However, with 2:43 left in the game, inside Carolina territory, our former bastardizing Head Coach, Mike Martz, elected to play it safe inside Carolina’s 20, and kick the field goal. However, it might have been due to Marc Bulger’s play that game (3 INT’s), but nobody will never know. Jeff Wilkins on his 5th attempt of the game, knocked through yet another field goal, going 5/5 up until that point, forcing overtime. I sat there, still happy, even though I would have liked for us to have been more aggressive inside Carolina’s 20 and went for the lead. The Panthers drove all the way to the Rams’ 22 yard line, and John Kasay hit a 40 yard field goal to apparently win the game (I was nearly on my deathbed at the point in time.) However, a delay of game penalty set the Panthers back a little farther, and Kasay missed a 45 yard field goal that went wide right to give the ball back to the Rams. I was ooing and eeing after that, very excited, hoping for a Rams’ trip to Houston assuming that they would have beaten the Philadelphia Eagles (also known as the league’s official chokers.)

The Rams marched down the field on the ensuing drive, yet Wilkins, who had been arguably the best kicker of the season, missed a 53 yard field goal that fell just short of the crossbars. Yet, I still wasn’t worried. After a 3-and-out by Carolina, we held the ball late in the first overtime. We were driving, and no matter how fatigued these guys wearing the blue and gold were, I knew they had enough power to convert. Then again, I always “know” things that aren’t going to happen. Bulger snapped back out of the pocket on a long second down, while being able to hit a Marshall Faulk for a good 8 yard gain, he elected to throw a pass intended for Isaac Bruce. The pass was extremely off the mark, and was picked off by Cornerback, Ricky Manning Jr.

The second overtime started, 15:00 left. A new fresh set of downs for the Carolina Panthers, and it just looked oh-so like they were years from the endzone, and I was sitting there thinking that the Rams would have had the chance to take the ball back the other way on possibly a Jake Delhomme interception. However, everything went wrong. It was most certainly, “the play.” I sat looking on, my leg propped up on my bed, my Rams pillow supporting the paper plate that I was eating some cheesesticks on. I remember the Rams lined up in the nickel defense. We had Aneas Williams playing tight coverage at the line, faking the blitz nearing to cover former Ram, Ricky Proehl. Delhomme snapped back in the pocket, made some adjustments scanning the defense as he pumped the ball at an angle that knocked us off guard to the mid-left of the field. Jason Sehorn, who was covering a zone over the middle of the field bit at the pumpfake. As soon as I seen that, I felt tears begin to wind up behind my eye. Delhomme fired a pass across the middle to a slanting wide receiver, it was Steven Smith. To the 40, to the 30, to the 20, to the 10, nobody in front of him, the 5, touchdown..and Carolina was on their way to the NFC Championship (and soon, the Super Bowl.)

The loss made me weary. I was whining and bitching the whole off-season about how we could have made it to the Super Bowl for the third time in the last 4 years (at the time.) I was hazing at the Panthers the whole off-season as well. Really grunting on how we signed Jason Sehorn that off-season, since he didn’t make too many plays all year. And after the 2003-2004 season, and the bad bite of the pump-fake from Jake Delhomme, that turned out to be the last snap that he would ever see as a football player, as he retired that off-season. I’ve played the game in my mind thousands of times, not being able to get it through. The question remains, who had to take the blame for the game? It’s a team sport, and the game could have very well been lost earlier in the game (thanks to some fumbles.) However, was there a key guy?

Lovie played a part, his (run) defense was downright awful, whether his scheme was flawed or he drafted/signed the wrong guys (how did Jamie Duncan pan out replacing Fletcher? What about our 1st round DT’s?) or perhaps he was too caught up in the Chicago HC position, or maybe all of the above. But I for one don’t think back on Lovie Smith’s defense half as fondly as most fans seem to do (in retrospect because of the success the Bears have had recently perhaps?) Lovie made a lot of God-awful mistakes here, and we’re still paying for them on defense (Marmie didn’t help either. That’s for sure! Now he’s in Seattle. Thanks Seahawks!)

Martz played a part as well, I still cannot figure out how or why he settled for the field goal instead of going for the win. On that play, Martz abandoned everything he was known for and it cost us dearly, did he let the critics get to him and chickened out? If Martz had been a ball-control, defense kind of coach I wouldn’t blame him as much, if that was his style, but he completely abandoned his own style and tried to be something he was not. The whole team saw it, they were all looking out at the sideline waiting to hear a play called, waiting for Martz to make his move and give our offense the best possible shot at winning. But Martz remained passive and just let the time run out, he couldn’t have said it more clearly – “I don’t believe in you”, and the team got the message. Can’t remember a worse decision in terms of leadership in all the time I’ve watched the Rams. We had the momentum driving down the field and then we gave it up due to miscommunication between Marc Bulger and Isaac Bruce. Yet, I’m still here, and I still love these pathetic guys that wear the blue and gold horn helmets. Feel free to send email to sound off about this article, or leave a comment on here (which will send me an email.)

It wasn’t only HB screens. The first few games Jackson was hardly receiving the ball and Bulger was forcing passes over the middle of the field. Furthermore, a lot of passes went via screens to Isaac Bruce which caused a lot of mayhem because even I knew what the hell they were going to run, which just shouldn’t be.

To avoid injuries? To condition better, work harder, avoid accidents, stay in shape. It’s all in the natural sequences of that. But it’s not as easy as it seems. How do the Patriots continue to keep their ship comprised? It’s because they work at it, work at it, and work at it for that winning formula. The Rams need to tear some pages out of their book.

How are you able to call Linehan a bad clock manager and not call Martz one, too? What the fuck, man? Do you not even remember the last few years of the Martz era? It was like he had lost his fucking mind. Let’s go back to the 2005 pre-season. It doesn’t matter, but this is a little humorous. Down against the Raiders by 2, Chris Chandler is leading the Rams up the field and, they are in field goal range. Time is running out when all of a sudden Jeff Smoker, on the sidelines, turns to Coach Martz and says “Coach Martz, are we going to kick the field goal? Time is running out.” Martz replied saying “oh, shit!” as the time expired. Funny.

Now let me say something not so funny. Remember the Rams’ last legitimate shot to make the Super Bowl, to exert their revenge on the Patriots? That was the 2003-2004 season. The Rams were 12-4 and stormed into the playoffs. They matched up against the eventual NFC champions, the Carolina Panthers. The whole game was a cris-cross. Carolina went up late but the Rams stormed back off some whacky plays. An emotionally-charged Marshall Faulk led the team onto the field. Jeff Wilkins recovered one of his own onside kicks. Marc Bulger was absolutely terrible, and why? Because of Mike Martz. I’ll post another comment on what I wrote back in March on my former Rams blog.

1. Todd Steussie – Out for the Season
2. Orlando Pace – Out for the Season
3. Mark Setterstrom – Out for the Season
4. Adam Goldberg – Out for the Season
5. Jerome Carter – Out for the Season
6. Raonall Smith – Out for the season
7. Tye Hill – 4 Weeks
8. Fakhir Brown – 4 Week Suspension
9. Claude Wroten – 4 Week Suspension
10. Steven Jackson – 5 Weeks
11. Dane Looker – 3 Weeks +
12. Corey Chavous – 2 Weeks
13. Isaac Bruce – 2 Weeks
14. Richie Incognito- Out for the season
15. Pisa Tinoisamoa – 2 Weeks
16. Marc Bulger – 3 Weeks
17. Dante Hall – 4 Week +
18. Drew Bennett – 3 Week
19. Brett Romberg – 2 Week +
20. Claude Terrell- cut
21. Leonard Little- Out for the season
22. Todd Johnson- 2 weeks

I don’t like Linehan, and he should be gone, but any other coach with that many crucial injuries would be struggling as well. Not with a 1-8 record, but it’s not like the Rams would be the NFC’s New England Patriots, fighting for the number one seed; they’re practically fighting for the number one pick with Miami, New York [Jets], San Francisco, and Cincinnati

As for Cowher and Schottenheimer, again they will be asking for too much money. It’s not like they’re internally yelling “bring me, free me, loosen me St. Louis!” The Rams would have to negotiate with them and throw so much money at them that it’d be ridiculous. Would it be worth it? Break out the seesaw and balance things out. Healthy, this team is good. Injured, this team is plum awful. They’ve been hard to judge, but to look at them from different perspectives has given us all an idea of what they’re about — an injured football team with an awful head coach, a confused offensive coordinator, and a defensive coordinator that knows he’s trying his best with the players he’s got on the field (Fahkir Brown and Ron Bartell can’t cover to save their lives).