As the “grapefruit” league winds down and the “real” season prepares to open the question that rings loud in Cardinals nation in 2012 is: “How resilient are the Redbirds?”

After winning the 2011 World Series against the Texas Rangers the Cardinals almost immediately lost several individuals who played major roles in building the foundation that produced two World Championships in the past seven seasons.

Only a few days after leading the Redbirds to victory manager Tony LaRussa decided to call it quits. He retired after 16 seasons with the Cardinals and 33 seasons as a major league manager.

Then on December 10, 2011 the Cardinals absorbed the biggest blow of all when all star first baseman and arguably the greatest player ever don a Cardinals jersey uprooted and signed a $254 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. 

Dave Duncan, the Cardinals pitching coach the past 16 seasons and LaRussa’s right hand man during his entire managerial career “unofficially” retired to care for his ailing wife. Duncan is considered one of the best in the business and will be sorely missed for his amazing ability to get the most out of  “average” pitchers.

So, can the Cardinals overcome these major departures, particularly Pujols, who barely missed an 11th consecutive season of batting .300, hitting 30 HR and batting in 100 runs when he hit .299 with 37 HR and 99 RBI’s? Can they compete at a high level and maintain the level of competition that St. Louis fans have come to expect over the years? In my humble opinion, I answer with a resounding YES!

Keep in mind that, despite his heroics in game 3 of the World Series in which Pujols  went 5 for 6, hit three HR and drove in six runs, the Cardinals did not win the World Series on his heroics alone. In fact, game 3 was Pujols’ only productive game of the series.  He managed only one hit in 19 at bats in the other six games of the series.

It was the heroics of 3B David Freese, who by the way remains with the team, who produced one clutch hit after another in the NL Championship Series and the World Series to secure wins for the Redbirds.  He became only the sixth player in major league history to be named the MVP of the NL Championship Series as well as the World Series in the same post season.

Despite the departures of key individuals the 2012 Cardinals appear to be in great shape. Although he has no managerial experience in the major leagues new Cardinals manager Mike Matheny inherits a team that, for the most part, is still intact from their championship season a year ago. Not a bad position to be in for a new guy.

With the addition of veteran Carlos Beltran,  American League rookie of the year with the Kansas City Royals in 1999 and six time all star,  the Cardinals fill a void left by Pujols’ departure. While Beltran is not expected to produce the type of numbers king Albert produced, his added fire power and experience to the team combined with the rising star of Freese and Matt Holliday should help Redbird fans forget about Albert Pujols, if that’s possible.

One could choose to count the Cardinals out after the loss of Pujols, LaRussa and Duncan.  But after watching the 2011 team mount a comeback of epic proportions and  dig themselves out of a hole big enough to swallow up the Grand Canyon to win it all and make a mockery of their many nay sayers in the process I wouldn’t be so quick to do that.

Though the 2012 Cardinals don’t have marquee names on the roster this team is very  capable of winning their division and possibly even more.  They will surely continue to compete on a high level and provide the excitement that is synonymous with Cardinals baseball.

The Cardinals open their regular season on  April 4, 2012 against the Miami Marlins.

The Rams host the Cincinnati Bengals this Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis looking for nothing more than to finish out the season. Even the old adage “we’re playing for pride” is no longer a valid statement because I would say even that is absent this season as evidenced by the Rams 2-11 record. I am in no way saying that the men on this team are not prideful individually. However, a losing record is one thing, but to show up to games and not even compete is not only another story but it’s totally unacceptable and does not define pride.

The Bengals ended the first half of the season as the most surprising team in the league after going 6-2. However, with the offense sputtering of late things have turned somewhat sour and so far in the second half of the season Cincinnati has gone 1-4 sufferinging two consecutive losses to Pittsburgh and Houston.  The once confident Bengals now need to finish out the season strong and get some much needed help along the way to make the playoffs this year.

There won’t be a whole lot to cheer about at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday as the Rams rank dead last in the league in scoring at 11.8 points per game. As a result I suspect that the Shrine of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, situated just north of the Dome will probably generate more noise and have a lot more to cheer about. And if you happen to be a Bengals fan and you’re in St. Louis for the game you won’t have much more to cheer about yourself. Cincinnati is ranked 18th in the league in scoring at only 21.9 points per game.  Although rookie QB Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green may cause some headaches for the Rams defense as they have for others.  Dalton has connected with Green on seven of his 18 TD’s this season.

Make sure you get some coffee to stay awake. This one is sure to be a real snoozer.

The St. Louis Rams will take on the Seattle Seahawks in prime time next  on Monday Night Football on ESPN. Obviously this is not the marquee match up the network envisioned when it originally scheduled the game. I’m certain the Rams are not interested in the entire nation witnessing the complete disarray their team is in and poor play they are exhibiting.  Although at 5-7 the Seahawks have seemingly turned things around and could factor into playoff picture with a strong finish. The Rams are simply looking for a few small victories in preparation for next year as their season is all but over.

The Seahawks are coming off an impressive 31-14 victory over the once much talked about Philadelphia Eagles last Thursday at Seattle giving them 10 days to prepare for the 2-10 Rams who they beat 24-7 last month in St. Louis. The Seahawks have won 3 of their last four games and have put themselves in position to make the playoffs as a possible wildcard berth.

The Rams on the other hand are coming off a 26-0 shutout at the hands of the revived San Francisco 49ers last Sunday. St. Louis lost QB A.J. Feeley to a thumb injury in that game as the 49ers used him as a punching bag on their way to winning their first division crown in nine years.

Rams' QB Tom Brandstater is prepared to start Monday if called upon

With QB Sam Bradford still nursing a high ankle sprain and still doubtful for Monday night’s game and Feeley out the Rams promoted QB Tom Brandstater from the practice squad this week and will most likely get the start on Monday night. The team also claimed former Texan’s QB Kellen Clemens off waivers after he was released by the team on Wednesday and will serve as Brandstater’s backup.

Newly acquired Rams' QB Kellen Clemens

The Rams obviously fell short of their goal in terms of wins on the season and are in search of  a few small victories as they focus their attention on next year.  To start QB Sam Bradford needs to finish the season strong after a less than spectacular sophomore season in the league.   Sure he has endured some injuries and has been the victim of poor play on the offensive line. However, for the most part this is the same line from 2010 when Bradford was named rookie of the year while passing for more than 3,500 yards and 18 touchdowns.  A strong ending to this season for Bradford will serve as a precursor as to how he begins the 2012 season.

The days of Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt are long gone and with them went game changing plays. While acquiring Brandon Lloydoffered some hope he’s not a big play kind of receiver. The Rams are still in desperate need of that type of guy.

Former Rams' WR Isaac Bruce Former Rams' WR Torry Holt

Denario Alexanderhas some promise but we have not seen enough of him to determine his full potential. The opportunity for someone to step up and establish himself as the go to guy for next season is wide open.

While these small victories cannot replace gameday victories it surely will help to bring some hope for a brighter season in 2012.

The Albert Pujols era in St. Louis has officially ended. The now former Cardinals’ slugger has inked an agreement with the Anaheim Angels for reportedly $250 million for 10 years. Now that it’s over people in Cardinals Nation can get back to their regularly scheduled lives as the Pujols saga has consumed most of them since the season ended.

Of course there are mixed emotions throughout the baseball world and particularly amongst St. Louis fans regarding Pujols‘ signing with the Angels.  I’ve heard from several Cardinals’ fans since the deal was announced this morning and some have expressed bitterness over his leaving St. Louis to sign for more money when he stated at one point money was not a determining factor in his decision. Others expressed relief that the Cardinals held firm on their offer and refused to get into a bidding war over the future hall of famers’ services. Still, others are conflicted and not sure what to feel.

While most in Cardinals Nation will struggle with placing their feelings regarding the loss of Pujols let me offer not necessarily my opinion, but simply food for thought on both sides of the fence that might ultimately help you to settle on an opinion of your own.

Let’s assume for a moment that the Cardinals resigned Pujols for $220 million over 10 years.  Let’s also assume that Pujols continued to perform at his current level for only five or possibly six  of the 10 years when he is 36 or 37. For a few reasons it still would have made perfectly good sense for Cardinals’ management to make that decision. The unproductive years could have easily been considered a repayment for what Pujols had accomplished when he was clearly underpaid (in 2004 he signed a $100 million contract.).  And let’s face it an “unproductive” season for Pujols is considered a good year for most. The Cardinals would have retained their franchise player and would have continued to benefit from however many productive years he had left as well as his drawing power at Busch Stadium (although that will continue to happen in spite of his departure.)   Pujols would have retired a St. Louis legend (and he still may) and a bronze statue would have been placed outside on the courtyards of Busch Stadium.

Conversely,  the Cardinals refusal to resign arguably the greatest player in team history makes very good sense.  The chances that Pujols continues to play at his current level for five or six years is questionable let alone for ten years. Considering the statistics of the average ball player at 35 numbers usually drop drastically,  and for many they fall totally off the radar. When you factor in injuries it could be a nightmare for a team to sign any player who is approaching his post prime era to an 8 years or more contract is simply bad business. A long term contract of that nature can drastically hinder a team’s ability to negotiate with other impact players.

Former Cardinal David Eckstein batting against Detroit Tigers in 2006 World Series

Be encouraged  Redbird fans the Cardinals will be just fine.  Your frustration at the loss of perhaps the best hitter in baseball over the last ten years is understandable. But think about it, Pujols would have left at least $30 million dollars on the table had he signed with the Cardinals. Would you walk away from $30 million? I believe Cardinals’ management will  continue to put a quality product on the field that will compete every year as we have come to expect.  The current team is one that is very solid  and has great potential to make another run at a championship next year. With pitcher Adam Wainwright set to return next year and the promising power of World Series MVP David Freese as well as the encouraging play of such players as Allen Craig and Lance Berkman this team is far from lacking.

Not to discredit Pujols at all but keep in mind the Cardinals won the World Series Championship in 2006 when the three time NL MVP batted only .200.  You might recall that a little guy by the name of David Eckstein was the MVP of that series as the Cardinals defeated the Detroit Tigers.  This past season the Redbirds defeated the Texas Rangers in seven games to claim their eleventh World Series Championships and again someone not named Pujols won the MVP. Pujols batted batted only .240 in the series as third baseman David Freese, who was also MVP of the NLCS against Milwaukee put on a hitting clinic throughout the post season to establish himself as a perennial hitter in his own right. Pujols did however, put on a hitting clinic of his own in game three of the World Series that will not soon be forgotten.

Make no mistake about it Pujols will be missed in St. Louis. Aside from his baseball resume his involvement with the local community on various levels speaks volumes of his character as a man. He has always been gracious in his dealings with the media as well as Cardinals’ fans. Simply a class act. 

With all of that said, Cardinals Nation will not only still live on, but will thrive in doing so.

I am certain that I’m not the lone Rams fan who wishes that this season would just end already and the draft begin.  In a season when St. Louis was projected to be better than the San Francisco 49ers it has been the anything but that as both teams have been a surprise in 2011. The rejuvenated Niners are head and shoulders above the disappointing Rams and proved it Sunday with a 26-0 shutout at Candlestick Park.

Everyone expected a rebuilding season this year after San Francisco ran beleaguered coach Mike Singletary out of town after a 6-10 campaign in 2010. But feisty head coach Jim Harbaugh has put himself ahead of the curve and exceeded expectations with an impressive first season by producing a division champion in San Francisco for the first time since 2002.

In contrast St. Louis has been a total disappointment and have fallen far short of fans and the orgainzations’ expectations in 2011 in what was supposed to be a coming out year for QB Sam Bradford.  After a rookie season in which Bradford was named “rookie of the year” with more than 3,500 yards passing he led the team to a 7-9 record barely missing the playoffs in 2010.

The 49ers Kyle Williams scores TD against Rams

Unfortunately for Bradford things have not panned out so well in this his sophomore season in the league.   While he has been plagued by injuries that have kept him out of three games Bradford has not been very sharp in the games in which he has played. His stats so far this year reads like so: 1,971 yards passing,  6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions.  He’s also fumbled ten times on the season and lost seven of them. In 2010 he had 5,512 yards passing, 18 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. 

I would venture to say that Sunday’s loss to the Niners was somewhat expected. It’s the shutout that’s got me totally mind boggled.  But to be unable to even get in field goal range is pretty pathetic. Replacing the once again injured Sam Bradford Rams’ QB A.J. Feeley threw for a paltry 156 yards and was running for his life most of the game. Feeley also made the perhaps the understatement of the day maybe even the season when he said, in part,  “we just can’t seem to put it all together,” in reference to his downtrodden Rams team. 

San Francisco's kicker David Akers celebrates one of his four field goals against the Rams on Sunday

San Francisco's WR Michael Crabtree scores on a 52 yard TD pass from QB Alex Smith

San Francisco did not exactly look like an offensive juggernaut themselves as the Rams’ defense did their part to keep the team in the game by turning the 49ers away four times in the red zone to force four David Akers field goals (three of them in the first half.)  However, the Rams’ offensive futility and two second half TD passes by QB Alex Smithmade this one a no contest and tossed 2011 projections out the proverbial window.

In the win running back Frank Gore rushed for 73 yards to become the franchises’ all time leading rusher 7,417 yards passing former 49er and Hall of Famer Joe Perry. 

The 2-9 St. Louis Rams will take on the 9-2 San Francisco 49ers this Sunday and they may have to do it without starting QB Sam Bradford who aggravated a high ankle sprain that kept him out of two games earlier in the season. Not that having Bradford will make much of a difference against  the 49ers, the NFC West Division leaders but their chances are increased dramatically with him in the game.

Unfortunately even with Bradford the Rams chances don’t increase very much. With a win Sunday the 49ers will clinch their first NFC West Division crown since 2002. The Niners come into Sunday’s game with the top rushing defense in the entire league this year. With their success so far in 2011 they have been the talk of the NFL after a dismal 2010 when they went 6-10 under former head coach Mike Singletary.

Current head coach Jim Harbaugh has instilled a defensive mindset in his team that has propelled them to new heights this year. So far in 2011 San Francisco has not allowed a rushing touchdown while yielding only 75 yards per game on the ground.  In fact Rams running back Steven Jackson is the last running back to gain more than 100 yards against San Francisco when he accomplished the feat in week 16 of last season.

The Rams should take that as a challenge and remove the shackles from their star running back Jackson and let him do what he do best and that is run the ball. During a three game stretch in which the Rams went 2-1 Jackson carried the ball an average of 27 times per game and gained 139 per contest. The Rams apparently were unhappy with his production, or at least one would think because they stopped giving him the ball. In the last two game Jackson has carried the ball on average 16 times and gained 53 yards per game.  On the other hand the Rams may find a hole in San Francisco’s passing game as they are giving up 240 yards per game through the air.  Hopefully Rams’ head coach Steve Spagnuolo will play it smart and take whatever the defense gives him.

The Rams’ defense is coming off a poor showing last week against the Arizona Cardinals in which they surrendered 228 yards (career high) to running back Beanie Wells. They won’t get to rest this week with Niners running back Frank Gore. Gore is fourth in the league in rushing with 909 yards and five touchdowns. He needs just 22 yards to eclipse Joe Perry’s total of 7,344 and become San Francisco’s all time leading rusher.  The Rams are last in the league allowing 159 rushing yards per game.

Prior to last week’s game against Arizona the Rams were already out of the playoff picture. But with the loss to the Cardinals the Rams assured themselves of a another losing season. So, the remaining games are simply for pride. Let’s see if the Rams have any thing left in them to at least accomplish that much.

The Seahawks rose above the Rams in a battle of divison dwellers

The beginning of Sunday’s game between the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks gave you the feeling that the end would be great and the Rams would walk a way with their second win in a row.

The Seahawks were penalized 13 times in the game, the Rams had four sacks and a blocked punt,  QB Tavaris Jackson was intercepted on his first two pass attempts in the game.  In fact, the longest pass completion was not even made by Jackson but by WR Sidney Rice. All of this and the Rams still managed to lose to Seattle 24-7 on Sunday and fall to 2-8 on the season.

When Seattle began their first series on their 15 yard line head coach Pete Carroll went to his bag of tricks on the very first play of the game when Rice passed to WR Mike Williams for a 55 yard pass completion to the Rams’ 30 yard line. However, Jackson threw an interception on his first pass attempt and Rams’ fans breathed a sigh of relief. Though the Rams were unable to score after the turnover the defense had seemingly sent a message to the Seahawks with their aggressive play and overall energy in the previous series. That energy would carry over into the very next series.

Jackson, on his second pass attempt of the game threw his second interception of the game and Rams’ fan thought for sure fate was on the home team’s side.  After taking over at Seattle’s 27 yard line Rams’ QB Sam Bradford passed to WR Brandon Lloyd for a 30 yard TD and an early 7-0 lead.

It was not to be, however, as Seattle’s defense buckled down the rest of the way and their offense did just enough to defeat the lowly Lambs.  Unfortunately that doesn’t take much these days as the Rams are the lowest scoring team in the league.

Seattle's defensive end Chris Clemons gets one of his three sacks on Rams' QB Sam Bradford

The Rams never gave themselves much of a chance to score as they crossed into Seattle’s territory only three times in the entire game and gained a measly 185 total yards.  In a move that probably boggled the collective minds of the Seahawks the Rams went away from the game plan that had helped them to win two of their last three games, the running game. Running  back Steven Jackson was the driving force behind all those games as he rushed for over three hundred yards in each. Jackson rushed only 15 times for 42 yards against Seattle, his second lowest totals of the year.

Seattle’s defense gave the Rams fits all day as they forced a season high 10 punts by punter Donnie Jones. But it was defensive end Chris Clemons  particularly who was a thorn in Bradford’s side and could have easily been mistaken for a Rams running back as often as hew was in their backfield.  He recorded three of the Seahawks’ five sacks and forced two fumbles both leading to TD’s.

Before the game had ended more than half of the announced crowd of 56,400 had exited the Edward Jones Dome…most likely because they thought the game was over because the Rams, for all intents and purposes had stopped playing.

The St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks will face each other this Sunday with very little on the line regarding each  team’s regular season. However, the game will have some impact on each team’s position in next year’s draft.  But knowing Seattle’s head coach Pete Carroll and the Rams’ head coach Steve Spagnuolo this game is about pride and has nothing to with draft positioning.

Both teams have experienced slow starts to their season and will look to continue their winning ways after victories last week. The Seahawks defeated the Baltimore Ravens 22-17 to improve to 3-6 while the Rams eked out a 13-12 win over the hapless Cleveland Browns to earn their second win of the season against seven losses. 

Seattle’s impressive victory over the Ravens, a team that manhandled the Rams earlier in the season winning 37-7, will make them the favorite for this week’s game against St. Louis. And they will most likely continue to pound the ball on the ground with running back Marshawn Lynch.

In his last two games Lynch has rushed for 135 and 109 yards respectively and has rushed for a total of 507 yards on the season.  As a team the Seahawks  averaged 140.5 yards for those games which were against two of the top rushing defenses in the league, the Dallas Cowboys and Ravens.  St. Louis is allowing a league worst 150.6 yards per game on the ground. This can get real ugly if the Rams are unable to contain Lynch. 

The Rams will counter with a newfound power punch of their own in running back Steven Jackson. Jackson has rushed for over 100 yards in his previous three games after having none in the team’s first six games.  The Seahawks are giving up 106. 4 yards per game on the ground.

Given the fact that both teams lack real threats in the receiving corps the defense will most likely cheat a bit to protect against the run. This could open things for both quarterbacks who, despite slow starts to their seasons are capable of  getting the ball downfield if an opportunity presents itself.

The Seahawks’ Tavaris Jackson has passed for 1,773 yards (ranked 21st in the league), 6 TD’s against 9 interceptions.  Rams’ QB Sam Bradford has experienced the sophomore jinx in what has been a disappointing season so far. His 1,587 yards are good for 25th in the league and has more fumbles (7) than TD’s (4). Bradford is coming off a rookie season that saw him win the rookie of the year award while passing for over 3,500 yards. After nine games in 2010 Bradford had passed for 1,925 yards and had 12 TD’s against 8 interceptions.  In his defense Bradford has missed two games this year.

Newly acquired WR Brandon Lloyd is Bradford’s best option down field and could have a potentially productive day if  Carroll chooses to stack the line to guard against the run. Acquired in a trade from the Denver Broncos earlier in the season, Lloyd has been somewhat of a relief among the receiving corps in his four games with the Rams. Despite his brief tenure with the team Lloyd has caught two of Bradford’s four TD’s and ranks fourth on the team with 255 receiving yards. 

If the Rams can finally put together a balanced attack they could notch another one in the win column.

On Sunday the Cardinals announced that Mike Matheny, a former catcher with the club will be their new manager replacing longtime skipper Tony LaRussa.  A formal announcement came on Monday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.  Matheny, a three time gold glove winner for the Cardinals from 2000-2004 (also won one with San Francisco in 2005) retired from baseball as a member of the San Francisco Giants during the 2006 season after suffering a serious concussion. 

Matheny’s first assignment was to remove the unwanted items that remained in LaRussa’s office and begin putting his personal touch on his new digs.  He sat comfortably in LaRussa’s old chair as he pondered where things should go.  Of course this initial assignment pales in comparison to the much larger  task of taking over a LaRussa led team that won three National League pennants and two World Series titles during his sixteen year tenure.   No pressure I’m sure?

Former catcher Mike Matheny receiveing his fourth gold glove in 2005 as a member of the San Francisco Giants

Matheny comes to the Cardinals with no managerial experience. In fact up until two years ago he was completely out of baseball when he rejoined the Cardinals organization as a special assistant to player development. Most recently he was a minor league instructor with the team. Despite his managerial inexperience Matheny has apparently gained loads of respect throughout the organization.

John Moleziak, Cardinals’ general manager says he expects some criticism regarding Matheny’s inexperience as a manger, but claim he’s not concerned about that given his own inexperience when he took his new job in 2004. “That’s something I’ve experienced myself, and I know what it’s like going from maybe a less leadership role to one where you’re thrust into it,” Mozeliak said. “I think he has that skill set.“

Mozeliak and Cardinals’ chairman Bill DeWitt, Jr said Matheny stood out from a list of names that included former Boston manager Terry Francona, former Chicago Cubs great Ryne Sandberg and former Cardinals’ utility man and current third base coach Jose Oquendo.

The hiring is somewhat of a surprise and has me somewhat puzzled, not just because of Matheny’s lack of experience but also because of his very recently renewed relationship with the club which obviously makes him very unfamiliar with the team. It seems to me that one of the two following scenarios would have made more sense.  Either you hire someone outside the organization with a proven managerial resume or you hire someone within the organization, not necessarily one who’s managed the team but one who has great familiarity with the team. The fact that Matheny doesn’t fall under either category makes me a little nervous about the future. 

Matheny as a Cardinals minor league instructor in 2010

Don’t be confused, I was a huge Matheny fan during his five year stay with the Cardinals as a player. His defensive play behind the plate was stellar and I was disappointed when he signed with the Giants after the 2004 season. Matheny’s playing skills aside, I personally feel that you don’t just hand over a reigning championship team to an unproven manager.  Apparently the Cardinals’ organization see something in Matheny’s character that the casual fan such as myself cannot see from a distance.

While Matheny may find LaRussa’s old chair to be nice and comfortable I’m not so sure that the shoes he’s filling as manager of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals will be equally as fitting for him.   I’m hoping that Matheny enjoys his initial assignment as manager of the Redbirds because it  gets much tougher from here.  I’m also hoping that Matheny will produce a winner on the field and prove me wrong.

After Sunday’s game the St. Louis Rams are thanking the football Gods that they finally got a break and things went their way for a change in an NFL game. On the other hand the Rams can also relate to the Cleveland Browns’ all too familiar fate of misfortune. 

Misfortune? Considering the circumstances surrounding the potential game winning field goal it’s possible to put the Browns’ 13-12 loss to the Rams’ in that category. However, after further review it’s more likely to fall in the “poor execution” category.

Rams' kicker Josh Brown kicks field goal in 4th Qtr Sunday

The Browns have experienced some disappointing and embarrassing losses in the franchises’ history. While Sunday’s loss may not be the worst of them all considering the sheer certainty of victory it surely ranks high on the list in the minds of Browns’ players and fans alike.

The Rams Ben Leber recovers funmble by Cleveland

With 10:39 remaining in the game and Cleveland leading 12-10 the Rams went three and out and were forced to punt to the very dangerous Josh Cribbs.  Cribbs, in an effort to squeeze extra yards on the return fumbled the ball and the Rams’ Ben Leber recovered it at Cleveland’s 27 yard line. Despite the great field position the Rams were unable to punch the ball into the end zone and settled for a Josh Brown 34 yard field goal to take a 13-12 lead. 

On the ensuing kick off Brown’s kick went out of bounds giving Cleveland great field position. Starting from their own 40 yard line and 7:07 remaining in the game the Browns promptly marched down field with  precision gaining setting themselves up for a game winning score.  Cleveland was helped by a  Rams’ 15 yard penalty along the way.  The drive stalled at the Rams’ four yard line and Browns’ kicker Phil Dawsonwas brought in for a 22 yard field goal attempt.

Browns' kicker Phil Dawson reacts after missing potential game winning field goal

Rams’ defensive end James Hall rose high above the rest to partially block the attempted field goal and the Rams escaped Cleveland with a narrow, although much needed victory.

St. Louis managed only 281 total yards but 128 of them came from running attack Steven Jackson. Jackson  enjoyed his third consecutive 100+ yard game. Rams  QB Sam Bradford continued his mediocre season passing for 155 yards with 1 TD to Brandon Lloyd, his second with the team.

While this one may not have been very pretty the Rams will take it as they improved to 2-7 on the season. They will look to put some distance between themselves and the lower echelon of the division as they take on rival Seattle Seahawks (2-7) this Sunday.