Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
Here's one vaguely pleasant way to look at the St. Louis Rams' inexplicable 23-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals Sunday afternoon: Every part of the Rams that you don't already want run out of St. Louis on a rail performed well enough to justify—well, if not optimism, not being run out of St. Louis on a rail. Sam Bradford, Steven Jackson, Brandon Lloyd—all kind of adequate. Chris Long and Robert Quinn—once again somewhat more than adequate. Steve Spagnuolo—already being fastened to the rail.
After weeks of inescapable mediocrity Sam Bradford was finally the particular brand of work-in-progress we expected when Josh McDaniels arrived as offensive coordinator. Stuck with a less-than-stellar receiving corps and what's left a less-than-stellar offensive line, Bradford was less "accurate" than he appeared in his dinking, dunking debut but led the Rams' fourth-quarter touchdown drive with completions of 24 and 16 yards.
As for Long, who's been remarkable all season at the front of a defense that's struggled to maintain last year's pace, his 10th sack of the year—already his career high—was his seventh in the Rams' last five weeks. Meanwhile, Robert Quinn, who's only lately gotten consistent playing time after a slow start to his rookie season, has sacks in his last four games.
As for Steve Spagnuolo and, more generally, the constant absurdities of this Rams season—animated this week in the person of Patrick Peterson burning the Rams again, returning a punt for a touchdown when Donnie Jones failed to keep the ball out of his hands—well, it looks like it can't go on much longer. As the Rams approach an overdue reckoning of their underperforming front office, all Rams fans can hope for is that the next Next Rams don't look so much like the last Next Rams.
