One and a Half Technicals

With the St. Louis Rams raring to hone their losing skills on Sunday, caused by a Gus Frerotte botched snap, I’ve been inspired to come up with this abysmal post about losing, mostly relevant to a particular 2-9 football team in the NFL. Of course, you can lose a game by playing poorly throughout, turnovers, not converting, not showing up. It’s all of that. Everything combined into one. But what about losing football games that were once in hand . . . and two seconds later they were left in the dust because the team that was winning made a mistake that looked like they were trying to hurt themselves? It’s all in the art of imploding.

The Tony Romo Division
I started this when Tony Romo’s disaster in Seattle came into full fruition. You know, he sets his hands while awaiting for the ball to befit his position, and well, it all came to an ugly conclusion — he loses control the slippery ball, picks it up, jogs to the left trying to make a play for the end zone, and is taken down! It’s hurtful! And today, I know how it feels — how it felt to be a Cowboys fan in January. I’m a Rams fan, here in November.

The Rams were down by five (5) with a little over two minutes left after leadingby as many as 19 points in the first half. Gus Frerotte took a snap and threw a pass deep to Isaac Bruce that landed far from where his hands could have been (with the ball placed in them). A pass interference call was called on Deon Grant, and the Rams were inside the Seahawks’ 20. Moments later, they stepped into the 5.

Now think — how fun is that? Your favorite football team has a fresh set out of downs inside the five yard line, with barely over a minute to play in a game. The chances of winning look pretty lofty to me. First down, Frerotte takes the snap, has a wide open Bruce crossing the field across the goal line; Ferotte tosses the ball to Bruce, but it’s low and out of reach for the future hall of famer to garner.

The next play, Drew Bennett caught a pass was upended by several Seahawks’ defenders before he could make a move. On third down, Steven Jackson took a hand-off and reached the one where he almost broke loose into the end zone. Timeout taken by the Seahawks, followed by a timeout taken by the Rams.

This is it, right? The Rams should do it! 29 ticks left on the clock, and only one yard for the score! The Rams are going to reach their third straight win!

Unfortunately, the Rams did not reach their third win of the season. As Frerotte and the Rams lined up in a Pro Form, 3-wide set, he hiked the ball and instantly lost the handle. The ball wobbled out to the right, and he [Frerotte] frantically picked it up to run for a second or two before being taken down by a horde of Seahawks.

I didn’t say one word. I didn’t yell. I didn’t cuss. I didn’t do anything. I’ve seen this situation so many freakin’ times already in my life, what was it for me to whine about it? But again, it was a heartfelt emotion that cast over me.

It was just like Dallas’s loss to Seattle in the playoffs. Except the playoffs were not on the line (except that Seattle is having a bout with Arizona) and the Rams weren’t lining up for a chip shot of a field goal. They were simply lining up on 4th down at the 1-yard-line with 29 seconds left to go in the game. The pressure on to man up against the opponent and drive them into the end zone. Frerotte missed Bruce in the end zone. Jackson only received the ball once in the trip inside the five.

One word: Disgusting