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TAKIN' IT TO MECCA
BY RAMMED FOR LIFE (Dec 12)

St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner (L) passes during first half action at the Louisiana Superdome Sunday. The Rams won the game, 30-14. (David Rae Morris/Reuters)

COMING TO TOWN. I am coming to St. Louis for the Giants game. I am driving down from MN!

Planet Hollywood Board Rally! Your 1st official notice! I want to see as many of you Ram-fan yahoos as possible next Saturday night at Planet Hollywood! Start  whenever you can. I hope to be there by 7:30 or so--hard to tell.

Then, again in the morning and some tailgating!  I am willing to contribute to a tailgating effort if someone will give me some instructions on what to  bring!

RAMS & GIANTS. I think the Giants are in trouble! Their D-very tough front 7--lesser secondary. That's the sort of good D that we can light up. SF has that sort of D, as does Balt and, to a lesser extent, CAR. We lit them all up.

Our OL is getting better and tougher every week. But it is more than that. Our WRs (the Warner Brothers) are supremely gifted at getting open FAST! When Martz wants to do things that way, he can have Warner releasing the ball in under 2 seconds all over the field. Then there's Marshall, who can release upfield for a quick blitz-control dump-off pass blindingly fast.

I am a 32 year Ram fan who is very willing to criticize. Guys on the Rams.Rivals.Com board call me a worrier and refer to a couple of us realists as the Darkside Posters. And I am telling you something---most NFL fans rarely if ever seen an O like this! I believe that in time (if not this year) this O will become legendary---fully on a par with the great SF and SD offenses. That's not hype. Because...it hasn't peaked yet! Amazingly, we still make many dumb, young-O mistakes. New Orleans never even slowed us down Sunday---yet we blew several chances to score. '

That's one of our weaknesses.

But the Giants shouldn't count on it too much. This O blows chances to score---but virtually NEVER do they do so when they really need a score, when the game is on the line.

Our other weaknesses? Inconsistent secondary: they play tough one minute and are a sieve the next. (If we get Lyle back at FS, we will solidify again.) Is the Giants pass O good enough to exploit that, though? Few teams  have been---besides Det with Crowell and, for one half, Tenn. Good as Seifert's WCO is becoming, Beurelein couldn't manage to hurt us very badly.

Our other weakness? Our FG kicker is streaky. Maybe that will matter.

Other than that ...Frankly--I don't see us losing this one!

THE SEASON THUS FAR.  Have you ever seen a stranger season than this has been? Here we are at 11-2. Yet we have virtually no national coverage---few fans have actually seen us!

Even stranger is the number of meaningless games we have played. I have NEVER seen a winning team have an experience like this. Think of it: we have NO big, come-from-behind, nail-biting wins against excellent teams. None! Who has ever gone 11-2 with so many yawners? (I mean, did you ever seriously doubt we would win last Sunday against the Saints?)

Count the "down" games this year. Definition of a down game: one in which the opposition provides little motivation and, other than getting the W, you have little to prove by beating them---more to lose than to win. Cincy, Browns, Atl. #2, SF #2, N O #1, N O #2--any others? Even the BALT and CAR games  were against only middle-level teams.

Think of how often the Rams have had to be professional about boring games. Think of how many times the coaches have had to try to sell the idea that "These guys are dangerous ..." That is tough. It really is. I honestly think that this in part the reason why our O is so spotty--alternating between brilliance and shooting itself in the foot. It is just hard to stay motivated and maintain that fine edge of  execution.

You know what?  There is a part of me that would be willing to trade some of the gaudy numbers and the early clinching for a tough schedule. I would almost rather be about 9 and 4 and fighting for our lives against good teams than have this bland, featureless run of wins that no one knows how to evaluate. I think that a tough schedule, even with more losses, would hone our edge and make us better as we go into the playoffs.

Of course, that is dangerous thinking. Who knows how we would have done this year if we had been knocked off early? Maybe tougher games would have meant more injuries. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

It's just a weird season. A great platform and opportunity for us to leap frog some developmental stages. But weird nonetheless.

I am glad to be done with the division. I am glad to face a good Giants team next week--and a pretty good Bear team the week after.

I can't wait for the playoffs.  (But I do hope we have wrapped things up before Philly. I want little to do with that rug for our starters!)

ONE LAST NOTE---ON BLY. In his press conference Monday DV made this point: "Bly was beaten early when he tried to jump a short route and they threw deep but otherwise played well."

Very interesting. I think route-jumping is exactly Bly's instinct. Remember that he did that to get that dramatic TD INT last week.

Now, Bly will need to learn to pick his spots and disguise it and all the rest. But I like his willingness to take a chance and deny that quick slant! The WCO's quick slant is the bane of defenses league-wide. Better than playing a 10 yard cushion! Of course, he'll need safety help to do that often.