Rams News

Rams back to work against Bills
09/19 02:08 AM

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Dick Vermeil phoned his friend and colleague Bill Parcells a few days ago for some advice.
With the Rams a few steps shy of player mutiny over lengthy practices and work days, Vermeil asked about Parcells' daily regimen with the New York Jets.
``They just need to win some games,'' Parcells told reporters later in the week. ``Then things change. What's wrong with having a reputation for working your team hard? Will somebody tell me what's wrong with that? That's the players rationalizing, saying, `Hey we left our game on the practice field.' That's (bleep).''
Vermeil, the world-class workaholic, grudgingly shortened the Rams' work day by more than 1 hours on Wednesdays and Thursdays. The locker room at Rams Park seemed a happier place. More smiles. More banter. Not that it was an amusement park.
But some of the tension eased. Will it lead to better play on Sundays? And what if it doesn't? Are the players then out of excuses?
``When you work like these guys worked in training camp, and then don't perform at a level that's good enough to win, it's just frustrating,'' Vermeil said. ``These kids want to win.''
They'll certainly have that chance Sunday in Buffalo. (Kickoff is noon, St. Louis time.)
The Bills (0-2) are nothing to laugh at defensively, ranking second in total defense and tied for seventh in scoring defense.
True. But the Buffalo offense is in a funk. The Bills are 27th in the NFL in total offense (to the Rams' No. 6 ranking). They've scored a meager 21 points -- only Philadelphia (12 points) has fewer.
Nevertheless, with losses of 16-14 in San Diego and 13-7 in Miami, they could easily be 2-0.
``They're two (missed) field goals away from winning the opener,'' Vermeil said. ``Last week, they battled like mad against Miami. Now they play their first home game. I expect them to be at their best.''
Buffalo could say the same for St. Louis, which lost both its contests attempting to score a game-tying touchdown as time expired.
``We're similar to the Rams,'' Bills coach Wade Phillips said. ``We've played with great effort, but none of that counts. You've got to win ballgames and we haven't done that.''
After yielding 13 sacks in their first two games, the Bills are concerned about a St. Louis pass rush that looked surprisingly fiesty against a good Minnesota offensive line. On the other side of the ball, Buffalo is fixated on stopping Isaac Bruce.
``Isaac Bruce looks like the premier pass receiver in the National Football League,'' Phillips said. ``It doesn't look like anybody can stop him.''
But a tight hamstring might. Bruce missed practice Thursday and Friday, but will play Sunday. Similarly, Banks will attempt to play with a sore throwing shoulder that forced him to miss the bulk of team's practice time Wednesday and Thurday.
Injuries aside, Banks says, ``I think we have a little more confidence than we did. But any time you lose, there's no asterisks next to that loss saying that we played well in the second half.''
The Rams have been outscored 28-0 in the first quarter this season, but have outscored the opposition 31-14 in the second half.
``We're going to try to get it going in the first half, and play with the lead for a change rather than play catch-up,'' Banks said.
Which would be something entirely different.

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