Rams News

It's nothing special, but Rams win
08/22 11:32 PM

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

In the annals of preseason football, Saturday's contest will be recalled as neither memorable nor inspiring. But something good finally happened to the Rams on the football field this August -- a 22-14 triumph against Dallas before 56,461 fans at the Trans World Dome.
``I don't care if it was pretty or whatever,'' Rams safety Toby Wright said. ``We still won. It doesn't mean anything, but it's just one step for a team.''
Please do not confuse these Cowboys with America's Teams of days gone by. Oh, there's still star power in Aikman, Irvin and Emmitt. (Deion Sanders and Leon Lett didn't suit up because of injury.)
There is little substance behind the glitter. Mainly a bunch of no-names. Even against this diluted product, the Rams were slapped silly for a quarter and half. Was Dick Vermeil ready to forfeit, wave a white hanky?
``No,'' Vermeil said. But he conceded, ``I was surprised the score was still that close.''
But after spotting Dallas a 14-0 lead, the Rams did enough things right to win a game. Quarterback Tony Banks finally engineered a couple of scoring drives. The Rams defense finally righted itself and made a few stops. And rookie running back Robert Holcombe added a finishing touch with a 4-yard scoring run preceded a few moments earlier by a 52-yard gallop.
``Since I've been here, I haven't seen one of those kind of runs, and it was exciting,'' Vermeil said.
Not much that happened early was exciting, unless you happened to be a Cowboys fan. Just when it looked totally hopeless, just when the best course of action may have been canceling the season and trying again in 1999, the Rams finally showed a glimmer of hope.
With Dallas leading 14-0, a blitzing Wright tipped a Troy Aikman pass that defensive tackle Ray Agnew corralled while falling to the ground for an interception at Dallas' 39. The Rams managed a 54-yard field goal by Jeff Wilkins out of the turnover, with 7 minutes 32 seconds to go in the first half.
On its next possession, Dallas marched from its 19 to St. Louis' 35. But on fourth and 1, middle linebacker Eric Hill did exactly what the Rams hired him to do in the offseason as a free agent from Arizona: stuff the run. Hill, with a little help from Agnew, stopped Emmitt Smith shy of the first-down marker.
Then the strangest thing happened. The Rams mounted a drive.
Really. Banks completed a third-and-6 pass to Isaac Bruce for nine yards with 2:26 left in the half. It was Bruce's first catch of the preseason. Then Banks threw for 22 yards to Ricky Proehl, who dropped one pass and had another knocked out of his grasp just before Wilkins' field goal.
Next, Bruce made a diving catch on a slant pattern for an 8-yard gain to the 22. David Thompson picked up 17 yards on a dump pass from Banks on third and 2. Banks then scrambled to his right for a diving TD with 55 seconds left in the half. The Rams went for two -- twice in fact, because Dallas was called for pass interference -- but were unable to score.
So they trailed 14-9 at the half but took their first lead of the preseason on their first possession of the second half. As promised, Vermeil sent his first-team offense out in the third quarter.
Functioning against the Cowboys' second-team defense, St. Louis marched 80 yards in nine plays for a TD. Banks completed third-down passes to Proehl and Bruce, but the biggest gain came on a pass interference call against safety Charlie Williams, who was attempting to cover Eddie Kennison in the end zone.
The penalty advanced the ball from Dallas' 35 to the 1. On the next play, Greg Hill punched it in, running over right guard in a four-tight end formation. Again the Rams went for two, but again they were unsuccessful when Banks' pass to Malcolm Floyd was broken up.
So the Rams settled for a 15-14 lead with 5:42 left in the third quarter, and Banks settled into his seat on the bench, secure in the knowledge that he had produced his first two touchdown drives of the preseason. Banks finished with nine completions in 20 attempts for 107 yards. After misfiring on eight of his first 11 passes, Banks went six for his last eight.
``It's still preseason,'' Banks said. ``And we still have some things to work on. Although there were some good things that we took out of this game, I don't think we're anywhere near where we need to be.''
No kidding. What transpired before that was truly brutal from a Rams perspective. The Cowboys gashed the Rams for long touchdown drives on their first two possessions. There were big non-scoring plays, too, with Michael Irvin getting behind Dexter McCleon on the first TD drive, and Smith galloping 47 yards off tackle on the second.
When Smith scored on his touchdown run, the Cowboys had outgained the Rams by a whopping 167 to 38.
``I just thought they blocked us too well,'' Vermeil said. ``But I'm still pleased for the players that they can enjoy the win. It beats . . . losing.''

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