The St. Louis Rams are finally being considered the favorites to repeat this year and win the Super Bowl. And it’s about damn time.
Of course you don’t just rack up 57 points in one game and expect no one will notice. Somebody had to get the picture at some point.
Fact is though, I’m not entirely sure this team can be stopped. 57 points against San Diego is fairly significant, but hey, it’s just the Chargers right?
Look at the facts of last Sunday’s blowout:
1. 57 points was more total points than any two teams put on the board on Sunday. Closest duo? The Vikings and Lions game was 31-24, for 55 points.
2. Kurt Warner’s quarterback rating was a perfect 158.3. 158.3! No one has seen a QB rating like that since Peyton Manning was in Pop Warner football.
3. Warner’s numbers on the day? 24-30, 390 yards, four touchdowns. Not bad, if you’re God. Oh, and head coach Mike Martz pulled him in the third quarter.
4. Trent Green came in at the end of the third and went 3-4 for 75 yards and one touchdown. Yes, the backup averaged 25 yards per throw.
5. The Rams had 614 yards of total offense. The last time that happened? 1986. Back then the Eagles were good, trickle down economics were the norm and I think Blondie had a #1 single.
6. Final stat? Some guy named Justin Watson carried the ball 14 times for 102 yards. That’s 7.3 yards per carry. This guy doesn’t even have a Topps football card and he’s averaging more yards per carry than Barry Sanders did in his entire career.
Yes, it was a game against the Chargers, a franchise that hasn’t seen happy days since the Fonz, but let’s be honest, these numbers are impressive against anybody. I’d be impressed if Florida State put up 614 yards against Boise St.
This team hasn’t been showing this kind of explosion in a few games, but every game, week in and week out. Warner’s numbers on the year have been, how shall we say, impressive? He’s completed 119 of 165 passes for 1,947 yards and 14 TDs.
Second closest in yardage? Some guy named Favre has 1,220 yards. Oh, St. Louis has a bye week this week, Green Bay doesn’t. Guess who’s still going to be leading the league in passing after that’s all over.
Three of the top four receivers in the league have Rams horns on their helmets. Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt and Issac Bruce all have over 375 yards receiving on the year.
St. Louis’ kicker, Jeff Wilkins, scored 21 points last week alone. The Bengals haven’t scored 21 points as a team since Reagan was president.
Throw into the mix the fact that the Rams are averaging 43.7 points per game, or roughly 13.7 points higher than your average Math 192 prelim grade.
That stat just makes me sick to my stomach.
The point of it all? Well specifically, one more Super Bowl ring for Warner & Co. Quietly though, this team wants to be 19-0.
Think it can’t be done? Think again. This team has a legitimate shot to push the 1972 Dolphins right out of the record book. This offense can simply outscore everyone, even Alec Baldwin at the Playboy Mansion. Simply put, if it just keeps scoring, and its defense just keeps a pulse, there’s no telling what this team can do. It is talented, experienced, and hungry.
And who’s going to beat them? Certainly not the hapless Redskins. The Bucs don’t score enough, and I don’t think they’re good enough defensively, though I’m not sure a pro bowl team could stop this offense. No one has the corners to stop the Rams. I’ve heard reports that some teams feel they would need as many as four talented cornerbacks to stop St. Louis from passing. I’m not sure anything short of an act of God would stop Warner & Co.
The result? My prediction stands as it did to start the year, Rams over the Colts in the Super Bowl. I just didn’t think the final score would be 52-14.
Eh, at least it will be fun to watch.
Archived article by Charles Persons