Rams News

Rams fall about a foot short
09/13 09:29 PM

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

The crowd stopped booing - for the most part - in the second half. Some fans were even on the edge of their seats. Somewhere between Eddie Kennison's 71-yard punt return and Tony Banks' last-second scramble for the end zone, the Rams managed to turn a comedy of errors into a stirring comeback.
Make that a near comeback. When time expired Sunday at the Trans World Dome, Banks and the football were lying right next to the goal line. Smothered in purple.
"If I'm going to lose a game, that's where I'd rather lose: on the 1-yard line," Kennison said.
Actually, it was more like the 1-foot line, allowing the Minnesota Vikings to head back to the Northlands with a 38-31 victory.
"I just looked up and saw zeroes on the clock," Banks said.
There are still zeroes on the "victory" side of the Rams' won-loss record this season, too. Two seven-point losses in two games, with the Rams attempting to score a game-tying touchdown on the final play of each game.
"We battled back when we were down, and that shows a lot of poise," safety Toby Wright said. "We're trying to build a team. I wish we could have the 'W.' But I think we've grown."
Talk about growing pains. In the Dick Vermeil era, the Rams are 2-9 in games decided by eight points or fewer. That's 11 of the team's 18 games under Vermeil. So how does this team get over the hump? Will it ever happen?
"Some way or the other we have to start making those plays when we need them," Wright said. "We need to make that touchdown at the end. We need to make that play on defense."
The wacky ledger sheet on this day included 85 yards in penalties and a career-high four interceptions for Banks, but also 192 yards in receptions by Isaac Bruce and some effective running from Greg Hill.
There was that long punt return by Kennison, but more silly penalties by the special teams.
Two interceptions and three sacks by the defense, but a career-high 179 yards rushing by Vikings running back Robert Smith.
It all added up to another near-miss for the Rams, who had rallied from deficits of 14-0 and 24-10 to tie the score at 31-31 on an 80-yard Banks-to-Bruce bomb early in the fourth quarter.
"We've got ourselves a football team," Rams owner Georgia Frontiere, teary-eyed, said as she left the locker room right after the game. "I'm not crying because we lost. I'm crying because we've got some fighters in there."
And some frustrated players and coaches.
"I think the kids played closer to what we want to say Ram football is all about," Vermeil said. "You can't ask them to play any harder. You can't ask them to compete any better."
"We left it all out there," defensive tackle D'Marco Farr said. "We're getting closer with each game. It's coming down to a foot. One foot, and we would have had this one going into overtime, and then I think we would have gotten them. So next week, Buffalo's going to pay for it."
After losing their seventh consecutive home game, the Rams play at Buffalo (0-2) next week. They'll probably be booed less there than they were in the first half Sunday by the crowd of 56,234 at the Dome. Not that the boos weren't well-deserved.
Call it Rams law. What could go wrong, did go wrong.
> On the opening series of the game, cornerback Todd Lyght sniffed out a flea-flicker and stepped in front of Cris Carter for what looked like a drive-killing interception. Somehow, Carter wrestled the ball away from Lyght for a 21-yard gain to the St. Louis 21, and the Vikings went on to score a touchdown on a 24-yard run by Smith.
"Little Smith, you let him run - he'll run," Wright said.
> On the Rams' second possession, Banks went deep to Bruce for a 47-yard gain to the Minnesota 23. Hold that celebration, Rams fans. Holding, Rams. Tackle Wayne Gandy was the guilty party, trying to keep Pro Bowler John Randle out of Banks' face. The flag pushed St. Louis back to its own 20.
"With players like that - the referees look for anything," Gandy said. "But he's a good player, and the ref made a good call."
> Then there was the timeout the Rams defense called 56 seconds into the second quarter. It averted a penalty for too many men on the field. No, make that way too many men on the field. The Rams had 13 players out there, and that's only after a couple of players had jogged off.
"We were matching defensive personnel with their offensive personnel," Vermeil explained. "We felt there some illegal substitutions that were (messing) us up."
The Rams had to waste another timeout in the fourth quarter because of substitution problems on defense - and it cost them on their final drive.
Quarterback Randall Cunningham, subbing for injured Brad Johnson, threw a 19-yard TD pass to Carter with 2:09 left in the game, giving the Vikings a 38-31 lead. The Rams were in a corner blitz on the play, with Lyght hitting Cunningham. But it wasn't enough to effect the pass, which was perfectly thrown into good coverage by safety Keith Lyle.
The Rams got the ball back on their 24 with 1:59 to play, but had only one timeout. It's a timeout they never used. Banks scrambled for 19 yards, and then completed a 17-yard pass to Bruce to advance the ball to the Minnesota 41. Three short passes and a Vikings penalty moved it to the 19. A pass interference call on fourth and 3 kept the drive alive at the 13 with 20 seconds left on the clock.
Two incomplete passes, and a short pass play to tight end Ernie Conwell, advanced the ball to the 9 with 6 seconds to play. On fourth down, Banks scrambled up the middle for . . . 82/3 yards.
"His head was over the goal line," offensive lineman Zach Wiegert said. "I think if maybe it was Steve Young or somebody, they would have given it to him. But we're the Rams and it's Tony Banks, so you're not going to get the calls all the time."

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