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Thursday, May 9, 2013

Homecoming pt. 3 - 2011 Season Report

Posted on May 9, 2013 at 06:40 PM.

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St. Louis Rams 2011 Season Report

ST. LOUIS - Despite a strong finish the 2011 Rams ended their season on the outside of the NFL playoffs looking in. A week 17 loss to the division rival 49ers dropped the Rams to 9-7 and caused them to miss the postseason yet again.

In an up and down season defined by turmoil a few hopeful trends emerged. Sam Bradford made huge strides in his second year throwing for over 4,000 yards and 25 touchdowns while dropping his interceptions to a measly eight on the year. He developed a strong rapport with receiver Brandon Lloyd who sat out most of the pre-season and the first four games of the regular season with a strained knee. Lloyd led the Rams in catches, yards and touchdowns on his first year with the team and it remains to be seen if he'll resign with St. Louis in the off-season.

The Rams excelled as a unit offensively, racking up the fourth most points in the league. Steven Jackson continued to be oil keeping the offense running smoothly. Even though his rushing numbers were down he still broke 1,000 yards for the seventh consecutive season and punched in 10 touchdowns. His true worth, however, came in his versatility. Jackson's 53 catches and 770 yards were the most since 2006 and his four receiving touchdowns topped his previous career high of two set in 2005.

Of the three rookie pass-catchers on the team only tight end Lance Kendricks made an impact. His 70 catches, 652 yards and five touchdowns nearly doubled Austin Pettis and Greg Salas' combined numbers. Kendricks was a reliable target for Bradford all season and the rookie was rewarded by placing fifth in the NFC offensive rookie of the year race.

Unfortunately the Rams weren't as proficient. The squad ranked 31st in total yards allowed and dead last in rushing defense. Their 29 sacks placed just 27th in the league and surely contributed to their league 407 points allowed. Not all was bad for the defense, however. Their 25 takeaways ranked 5th in the NFL.

Overall it was definitely a step in the right direction for the franchise. In what promises to be a tumultuous off-season in which the finishing touches on the new stadium in California should be complete the Rams will look to gain momentum and continue improving before their relocation to the West Coast.

In the coming weeks we'll take a look at the off-season as the Rams hope to build upon their first winning season since the days of the 'Greatest Show'. It will be interesting to see how the new management handles a full off-season schedule.

For now the Rams have a daunting task ahead of them. Getting over the hump and into the playoffs is always difficult for a team that seems to have been rebuilding for nearly 10 seasons. It'll be crucial for head coach Steven Spagnuolo to keep the players focused on the game and not on the turmoil surrounding the organization.

NFL Standings - Updated: Nov 10, 2011
NFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
San Francisco 49ers	11	5		421	324
St. Louis Rams	9	7		390	407
Seattle Seahawks	8	8		346	346
Arizona Cardinals	6	10		328	354

St. Louis Rams Stats - 2011
Passing	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	LONG	TD	INT	RAT
Sam Bradford	363/601	4163	6.9	260.1	57	25	8	89.6
AJ Feeley	32/60	358	5.9	39.7	46	2	4	54.7
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	20+	TD	YDS/G	FUM
Steven Jackson	274	1,087	3.9	90	5	10	67.9	5
Cadillac Williams	103	328	3.1	66	2	2	20.5	2
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	20+	YDS/G	YAC
Brandon Lloyd	79	1,096	13.8	6	57		91.3	208
Lance Kendricks	70	652	9.3	5	44		40.7	124
Mark Clayton	55	601	10.9	5	52		54.6	114
Steven Jackson	53	770	14.5	4	51		48.1	311
Brandon Gibson	41	410	10.0	1	48		25.6	60
Austin Pettis	33	259	7.8	2	46		16.1	-2
Greg Salas	28	309	11.0	2	46		19.3	-1
Danario Alexander	17	269	15.8	1	44		38.4	9
Blocking					PCAKE		SACK
Harvey Dahl					6		12
Jason Brown					4		4
Rodger Saffold					2		0
Adam Goldberg					2		3
Jason Smith					2		2
Mark Levoir					1		3
Jacob Bell					0		5
	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
Defense	SOLO	AST	TOT	SACK	TLOSS	PD	INT	TD
James Laurinaitis	109	28	137	0	4	6	2	0
Chris Chamberlain	86	28	114	0	2	2	1	0
James Butler	53	9	62	0.5	2	9	1	0
Fred Robbins	53	14	67	0	0	1	0	0
Brady Poppinga	49	29	78	0	5	0	0	0
Justin Bannan	47	24	71	7	1	2	0	0
Chris Long	44	9	53	5.5	2	3	0	0
Ronald Bartell	44	15	59	0	0	8	3	0
Robert Quinn	30	17	47	11	0	1	0	0
Al Harris	24	9	33	0	0	7	2	1
	Kickoffs					Punts
Returning	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD	RET	AVG	TD
Rod Hood	46	818	17.7	62	0	22	162	0
Brandon Lloyd	24	543	22.6	48	0	3	50	0
Jerious Norwood	16	465	29	59
	Field Goals				Extra Points
Kicking	FGM	FGA	PCT	LONG	XPM	XPA	PCT	PTS
Josh Brown	37	43	86	56	37	38	97	148
Punting	PUNTS	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	BP	IN20	TB
Donnie Jones	95	4,276	73	45.0	38.2	0	30	10

Homecoming pt. 2 - Mid-Season 2011 Report

Posted on May 9, 2013 at 05:50 PM.

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St. Louis Rams 2011 Mid-Season Report

NFL Standings - Updated: Nov 10, 2011
NFC WEST	W	L	T	PF	PA
Seattle Seahawks	5	3		185	173
San Francisco 49ers	5	3		193	168
St. Louis Rams	4	4		210	222
Arizona Cardinals	2	6		145	177

St. Louis Rams Stats - 2011
Passing	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	LONG	TD	INT	RAT
Sam Bradford	185/300	2127	7.0	265.8	51	14	6	90.2
AJ Feeley	22/37	250	6.7	31.2	46	2	3	64.0
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	20+	TD	YDS/G	FUM
Steven Jackson	144	539	3.7	53	2	4	67.3	3
Cadillac Williams	60	182	3.0	66	1	1	22.7	2
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	20+	YDS/G	YAC
Lance Kendricks	42	386	9.1	3	44		48.2	58
Mark Clayton	37	414	11.1	4	33		59.1	82
Steven Jackson	31	409	13.1	3	30		51.1	153
Brandon Gibson	22	284	12.9	1	48		35.5	37
Brandon Lloyd	22	306	13.9	1	51		76.5	33
Austin Pettis	17	142	8.3	2	46		17.7	-2
Blocking					PCAKE		SACK
Harvey Dahl					3		8
Jason Brown					2		2
Rodger Saffold					2		0
Adam Goldberg					1		1
Mark Levoir					1		3
	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
Defense	SOLO	AST	TOT	SACK	TLOSS	PD	INT	TD
James Laurinaitis	51	9	60	0	0	3	1	0
Chris Chamberlain	46	10	56	0	1	1	0	0
Chris Long	32	5	37	2	1	3	0	0
James Butler	28	5	33	0	1	5	0	0
Justin Bannan	22	11	33	4	0	0	0	0
Al Harris	16	5	21	0	0	2	2	1
Robert Quinn	12	10	22	7	0	0	0	0
	Kickoffs					Punts
Returning	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD	RET	AVG	TD
Rod Hood	25	459	18.3	58	0	9	64	0
Jerious Norwood	15	433	28.8	59	0
	Field Goals				Extra Points
Kicking	FGM	FGA	PCT	LONG	XPM	XPA	PCT	PTS
Josh Brown	19	22	86	56	19	20	95	76
Punting	PUNTS	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	BP	IN20	TB
Donnie Jones	43	1,974	73	45.9	40.1	0	14	3

Homecoming pt. 1 - The Announcement

Posted on May 9, 2013 at 12:47 PM.

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New Start Looming for St. Louis

LOS ANGELES � For the first time since the Rams and the Raiders packed their bags and moved to St. Louis and Oakland, respectively, there will be NFL football in Los Angeles. A crushing 19-9 loss to division rival Kansas City not only snapped a 3-game win streak but also cost the Raiders a playoff spot was the last game of professional football played in the nation�s second largest media market.

With the sale of the St. Louis Rams finalized new owner, Los Angeles-based business mogul Trevor Paige announced the plans to move the franchise to sunny Southern California after the upcoming season. The move was unanimously approved at the recent owner�s meeting and will take place following the 2012 season.

�While I know it�s always difficult for fans to lose a team,� Paige said in a press conference announcing the team�s sale and subsequent relocation, �We think it�s a great opportunity to bring the NFL back to Los Angeles and be competitive.�

It was also announced the current sideline staff led by head coach Steve Spagnuolo was to stay intact at least for the time being stating a desire to keep at least some semblance of consistency for the young team. In spite of the new, Spagnuolo was visibly shaken at the press conference announcing the drastic changes to come.

The Rams were becoming an intriguing story within the NFL before the announcements made shockwaves through the league. With a promising, young quarterback in Sam Bradford and a defense led by an improving Chris Long, spirits around the team offices are optimistic. Continued development of one of the youngest teams in the league will be crucial moving forward as the organization tries to improve on its 7-9 record from last year while progressing down the difficult road to relocation.

(Programmer�s Note: I�m using Madden 12 with marginally updated rosters. I�ll be simulating the first two seasons outright and begin more in depth coverage once my team is finally settled into it�s new home.)