NFL

The Rams Will Win a Blowout

By Bill Kongsberg
For Outsports.com

I am so proud of the Patriots. Not because they are my team (they are not), but because they overachieved all season, and scraped their way to the Super Bowl. Also, I'm proud of them for making my "2001 is 1994" argument a reality. Thanks guys, I owe you one.

 Now, here are some other teams I've been proud of: The 1994 Chargers (49-26 losers in SB XXIX), the 1996 Patriots (35-21 losers in SB XXXI), the 1999 Titans (23-16 losers in SB XXXIV). Catch the trend here? This is just another example of an AFC team which toiled tirelessly to get to the Big Game, only to lose to an obviously superior NFC team. I'm not a betting man (OK, that's a lie, I am a betting man) but if I was I'd take the Rams with the points in this one. 

One of the things the Pats have done best this year is their red zone defense. Despite ranking 24th in the NFL in yards allowed, the team is 6th in points allowed, mainly because they tighten things up in the red zone. But this Rams team can attack at will from anywhere on the field. Warner threw for 401 yards in their meeting during the season; there's no reason he can't do that again. Look at the matchup.

When the two teams played back on Nov. 18, the Pats managed to stay with the Rams by controlling the tempo of the game early. But that disappeared in a big way late in the game and the Rams won, 24-17. The Rams got the ball back with 7:46 remaining and a seven-point lead, and the Pats never got the ball back. St. Louis ran a 14-play drive to end the game. If the Rams learned in that game that they can run at will against New England (especially considering that the game was played on natural grass, at Foxboro), the Pats could be in for some serious trouble. 

The key to this game may be the play of safeties Otis Smith and Tebucky Jones. If the Rams open up and establish dominance on the ground with Marshall Faulk, the safeties will be in the no-win situation of having to watch for the run, while remaining very aware of the deadly passing game and all the receiving weapons available to St. Louis. 

Stat O' The Day: When a team which had the best points scored margin in the NFL makes the Super Bowl, they are 5-0 since 1991. The last time such a team lost was 1990, when the Bills lost 20-19 to the Giants, who had the second-base points scored margin in the NFL. And that loss was merely by inches. Thank you, Scott Norwood. The Rams had the best points scored margin in the NFL this year. 

Prognosis: The Rams Achilles' heel is turnovers. If the Pats can find a way to rattle Kurt Warner and force at least a couple of picks, they'll have a chance to stay in this one. If not, don't expect the Patriots to stay within 14 in this one.

Rams 37, Patriots 14

Jan. 30, 2002