him to be named the full-time head coach automatically if he leads the Rams to six wins.

PFT reported that this provision caused Dan Rooney, owner of the Steelers and namesake of the rule, to lob a phone call to the league office.

Now, CBSSports.com’s Pete Prisco (via PFT) reports the league has voided Haslett’s contract.Continue Reading

Oct 24th 2008 11:15AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, AZ Cardinals, Bears, Bengals, Bills, Broncos, Browns, Buccaneers, Chargers, Chiefs, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Eagles, Falcons, Jaguars, Jets, Lions, Giants, Packers, Panthers, Patriots, Raiders, Rams, Ravens, Redskins, Saints, Seahawks, Steelers, Titans, Vikings, NFL Gambling, NFL Media Watch Just another limp-D 8-6 week. I wonder when I’ll finally break through and sniff a double digit win week? Hmm. Maybe this week? Nah. Probably not. The season record now stands at a “creeping-on-a-comeback” 47-53-1 record. And somehow I forgot to post my locks. They will be there this week and indicated by ** some sort of thing. Onto the picks.

The Falcons are a bizarre story — I know they’re winning but I watched the Panthers beat them and … well, I just don’t think they’re as good as their record. I also think the Eagles are better than their record. So I’ll take the ridiculous nine points.

What a stout freaking line that is, and I suppose it’s indicative of just how crappy the Chiefs are; the Jets, if you recall, did actually just lose to the Raiders. Which, while embarrassing enough, still isn’t as bad as having to start Tyler Thigpen at quarterback. This really will be a true test of Herm Edwards’ crappiness.

Ummm, did I miss something? Because Jim Haslett is undefeated this season. Oh right. I didn’t watch any football Monday night. That’s why they’re so heavily favored. Still, Haslett.

Well, that’s just not enough. What a slap in the face to the Buffalo Bills … yoooooooour 2008 AFC Champions*.

Continue Reading

Oct 21st 2008 2:50PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Rams, NFC West, NFL Injuries, NFL Coaching Steven Jackson left Sunday’s game against the Cowboys with a thigh injury. His last carry was at the 7:45 mark of the fourth quarter, and the Rams sported a 34-7 lead against a team being quarterbacked by Brad Johnson. Considering Jackson is the focal point of the Rams offense, you can bet the Second Guess Police will be all over Rams’ Head Coach Jim Haslett for having not pulled Jackson a bit earlier in the game. According to Haslett, they’d be correct: “I wanted to get him out, I wanted to get Marc (Bulger) out, I wanted to get Torry (Holt) out,” Haslett said. “I wanted to actually get a couple of the guards out and get some of the younger players in.

“We had a big enough lead that we actually could have got a quarter’s worth of work with those guys. It would’ve been nice to get those guys in, so I kind of screwed that up.”So when did he want them taken out? Get this: “Actually, on that play he got hurt I told (the assistant coaches) to just make sure to get Jackson out of there - and he got hurt that play.”If you believe him, that’s a horrible coincidence for the Rams.Continue Reading

Oct 20th 2008 3:57PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Rams, NFC West, NFL Coaching The Cowboys were throttled by the Rams in St. Louis yesterday, sparked by a 21-point first quarter. Needless to say, the Rams came ready to play. “Those guys came out hungry today,” Terrell Owens said later in the Dallas locker room. “Haslett did a good job coaching those guys and they came out fired up and they played well.”Oh, you don’t know the half of it, T.O.

Apparently the Rams’ now undefeated coach, Jim Haslett, put on a little show for the Rams that would make Lou Pinella jealous. According to reports, the coach thought the quiet demeanor of his players before the game was an indication they were a bit nervous or tense. He found the antidote:A couple of chairs went down, and a few curse words went up as Haslett offered a very special critique of “America’s Team.”

“It was short and sweet,” quarterback Marc Bulger said. “But it was full of explicit words.”Now that, my friends, is how you motivate a group of rich athletes. Every man who makes it all the way to the NFL has some sort of mean streak inside them, competitive fury, and will respond to violence. The proof is in the pudding, as the Rams took down the Cowboys with ease.Continue Reading

Oct 20th 2008 8:30AM by Ryan Wilson (author feed)
Filed under: Colts, Cowboys, Packers, Rams, NFL FansWe’re only seven weeks into the 2008 season, so it’s way too early to declare any team with four wins done for the year. But, well, the Dallas Cowboys are as close as you can get. In the last 10 days they’ve seen Commissar Goodell suspend “Adam” Pacman Jones indefinitely for a bathroom cat fight with his team-appointed bodyguard, an overtime game to the Cardinals dropped, and Tony Romo and Felix Jones lost to injuries.

And yesterday, they were the recipients of a Rams-administered beatdown, courtesy of running back Steven Jackson, who went for 156 yards on 25 carries, and three touchdowns. (Random, hindsight-is-20/20 draft note: good thing Dallas passed on Jackson in 2004 to take Julius Jones.)Continue Reading

Oct 20th 2008 9:30AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, Rams, NFC East, NFC West Oh yeah, I know: “We woulda totally whupped em if tony had bin playin”

Save it, homers.

The St. Louis Rams dominated the Dallas Cowboys today. Yes, the major difference was not total yardage or first downs. It was turnovers … and Brad Johnson had three of them. Would Tony Romo have prevented Marion Barber from losing his fumble? And what about on the other side of the ball?

The Cowboys defense was ranked 10th in the NFL, allowing an average of 300 yards per game. Well, they allowed the Rams to pile up 325 … a Rams offense which was only gaining an average of 237 (good for 31st in the NFL). Romo doesn’t play linebacker.

I understand the Cowboys have injury issues on defense. Of course, the issues are in the secondary — even moreso with the defensive Roy Williams going down. None of the front seven were banged up entering the game, though, and Steven Jackson — with his patchwork offensive line — embarrassed the formerly seventh ranked run defense with 160 yards on 25 carries.Continue Reading