The Rams started a dismal 0-8, their worst season-opening losing streak ever. However, consecutive wins against the Saints and 49ers jump-started the team, which, to the shock of the football world, rattles off 8 straight victories to finish 8-8 and win the awful NFC West as the Seahawks falter down the stretch. The suddenly unstoppable offense plows its way through the early playoff rounds, winning games with the greatest of ease. They head into Super Bowl XLII in Arizona as 14-point underdogs to the New England Cheatriots, but proceed to dismantle the Pats 44-7, a perfect clobbering which culminates in a poignant scene in which Tom Brady and Bill Belichick break down and beg a fiery-eyed Steven Jackson for mercy, who merely grins as he hands the football to a terrified Patriot linebacker, picks him up, carries him into the end zone, then takes the ball back for Jackson’s fourth touchdown of the game.
That may be a little far-fetched, but hey, the day after Thanksgiving officially marks the beginning of Christmas season, and making dreams come true is what Christmas is all about, right?
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I will be back tomorrow with a preview of the Rams-Seahawks matchup on Sunday.
They are going to do it! The Rams will go 8-8 and MAKE the playoffs! BAM!! How do you like that for a bold prediction. Bulger is Back! Jackson is Back! The receivers are healthy, enough. The division is weak. Heck, the conference is weak. Through 11 weeks (10 games), not many teams have separated themselves from the rest of the NFC. Sure, it appears Green Bay and Dallas are off on their own, but then there is Tampa and Seattle at 6-4 leading their divisions. the current wildcard spots go to New York and Detroit. After them, no team in the NFC is over .500. If the Rams role off a few wins…. maybe they have a chance.
If the defense and O-line step it up, good things will happen. That is asking a lot. I still believe in all honest 7 wins is reasonable; Seattle, Arizona, Atlanta and one more somewhere. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help anything but morals. Winning 6 or 7 games only hurts their draft position next year. We need a good draft pick.
The win this past weekend against the division rival 49ers, marked the franchise’s 500th win. A nice feet, but doesn’t mean much for this season.
Here is a look at the injury report of the Rams, this may explain some of the losses IR: Jerome Carter, depth at safety and special teams Adam Goldberg, offensive line Richie Incognito, offensive line Leonard Little, arguably the best player on the defense Orlando Pace, arguably the best player on the team Mark Setterstrom, offensive line Raonall Smith, depth at LB and special teams Aaron Walker, emerging TE That is just IR, Bulger has missed games. Jackson has missed games. Bruce, Hall, Bennett have been hurt while Holt hasn’t been 100% since his surgury. Many more injuries that just kill everything they had going for them. Many people picked them to go to the Super Bowl before the season.
The Rams get to face a Shaun Alexanderless Seattle Seahawks this week. Hasselbeck may not play also. That just means the Rams would have to contain the everathletic Seneca Wallace. They can get the job done. Don’t be deceived by the 2-8 record, they are playing decent football now.
Head Coach Scott Linehan reacts to a play against the New Orleans Saints. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
When the Rams knock off the 49ers on Sunday in San Francisco, they will have posted back-to-back victories. “That’s a winning streak,” coach Scott Linehan declared Friday.
After a slight pause, he added, “When you don’t have any, one in a row is a winning streak.”
After slogging through his team’s 0-8 start, Linehan can be excused for expanding the definition a bit. Just as his players can be pardoned for lingering in the aftermath of the 37-29 triumph at New Orleans.
“You try to stay the same, no matter if you win or lose,” tackle Alex Barron said. “But that’s hard to do after you’ve gone 0-and-whatever and then you win a game. It’s going to give you a little kick.”
The result was a more upbeat mood this week at Rams Park. “Just winning in itself changes the entire atmosphere,” Isaac Bruce said.
Added fellow wide receiver Torry Holt: “Winning always inspires you, gives you a little more bounce. You’re just a little bit more chipper, a little bit more excited about coming to work.” Still, Linehan emphasized that no one is organizing a celebratory parade just yet.
“The perspective is there; we understand where we are and how we got here,” he said. “If we can find a way to flip the result of the second half (of the season) from the first half, it’s going to continue to improve the atmosphere around here.”
The Super Bowl is really only half about the game. The other half is about seeing how much food and booze you can shove down your #### before midnight rolls around, and having a free pass to show up to work hung-over the next day. Many folks agonize over throwing or attending the perfect party, but agony is futile because, really, all Super Bowl Parties feature the same things: lots of nachos, lots of beer and the following infuriating cast of characters.
The “Tomorrow Should Definitely Be a National Holiday” Guy
In this tool's view, a day when everyone's hung-over and unproductive would fit perfectly on the federal holiday ledger between the day in mid-January commemorating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and the day in mid-February commemorating Presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
The Guy Who's in It for the Commercials
He won't pay attention to the game, but he'll shoot to the TV like a laser when the commercials come on. He'll spend the first few minutes after each commercial break—important plays or not—analyzing what everyone else just saw, routinely mentioning that “that last ad was pretty good, but not even close to the George Costanza Rold Gold ad in ‘98 or the P-Diddy Pepsi truck ad in ‘04.” This guy also probably loved the Bud Bowl and will get really quiet and attentive during the ads for E.D. drugs.
The Guy Who Hasn't Paid Attention to the NFL in a Decade
He won't be able to get over the fact that the 49ers aren't in it this year and may ask if Reggie White or Walter Payton still play football. If you're bored, it's fun to make football references to him all night so he feels like he is some sort of eunuch-like non-man.
The Guy Who's in a Squares Pool at Work
In a squares pool, everyone throws in a buck or two, and a couple people walk away with an extra 50 bucks. It's a friendly way to keep everyone involved, but there will always be one overly intense guy who shows up to your party with his own squares chart from work, where he bought a $250 square and—as he'll be certain to remind you—could win a ton of money if the AFC team manages a field goal and a safety, and the NFC squad gets a touchdown and a two-point conversion. You'll be able to spot him as the one furiously shouting, “Why the hell didn‘t they go for two?” when the AFC squad scores a TD to go up 14-3.
The Football Pro Guy
Not necessarily a fan of either team, the Football Pro will spend the whole party watching the game on one of the smaller TVs on the fringe, “because I don't want to miss a play and I can't hear the announcers in that other room.” He's likely to be a meatier fellow, probably will spend halftime reminiscing about high school football and will constantly use phrases like “fade hook route” and “flanker-back.” He'll also let is slip at some point that he would have made it to the pros if not for an unfortunate knee injury in high school. Which may be true. Although the fact that he's 5-foot-8 with short, stubby sausage fingers probably hurt his chances too.
Obnoxious Girl Who Cheers Way too Hard
Moderately attractive but not actually hot, she'll be decked out in full regalia of whichever team the guy she wants to #### likes. She'll celebrate a relatively innocuous first quarter field goal like it's just clinched the win, and will instantly show a disturbing amount of concern if a player on her adopted team is slow getting up. It'll be clear that she was molested by her father during NFL games as a child, and should be pitied, not reviled.
The “Is it Cool If I Smoke in Here?” Guy
Even though people will be politely smoking in the backyard, at least one guy will pop up during a semi-important moment in the game and ask, “I don't want to miss this drive—is it cool if I smoke in here?” The answer, as always, is an awkward “I guess,” although it's definitely not cool at all.
The "Line Just Moved Half-Point” Guy
Likely to befriend the Guy Who's in a Squares Pool at Work, this guy will bet on everything and let everyone know it. He'll lose $150 on the opening coin toss, but hit nice on his 6:1 wager that a tight end will produce the first score. He'll be really concerned that the third-quarter line moved a half-point during halftime, but he'll look real good on the over, so he won't mind laying that extra half-point. He also threw down $10 bucks at 850,000:1 that a hurricane would hit Pro Player Stadium during the game…you know, just for the hell of it.
The Little Kid
He's there because his parents were too cheap to hire a babysitter for the night. And while they brought their kid, they probably forgot to bring the chips and beer they signed up for. So while it's not really the kid's fault that he is there to keep sticking his hand in the pretzels after picking his nose, if he does it again he's getting cracked upside the head with a beer bottle.
The "Told You So” Guy
This guy will spend the entire game informing everyone that everything that he predicted would come to pass has happened. Did he? Probably not. But who knows – no one has listened to the #### that constantly flows from this guy's mouth in years.
The “Favored Team Apparel Guy”
You can spot this guy immediately upon entering the party – he's decked out in logoed apparel of the team favored to win the game. The stuff is so new it looks like he may have picked it up at the mall on the way over to the party. The tags may even still be attached. You can attempt to call the guy out on his duplicity: “Hey, weren't you a Steelers fan last year and a Patriots fan the year before that?” But he'll just mumble something about having an aunt who lives in his new favorite team's city which is why he's rooted for them since he was a kid. It's all ####, of course, but at least the guy isn't completely lacking in loyalty. Which, he'll be sure to tell you, is why he still lives with his parents.
The "Fantasy Football Guy”
Fantasy Football Guy spends the entire game pointing out to all who would hear which players were on his fantasy football team this year and in years past. “Oh, man. Great touchdown by Joseph Addai there. I wish he would have done that more for my fantasy team this year.” Hey, buddy, if you like fantasies so much, here's one for you: we all hope you're killed by a drunk driver on the way home tonight.
The Seven Dwarfs were marching through the forest one day they fell in a deep, dark ravine. Snow White, who was following along, peered over the edge of the steep chasm and called out to the fallen dwarfs. From the depths of the dark hole a voice returned, "The Seattle Seahawks are Super Bowl contenders."
Snow White thought to herself, "Thank God... at least Dopey's survived!"
2. It's a Wonder
Why do SanDiego Chargers players keep their Wonderlic results on their dash boards?
So they can park in the handicap spaces.
3. Kissin' Cousins
What do you get when you put the girlfriends of a dozen Tennessee Titans fans in one room?
A full set of teeth!
4. Grounded
Why did the NY Jets players miss their flight for the big game?
They were stuck on a broken escalator!
5. Hit and Run
If you see a Oakland Raiders fan on a bike, why should you not swerve to hit him?
It could be your bike.
6. A Day at the Beach
What do you get if you see a New England Patriots fan buried up to his neck in sand?
More sand!
7. No Way Out
You're trapped in a room with an angry grizzly bear, a hungry Lion, and a fan of Denver Broncos. You have a gun with two bullets. What should you do?
Shoot the Bronco’s fan… twice.
8. On the Bright Side
What do you call a Buffalo Bill’s fan with half a brain?
Gifted!
9. Playing Possum
Why the Arizona Cardinals are like a possum?
Because they play dead at home and get killed on the road.
10. Licking the Problem
What did the average Sanfransico 49er player get on his Wonderlic test?
Drool!
I hope everyone enjoyed the jokes. Feel free to add ones that you think are funny!
After Adam Schein read my post NFC WEST is the best division in the NFC from top to bottom. Written Jun 19 under the name TOMBRADYISSTILL####. He recently took it a step farther and claimed they were the best division in the NFL. I agree along with 38% of Fox Sports readers thats more than twice the percentage of any other division the closeset being 18% for the The NFC EAST.
I hope Adam continues to read my blogs and predicts the ST. Louis Rams going to the Superbowl before the season starts.
1. A Voice in the Darkness 
