Somebody forgot to tell Kurt Warner that this isn’t Arena Football anymore.
In the first three games of the season, the Rams offense is playing as if they are in the Arena League.
There is one major problem though. The defense is playing like this really is Arena Football.
With Kurt Warner at the helm, it isn’t surprising that the Rams are putting up Arena-like numbers: the offense is averaging just under 40 points a game, Kurt Warner has thrown for 1201 yards (7/10 of a mile), Marshall Faulk thinks he is playing Madden 2001 for Playstation, and the receivers are making defenses look like they are moving in slow motion.
Unfortunately, the Rams defense couldn’t keep a troop of Girl Scouts from marching down the field. The defense is giving up just under 32 points a game, has yielded 1163 yards to opponents and is ranked second to last in the NFC.
In the game Sunday against the 49ers two things were quite evident. One, the 49ers defense had as much chance of stopping the Rams as Paraguay does of beating the Dream Team. Two, the Rams defense had as much chance of stopping the 49ers as Jamaica does of winning the fencing gold. The difference: the 49ers had no chance of stopping the Rams, and the Rams had a slightly better chance to stop the 49ers, but it wasn’t much better.
Take a look at the high-power offense that the 49ers were throwing at the Rams last weekend: quarterback, Jeff Garcia; running back, Charlie Garner; receivers, Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice. Given, Rice is perhaps the best wide receiver ever, but he only had three catches for 44 yards.
Garcia threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns, Owens caught six passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, and Garner had 127 total yards with a touchdown. The point of all these stats is that against a mediocre offense the Rams defense got lit up like Michael Jackson in a Pepsi commercial.
The question is, what happens when the Rams play the Giants, the Vikings, or dare I say, the Buccaneers? These offenses are legitimate powerhouses.
The Giants have the thunder and lightning combination of Ron Dayne and Tiki Barber. The Vikings have the man with the second most receptions all time, Chris Carter, and they also have some guy named Moss.
The Bucs have Mike Alstott, Warrick Dunn and Keyshawn Johnson… and I realize that we are talking about Tampa Bay, but it is tough to argue with 72 points in the last two games.
The Rams offense has nothing to prove to anyone. St. Louis has arguably the best offense ever to take the field.
Unfortunately, this offense does not engineer scoring drives that take eight minutes. For example, the Rams scored in a mere 21 seconds on Sunday.
On the other hand, the defense has everything to prove. This defense that the Rams have is reminiscent of the players on a foosball table. No one tackles, no one hits, and certainly no one stops the ball.
Does this mean that a Super Bowl repeat is only a dream? Of course not, with the Rams offense anything is possible.
One thing is certain though, something has to be done about the defense. What’s the solution, who knows? All that is for certain is that the Rams defense is simply offensive.
