Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
It has come to St. Louis's attention—all at once, with the final receding of the collective World Series high, the selection of a new manager, and the stalemate in the Albert Pujols situation—that the St. Louis Rams are still not a very good football team. Weeks of careful, measured optimism have given way to a full-fledged desire to wait 'til next year, where potential coaching changes, the NFL Draft, and a week free of season-ending injuries collectively promise something better than the 2-8 position in which the Rams find themselves Monday.
The Seattle Seahawks' 24-7 win Sunday had everything Rams fans have had to deal with in 2011: Brief moments of optimism engendered by, say, Sam Bradford's rapport with Brandon Lloyd, or Chris Long and Robert Quinn's pursuit of Tarvaris Jackson; crushing blows of inadequacy when all that fell apart; ominous worries about the future when the team's savior, the primary seller of replica jerseys, put together another game with almost nothing separating him from the undrafted free agent quarterbacks of the world.
There are things to like about this Rams team, but almost none of them have managed to remain likable every week, or even most weeks. Something is just off—some failure of talent, of coaching, of the ability to stay healthy has kept the Rams from playing even as well as the sum of their meager parts suggest they should. A high draft pick, another coaching shakeup, a raid of the pass catchers, and pass-catcher-catchers in free agency come next spring—I'm not sure what it is these Rams need before they're ready to, say, go 7-9 again, but it's clear by now that they need something.
Click here for a gallery of images from the Rams vs. Seahawks game at the Edward Jones Dome.
