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LET IT GO LOUIE
BY ZOOEY (Nov 8)

St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner (13) walks off the field dejected after his pass was intercepted by Detroit Lions safety Ron Rice with 14 seconds left in the game in the Rams 31-27 loss at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., Sunday, Nov. 7, 1999. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

ANYTHING TO BE BITTER ABOUT?  This team is better than we expected it to be this soon and we should all be happy with that. So, now, the Rams fail to survive some of those rough spots on the road against better than average teams. Big deal. The Lions game was a big game, bigger than last week's in fact, and they lost. That stinks, but, again, big deal.

The Rams may not win the Super Bowl this year. And the fact that the Rams may not be the very best team in football seems to have a few people wanting to slit their wrists around here. Here's the thing, though: Didn't we already know that? Didn't we know that even when they were 6-0 and whacking everybody by nearly 4 touchdowns a game? Didn't fans discuss those weakness weekly? Remember how people who mentioned that the Rams running game was inconsistent (or whatever) were laughed at because it seemed like nit-picking to mention it, like pointing out that "Sure, Cindy Crawford is beautiful, but what about that mole on her face?"

At the same time, voices here expressed concern that the Rams might buy into all this media hype, and praise was given to Warner for not doing so. Well, ironically, it looks to me like a  lot of people here bought into that hype. After the unbelievable start, people wanted that winning streak to continue, and anything less was bound to disappoint. But you know what? We knew this team was not the 85 Bears, the 86 Giants, the 87 Niners, the Jimmy Johnson Cowboys. And even if the 99 Rams had gone 19-0, I would have known that they were not as good as those teams. They may yet be, but they are not there now.

A couple of things: First of all, no team in the history of the NFL has sustained a pace like the Rams were on the first six games. No team in NFL history even equaled what the Rams did to start the season. Only the '68 Cowboys got off to a start hot enough to be put in the same category as the Rams' start this year, and they were not AS hot, nor did it last AS long. (The '68 Cowboys failed to win the championship that year, you may recall).

It looks like the Lombardi trophy will be contested after all. As that reality sinks in over the next week, and the  Rams take another dip in the Power Rankings, I think we would well to remember how far the Rams have come, AND how much further they will go.


HOMEFIELD. It is easy now to get down on the team and start complaining about the weaknesses. But I'd  like to point out that before the season there was no talk of the Super Bowl. We all wanted to see progress. And we've seen it. This season is still very successful at this point AND we still have as good a shot as anybody at the Super Bowl. I think that's phenomenal.  Yes, the Rams lost two important games, back-to-back, against playoff-bound teams. They looked vulnerable in both games, and their unstoppable offense looked, well, stoppable. BUT REMEMBER THIS: These last two losses don't really tell us any more about how the Rams will fare in the playoffs than the first six wins did. It is a long season. How hot the Rams are rolling into the playoffs is much, much more important than how hot they were at the start of the season. Six, seven, eight weeks from now, the Titans and Lions will not be much more relevant to our hopes for the Rams in the playoffs than the Ravens game is to us going into the Panther game next week. Guys will get hurt, guys will emerge. Other teams will experience travails. It is a long season and the Rams ship is not sunk.

I see these losses as a maturing experience for the 2nd youngest team in the NFL, a necessary step on the way to greatness. I, for one, believe that this team is in a 2 year rebuilding project. This is year one. I'd say the rebuilding plan is ahead of schedule at this point. So the fact that the Rams are not THERE yet, is not disappointing to me.

The Rams did a lot of good things in those games that can be built upon. For example, the fact that Warner led the team on drives at the ends  of those two games answers a question positively that we were asking around here, namely how would  the Rams do in the 2 minute? Warner led good drives (that could have been  better, of course) that the team can build on. They know the offense can drive the ball when they have to. That's good.

I don't think there is a single team in the NFC that I would say will  overmatch the Rams in St. Louis. The Lions scrapped by the Rams in Detroit, but if they play in St. Louis in  the postseason, nothing I saw Sunday would make me pessimistic. I'll have butterflies in my stomach no matter who it is, but my point is that there is not even ONE SINGLE TEAM in the NFC that you can tell me is clearly better than the Rams.  Right now, the team still knows that if they play their best, they will win. They are not going to walk onto the field thinking, "We're overmatched here."

It seems to me that much of this sackcloth and ashes stuff comes from the expectation, built up over the first 6 games, that the Rams were head and shoulders above everybody else. But remember, two weeks ago we didn't think beating those teams would prove anything about the Rams playoff chances. Losing doesn't either. The playoffs start in 9 weeks (10 for the Rams who sill get a bye the first week). Lots and lots will change before then. Including the mood of the fans (several times, if I'm not mistaken).

The Rams have some work to do. But I would have agreed with that assessment even if the Rams were 8-0 right now.  If the Rams had rolled over the Titans and Lions they would surely be suffering  from Enormous Head Swell right now, the disease many people think unraveled the Vikings last year. I would much rather the Rams lose NOW and get the hell back to work, taking nothing for granted, than get beat in the playoffs because they were already thinking about going to Disneyland.

Picture this: The Rams and Lions meet in the playoffs, and the Rams win. How important will this last game be to you then? Think it can't happen?

They have a softer schedule than anyone else, and tied for the best record right now. I think the Rams  are still sitting pretty for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, and I don't see a team RIGHT NOW that is definitely superior.

I say the Rams have the homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, and if the seedings hold, get the Lions at home in the NFC Championship game. And I was all set to be happy with a wildcard berth this year. The Championship game is GRAVY to me right now, man. There is still a very good shot at the Super Bowl. We're in the hunt, man. Very much so. And next year the Rams will be even better. So, smile away.

This is a great season, man. Remember the past nine seasons? I do.
This is FUN. Enjoy it!