SB Nation St. Louis - 49ers vs. Rams final: Defensive scores and Greg Zuerlein pace Rams' upsethttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49009/stl-fave.png2012-12-04T09:00:51-06:00http://stlouis.sbnation.com/rss/stream/34822712012-12-04T09:00:51-06:002012-12-04T09:00:51-06:00Robert Quinn limited (by design) after concussion
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<figcaption>Brian Bahr</figcaption>
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<p>Robert Quinn was limited by a concussion in the St. Louis Rams' win over the San Francisco 49ers' win on Sunday, but that was probably by design. </p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams">St. Louis Rams</a> were without <span>Robert Quinn</span> for much of their Week 13 win over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ninersnation.com/">San Francisco 49ers</a>, thanks to the after-effects of a concussion that <a href="http://stlouis.sbnation.com/2012/11/28/3703508/robert-quinn-concussion-injury" target="_blank">limited him in practice all week</a>; he appeared in just 20 of 76 snaps for the Rams' defense, exactly long enough to get called for a questionable Roughing the Passer penalty. </p>
<p>The atmosphere in the NFL has reached the point where no concussion, justifiably, is considered routine. But Quinn's limited snaps on Sunday were probably by design; he'd barely practiced the week before, and the Rams would be foolish to rush their sack leader back too soon in the middle of his breakout season.</p>
<p>Quinn was cleared to play, and he was participating in practice by the end of last week, so it seems unlikely that this problem will persist into Week 14. But the Rams are smart to try to avoid the chance of that happening with a player on the way to 10 sacks in his sophomore season. The linemen whose playing time increased in his absence—<span>Eugene Sims</span> and <span>William Hayes</span>—each made his presence felt, so there's no particular incentive to pushing things. </p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/rams-vs-49ers-schedule-score/2012/12/4/3724216/robert-quinn-injury-st-louis-ramsDan Moore2012-12-04T07:40:01-06:002012-12-04T07:40:01-06:00Chris Givens's role depends on Amendola's health
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<figcaption>David Welker</figcaption>
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<p>Chris Givens has been the St. Louis Rams' most dependable receiver—and a great fantasy football option—for two weeks running, but things won't be clear until we know if Danny Amendola is healthy.</p> <p>For most of his increasingly impressive rookie season the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams">St. Louis Rams</a> have targeted Chris Givens about as often no matter what <span>Danny Amendola</span> is doing. All that changed Sunday, when Amendola was ruled out with a foot injury and Givens earned a career-high 14 targets, catching 11 of them for 92 yards. It was, much like Amendola at his best, a great fantasy football day if you get points for receptions. </p>
<p>It also knocked his average yards per reception down from 21 per catch to 17, but A) 21 just looks <i>unnatural</i> for that stat anyway and B) it made it clear just how much <span>Sam Bradford</span> trusts a receiver who, in the early going, seemed to be strictly a deep threat.</p>
<p>Now, at least, it looks like Givens is <i>both</i>. He's still the Rams' most dangerous receiver downfield, but in Amendola's absence the Rams have gone to him for the short and middle-yardage plays that used to be the province of Amendola and <span>Brandon Gibson</span>, who's all but disappeared over the last two weeks despite his solid play this season. </p>
<p>Givens isn't just part of the Rams' future—he's part of the present. But until we know whether Danny Amendola will be able to play in a capacity beyond the seven snaps he took against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.revengeofthebirds.com/">Arizona Cardinals</a> in Week 12, we won't know if Givens will be the everyman No. 1 he's shown with Amendola out or the emerging playmaker he was before. So proceed with at least a little caution. </p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/2012/12/4/3724330/chris-givens-fantasy-football-danny-amendola-injuryDan Moore2012-12-03T09:00:53-06:002012-12-03T09:00:53-06:00After 150 minutes, the Rams finally beat the 49ers
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<figcaption>Dilip Vishwanat</figcaption>
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<p>It took almost 150 minutes, but the Rams and 49ers finally came to a conclusion. And the Good Guys came out on top. Somewhere Ken Norton Jr. is working an innocent goalpost for all the right reasons. </p> <p>The <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams" class="sbn-auto-link">St. Louis Rams</a> and <a href="https://www.ninersnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">49ers</a> played 149:35 of a possible 150 minutes in the regular season. Every single one of them was damn good entertainment.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dcmGx87eQE">THIS</a> was the first real football memory that I have. The Rams were new to St. Louis, but everyone informed me that I already had a duty—a sworn obligation, really. That if I stood by one thing in the NFL, it was that I hated the 49ers.</p>
<p>As they beat the snot out of the Rams twice a year, every year, it wasn't hard. Those bastards were the litmus test and the Rams never, ever measured up.</p>
<p>When the '99 Greatest Show on Turf ended a four year STL drought against SF with a win, I think that was the exact moment where all of us Rams fans stopped acting like we believed in <span>Kurt Warner</span> & Co., and started to ACTUALLY believe.</p>
<p>If they could beat the 49ers... this team was legit.</p>
<p>Turns out that the ascension of the Rams into Super Bowl contenders dovetailed with 49ers' slide into mediocrity. The Rams ended up joining them in the mid 00's and the juice doesn't get flowing as easy when both teams are 4-8.</p>
<p>And while the Rams are still a losing team according to their record, they're on the come. The 49ers are there now, with a young nucleus that is poised to make extended runs to the postseason over the next few years. For the first time in nearly a decade, the Rams and Niners are playing meaningful games against each other.</p>
<p>And, damn, did I forget just how great it is to beat those shit stains.</p>
<h3><b>Down to the wire again? </b></h3>
<p>Ties in the NFL just don't happen. And the Rams were a 50+ yard missed FG away from pretty much assuring that this was going to be the first time since the 60s that the same teams tied twice in the same season. Again, special teams—a shanked punt for the Rams, a missed <span>David Akers</span> FG for the 49ers—decided the fate of the game.</p>
<h3><b>But ARGHHHH...</b></h3>
<p>If the 49ers are actually the cream of the NFC crop, real Super Bowl contenders, then just why are the Rams sitting below .500?</p>
<p>Pissing away games against the <a href="https://www.prideofdetroit.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Lions</a>, <a href="https://www.ganggreennation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Jets</a> and <a href="https://www.thephinsider.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Dolphins</a> was painful at the time. But now? Now it's downright depressing to think about how much fun today would be if the Rams were playoff contenders. I want to be positive about this. I really do.</p>
<p>But the end-game of the win against SF is that the Rams get a worse draft pick. Sucks.</p>
<h3><b>Credit Due.</b></h3>
<p>Samuel Bradford didn't play great. But he did do the things needed to win an NFL game. The drive in OT with two long scrambles was pristine, if also aided by a stupid personal foul 15 yard penalty by SF. And the two-point conversion in Q4 was clutch, since a false start by Rodger Saffold put the Rams almost eight yards out from the end zone.</p>
<p>Bradford has two of the five highest passing totals against the 49ers in 2013. And that's minus Amendola and with Steve Smith's corpse out beating balls into the turf with his "hands."</p>
<p>We've said it for weeks, but Bradford is paid to make the big plays in the big moments. And Sunday, while not jaw dropping, was effective. Something to build on. A start.</p>
<h3><b>It wasn't all puppies and rainbows, though. </b></h3>
<p>Jenoris Jenkins knows that when it's 3rd and 3, that playing 8 yards off the line of scrimmage isn't going to end well, right?</p>
<p>If that Colin Kaepernick lateral pass doesn't go astray, the Rams lose that game, right?</p>
<p>Brian Schottenheimer knew it was 3rd & 1 when he called a deep bomb down the sideline out of nowhere, right?</p>
<p>Getting it to the 50 and hoping that Legatron makes a FG isn't an offensive strategy that Jeff Fisher is counting on for the long term, right?</p>
<p><span>Chris Long</span> is still on the Rams, right?</p>
<p>Let's not linger on the negative after such a massive win. But this game was teetering on a razor's edge for the bulk of four hours Sunday. There are issues to address. There's room to improve.</p>
<p>Good luck to the 49ers in the playoffs. Just remember one thing, though - The Rams still own your asses. See you in 2013.</p>
<h3>Twitter Reacts...</h3>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1821235/W13T1.jpg"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1821235/W13T1_medium.jpg" class="photo" alt="W13t1_medium"></a></p>
<p>Rapper E-40 has made many bad decisions since leaving The Click, so it's not surprising that he's out making bad football picks on Twitter.</p>
<p>Also, he invested heavily in Microsoft and wishes he'd had put that $$$ in Apple <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-40">according to his Wikipedia pag</a><a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-40">e</a>.</p>
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<p>Love Mike Brockers saying the rivalry is back. Love the talk that this could be a MNF or SNF game in 2013. Love that we already have something to look forward to next football season, no matter what happens the next several weeks.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1821243/W13T2.jpg"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1821243/W13T2_medium.jpg" class="photo" alt="W13t2_medium"></a></p>
<p>Carl Cheffers sounds like the name of a bad ref. He did nothing to dispel this assumption on Sunday. Bitching about referees is about as entertaining as reading about as your fantasy team. Or your kids. So we'll leave it at read that Tweet again, research where Carl is going next week, go to Vegas... pay for the whole deal courtesy of Carl.</p>
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<p>I thought about spinning this off into its own post when news broke earlier this week of Rams owner Stan Kroenke buying a huge ranch and 4,500 cows in Montana. Then I got sad thinking how we're probably going to look back on this in a couple years and realize that Mr. Kroenke was willing to spend $100+ million on cows, but because we the taxpayers won't buck up for a new stadium, he's taking his team to LA.</p>
<p>Sigh.</p>
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<p>Damn straight, Rally Squirrel. Damn straight.</p>
<p><b>Record: </b>5-6-1</p>
<p><b>Real Meter: </b>(Where we project the Rams win total for the year): 8</p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/rams-vs-49ers-schedule-score/2012/12/3/3720072/rams-real-talk-the-san-francisco-beatAaron Hooks2012-12-03T07:45:26-06:002012-12-03T07:45:26-06:00Chris Givens takes advantage of 14(!) targets
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<figcaption>David Welker</figcaption>
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<p>The St. Louis Rams have found their Danny Amendola replacement, if the last two weeks are any indication.</p> <p>Chris Givens might not be catching one 50-yard pass a game, like he used to, but over the last two weeks he's emerged as the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams">St. Louis Rams</a>' unquestionable No. 1 wide receiver, and the transformation has been remarkably sudden. When <span>Danny Amendola</span> was out with a collarbone injury earlier in the year, <span>Brandon Gibson</span> stepped in; now that Amendola is out with a foot injury Givens has caught 16 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown, and Gibson hasn't been targeted a single time. </p>
<p>It's a huge return on investment already for a fifth-round pick on a team starved for wide receivers, and it's clear that he and <span>Sam Bradford</span> are developing a rapport—his 14 targets on Sunday were twice as many as he's received all season. </p>
<p>Danny Amendola might be back before the end of the season, but if Givens continues to play this well that will only mean that the Rams suddenly have two impressive wide receivers for Bradford to rely on. While <span>Brian Quick</span> struggles, and after missing on <span>Mardy Gilyard</span>, <span>Greg Salas</span>, and <span>Austin Pettis</span>, it's nice to see one of the Rams' investments pay off. </p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/rams-vs-49ers-schedule-score/2012/12/3/3721002/chris-givens-rams-fantasy-2012Dan Moore2012-12-03T07:15:19-06:002012-12-03T07:15:19-06:00How Steven Jackson commands the offense (again)
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<figcaption>David Welker</figcaption>
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<p>The San Francisco 49ers stopped Steven Jackson on the ground on Sunday, but the St. Louis Rams made it clear that he's at the center of their offense when they went back to him through the air. </p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams">St. Louis Rams</a> went back to Steven Jackson through the good times of the last three weeks—when their all-time leading rusher, left for dead, crossed 100 yards twice and averaged nearly five yards per carry—but it was the way they continued feeding him the ball despite the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ninersnation.com/">San Francisco 49ers</a> successfully stuffing the run game that proved Jackson was back at the center of the Rams' offense, where he's been most of his career.</p>
<p>Because when running the ball didn't work, the Rams didn't try <span>Daryl Richardson</span> or stuff the field with wide receivers—they <i>passed the ball to Steven Jackson</i>. After 11 games in which he'd caught all of 16 passes for 129 yards, Jackson caught five for 69 yards on Sunday, and most of them were crucial plays. Free behind the 49ers' bruising first line of defense, Jackson ran with the same speed and abandon we saw last week against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.revengeofthebirds.com/">Cardinals</a>—he just did it on forward passes. </p>
<p>The 21 carries for 48 yards were rough, but neither Jackson nor the Rams were deterred. After a tentative season, it looks like Brian Schottenheimer and company finally have something they feel confident about. </p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/rams-vs-49ers-schedule-score/2012/12/3/3720932/steven-jackson-rams-vs-49ers-starterDan Moore2012-12-03T07:04:29-06:002012-12-03T07:04:29-06:00The Rams beat the 49ers—no matter how they did it
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<p>The St. Louis Rams didn't dominate the San Francisco 49ers by any means—but beating one of the best teams in the NFC is reason to celebrate no matter how you do it.</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams">St. Louis Rams</a>' final score vs. the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ninersnation.com/">San Francisco 49ers</a>—16-13—is one of those awkward football numbers that suggests awkward football happened, and anyone who watched their tie-game rematch in its entirety would be hard-pressed to deny that snap judgment. The Rams' first 10 points came because the defense forced <span>Colin Kaepernick</span> into weird mistakes, first pushing him so far back into the end zone he couldn't throw the ball away over the line of scrimmage and then taking advantage of a botched pitch to score yet another defensive touchdown. </p>
<p>And they won, of course, because <span>Greg Zuerlein</span> regained his ability to make 50-yard field goals look somewhat easier than 30-yard field goals, while Dave Akers didn't. </p>
<p>But however they did it, this is not the week for hushed introspection about the 2012 and 2013 St. Louis Rams. There'll be plenty of time for that after the next loss, and in the offseason, and before the draft, and basically any time two Rams fans get together between now and next August. For now, the Rams have earned a few days in which we talk about nothing but how nice it is to see them beat the best team in the NFC West, even if it took a little longer than we expected for them to finally do it. </p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/rams-vs-49ers-schedule-score/2012/12/3/3721036/st-louis-rams-final-score-vs-49ersDan Moore2012-12-02T15:43:02-06:002012-12-02T15:43:02-06:00Rams upset 49ers in another near-tie
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<figcaption>US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>The St. Louis Rams top the San Francisco 49ers in their second overtime meeting in a month. </p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/st-louis-rams">St. Louis Rams</a> and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.ninersnation.com/">San Francisco 49ers</a> ended up in overtime for the second game in as many meetings, but this one didn't end in a tie score—some late mistakes from <span>Colin Kaepernick</span> opened the door for the Rams, and <span>Greg Zuerlein</span> had his best game in weeks to seal a 16-13 victory. </p>
<p>In overtime, after a particularly bad punt, the Rams looked set to avoid the tie in a much less exciting fashion. <span>David Akers</span> appeared ready to end things once and for all with a 51-yard field goal, but he missed wide and the game went back to the Rams, whose offense continued its steady, inefficient performance up the field. <span>Sam Bradford</span> and Steven Jackson got the ball within 54 yards of the uprights, and Greg Zuerlein did the rest, kicking his second 50-yarder of the afternoon. </p>
<p>The Rams improve to 5-6-1 on the season with the win. Sam Bradford finished 26-for-39 for 221 yards (and three important carries for 31 more), while Steven Jackson rushed 21 times for just 48 yards but also caught five passes for 69 yards. Chris Givens continued to impress with <span>Danny Amendola</span> injured, catching a career-high 11 passes for 92 yards. Their most important offensive player, though, was... <span>Janoris Jenkins</span>, who tied the game with <a href="http://stlouis.sbnation.com/rams-vs-49ers-schedule-score/2012/12/2/3718678/rams-vs-49ers-score-update-janoris-jenkins-touchdown">an wild hustle play</a> after Kaepernick botched a pitch to Ted Ginn. </p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/rams-vs-49ers-schedule-score/2012/12/2/3718876/rams-vs-49ers-final-score-overtime-greg-zuerleinDan Moore2012-12-02T15:05:17-06:002012-12-02T15:05:17-06:00Overtime! Again!
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<figcaption>Dilip Vishwanat</figcaption>
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<p>Greg Zuerlein and the St. Louis Rams tied their second consecutive game with the San Francisco 49ers, sending things into overtime.</p> <p>The St. Louis Rams and the San Francisco 49ers will take to overtime once again in Week 13, with Greg Zuerlein and the Rams tying the score at 13 after a crazy defensive touchdown. Colin Kaepernick's mistakes allowed the Rams back into the game, and his legs nearly ended the game shortly afterward, but Sam Bradford and company were able to put a scoring drive together just in time; they'll get the ball after winning the coin toss in overtime. Up next: The Rams try not to tie the 49ers for the second time in a month. </p>
<p>Bradford led a not-especially-efficient but very daring fourth-quarter drive, running up the middle for two first downs before running out of steam just past midfield. But his short passes in the last minute got the Rams from world-record-field-goal position to really-long-field-goal-position, and at that distance they have an in-built advantage.</p>
<p>That's Greg Zuerlein, who needed to make a 53-yarder to tie the game. His field goal was perfect, and the Rams and the 49ers reconvened at midfield to start the overtime period. It's been 50 years since two teams tied twice in the same season—the Rams, fortunately or unfortunately, are in a position to do just that against the NFC West's best team. </p>
https://stlouis.sbnation.com/rams-vs-49ers-schedule-score/2012/12/2/3718760/rams-vs-49ers-score-update-overtime-again-as-greg-zuerlein-tiesDan Moore