Rams News

ST. LOUIS RAMS

September 14, 1998

The St. Louis Rams did just enough things wrong to keep everything from turning out all right Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Rams' Todd Lyght guessed right on a flea-flicker by the Vikings on their opening possession, but Cris Carter outwrestled him for the ball. The Vikings ended up scoring a touchdown on the drive.

Running back Greg Hill broke a 40-plus-yard run, but his foot stepped out of bounds after 19 yards. On the next play, wide receiver Isaac Bruce caught a 48-yard pass, but the play was negated by a holding penalty on tackle Wayne Gandy.

Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins had a career-high 53-yard field, but the Rams gave up a 74-yard run to Minnesota running back Robert Smith just 35 seconds later. Smith broke through a hole on the left side that would have accommodated a small airplane.

Eddie Kennison returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown, but Wilkins shanked the ensuing kickoff, giving the Vikings possession at their own 40 after the ball rolled out of bounds.

Bruce had 192 yards in receptions, but Rams quarterback Tony Banks had a career-high four interceptions.

Hill rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown, but the Rams allowed Smith to rush for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

The end result of this bizarre game of give and take was Minnesota 38, St. Louis 31.

"We did enough things to win the game and we did enough things to lose the game," Rams coach Dick Vermeil said.

The Rams are 0-2 for the first time since the strike-shortened 1987 season. They play the Buffalo Bills this week in their only road game in September.

If nothing else, the Rams got a jolt of confidence going into their game against the Bills, who rank 27th in offense in the NFL and have yielded a league-leading 13 sacks.

"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."

UPON FURTHER REVIEW: Banks was tackled one foot short of the game-tying touchdown as time expired. Banks broke for the end zone on a fourth-and-6 play from Minnesota's 9-yard line with six seconds on the clock. Four defenders converged on Banks near the 2. He tried going low, but he was torpedoed by Vikings free safety Orlando Thomas. "We only have one play to run and I had a shot," Banks said. "Maybe if I get in the air, I get in, but that's all hindsight."

Rams WR Isaac Bruce made a statement on Sunday even though he won't admit it.

Playing against Minnesota's much-ballyhooed receiving trio of Cris Carter, Jake Reed and Randy Moss, Bruce outgained all three of them combined. Bruce caught 11 passes for 192 yards. Carter, Reed and Moss combined for 12 catches, 152 yards and one touchdown.

Despite all the attention the Vikings' receivers have been getting, Bruce said he approached the game just like any other.

"It's a football game and I get fired up for football games," Bruce said. "It wasn't a statement game for me. I just went out and did my job. Tony Banks made it easy for me."

So far this season, Banks is locked on Bruce, who has 21 catches for 323 yards in two games. Bruce is on pace for an NFL-record 168 receptions and an NFL-record 2,584 yards this season.

"As long as I'm calling plays, Isaac Bruce is going to catch a lot of footballs," Vermeil said. "I just hope he doesn't run out of gas."

Other than Bruce, the Rams aren't getting much production out of their wide receivers. Kennison has three catches for 36 yards and Ricky Proehl has two catches for 25 yards.

--Bruce hurdled Vikings cornerback Jimmy Hitchcock during a 30-yard run on an end-around in the first half. The run was the longest of Bruce's career and his first since the 1995 season.

--Vikings defensive linemen John Randle didn't barbecue Banks. He was held to three tackles and no sacks. Right guard Zach Wiegert did most of the blocking against Randle, the NFL's sack leader last season with 15.5.

Left guard Fred Miller and left tackle Orlando Pace also helped out as Randle moves around on the defensive line.

"I'm not going to say I did great," Wiegert said. "With a guy like him, you're never going to go through a football game and beat him ever play. He's just too good. He beat me some and I beat him some. Hopefully, I won the war today."

--Rams punter Rick Tuten averaged only 31 yards on his five punts.

--Hill scored his first touchdown since Nov. 10, 1996, against Green Bay.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Rams are 2-9 in games decided by a touchdown or less under Coach Dick Vermeil.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "If I play even halfway decent, we win that game by a touchdown or two." -- Rams QB Tony Banks, after throwing a career-high four interceptions in the team's 38-31 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Rams coach Dick Vermeil held a team meeting on Monday to address some of the players' complaints about long practices and meetings.

Vermeil said he would be willing to compromise, but didn't say if he would cut back on his practice schedule.

The Rams' coach-player relationship could be a powder keg waiting to blow.

The Rams held a players-only meeting last week and then set a couple of emissaries to talk to Vermeil about the team's long practices and meetings.

The Rams practiced two hours, 53 minutes in full pads last Thursday -- less than 72 hours before game time. No players will speak on the record at this point, but if the Rams continue to lose games, there could be a rebellion.

REPORT CARD VS. VIKINGS

PASSING OFFENSE: C-minus -- Rams QB Tony Banks pulled this grade down all by himself. Banks threw four interceptions that led to 17 points for the Vikings. WR Isaac Bruce accounted for 68 percent of the Rams' passing offense with 192 yards in receptions. It was Bruce's third-best day in the NFL. The offensive line did an admirable job of keeping John Randle and company away from Banks. They allowed only two sacks.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B -- Greg Hill might not be a great inside runner, but he's exciting every time he breaks outside. He rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns after not even being active in Week 1. If Hill stays inbounds during a long run in the first half, he gets his first 100-yard game in a Rams uniform.

PASS DEFENSE: C-plus -- The Rams limited the Vikings' Big Three -- Cris Carter, Jake Reed and Randy Moss -- to one touchdown. Carter outmuscled Rams defenders for a couple of catches, including the game-winning touchdown reception against S Keith Lyle. The Rams' defensive front had three sacks and forced a fumble.

RUSH DEFENSE: D -- Robert Smith rolled up 179 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Rams' linebacking crew missed a couple of assignments, including a crucial missed gap on Smith's 74-yard TD gallop.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C-plus -- Eddie Kennison's 71-yard punt return for a touchdown and K Jeff Wilkins' 53-yard field goal helped offset several stupid penalties and P Rick Tuten's poor performance.

COACHING: D -- The decision to put Hill on the inactive list in Week 1 looked dumber after his performance against the Vikings. The Rams also could have used RB Robert Holcombe and his fresh legs late in the game, but he was on the inactive list for the second straight game. Instead of using one nickel defense, the Rams tried to get fancy with two different nickel packages. The confusion caused by this strategy forced the Rams to use two first-half timeouts, including one when they had 13 men on the field.

INJURY IMPACT: The Rams had no new injuries to report other than some emotional bruises. "Some broken hearts, you know," Vermeil said. S Toby Wright completed his comeback from reconstructive knee surgery by starting against the Vikings. He had four tackles in the game. LB Roman Phifer is questionable for the Rams' game against Buffalo. He has been sidelined two games due to a hamstring problem. C Mike Gruttadauria probably will play this week, but it's unlikely that he'll displace starter John Flannery. Gruttadauria is returning from arthroscopic knee surgery. WR Az-Zahir Hakim had the cast taken off his broken hand, but he's still two weeks away from playing.

ARCHIVE

HOME