By Cedric Williams
On Sunday, the St. Louis Rams got back on the winning track by finally putting an end to what had been a truly disheartening five-game losing streak by knocking off the Detroit Lions, 21-14.
The best part of the victory was probably the fact that the Rams won the way they’d hoped to win all season — they were very effective running the ball on offense and their defense pretty much bottled up Detroit’s high-powered offense for most of the day.
It was easily the most fun the Rams have had on game day in more than a month.
But because of the schedule, which has St. Louis hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football this week, the Rams didn’t get to enjoy Sunday’s victory for very long. There were some high-fives and hugs in the locker room, but then almost immediately, the focus for the club became Thursday night’s showdown against the Bucs.
“We didn’t get to spend a lot of time on the game for obvious reasons, but we did go through it late last night,” Rams head coach Jeff Fisher said on Monday, during his weekly day-after-the-game press conference. “We gave out some game balls this morning, and then we got right on to the Bucs. Things are good. Guys are excited. They respect their opponent. Tampa is playing really well. I think they’re 11th in offense and 11th in defense. They’re making a lot of plays.”
And unlike most weeks, the Rams won’t have a full week to get ready for their opponent. This week, with only three days to get ready for a game, it’s almost like there is no Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Everything about how the Rams usually prepare for a game has been moved up to account for the quick turnaround.
“There’s no such thing as Wednesday (this week),” Fisher said. “We just finished a Thursday practice (on Monday). (Tuesday) is Friday. Then Wednesday is a Saturday. We lost Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. That’s how it is on Thursday games.”
For Tampa Bay, the turnaround is even quicker because the Bucs will have to give up an additional day of preparation so they can travel to St. Louis for the game. Most teams would probably consider that a problem, but Tampa head coach Lovie Smith said on Monday that he was glad his team didn’t have to wait a full week to get back on the field, after it lost a tight ball game last week to NFC South rival New Orleans, 24-17.
“That’s exactly how you want to do it,” Smith told the Tampa-area media on Monday. “It was disappointing yesterday. There is no way around it. It was disappointing yesterday. When you’re disappointed, you want to make it right. You get a chance to come back.
“We had some disappointments this year. What I’ve seen from my football team is we have bounced back. To be able to play the football game earlier, that is a good thing.”
Kickoff on Thursday night at the Edward Jones Dome is set for 7:25 p.m., with the game being televised nationally on NFL Network and locally on KMOV-Channel 4.
Cedric Williams, a lifelong St. Louisan and proud UMSL alum, has been a full-time reporter/photographer covering St. Louis area sports for nearly two decades. Most recently, he has been working as a credentialed beat writer covering the NFL, as well as college and high school sports for the St. Louis American, Patch.com, and other outlets from around the area. Please share any comments, questions, or feedback with Cedric at cedricwilliams510@gmail.com. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
