So this was what we waited twenty two years for? A stinker of a first quarter only got smellier, and by the end of the fourth quarter, Angelenos from Malibu to Irvine must have thought they had watched three re-runs of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. They hadn’t.
Los Angeles Rams Lay an Egg in Santa Clara
As a beat reporter for the Los Angeles Rams, I must report on what happened in the Golden Gate City in Week One, no matter how frustrating it may be. First things first, the national anthem came and went without a hitch. Colin Kaepernick, the NFL’s resident outlaw, kneeled, as he has become accustomed to doing. The Rams stood, and even held hands. That moment was probably highlight of the night material for the Southern Californians.
As has been the case for the past five seasons in St. Louis, the Rams live and die (usually die) by their vaunted defense. The front four, led by third year stud Aaron Donald, were all stacked up to have a big statistical day against the maligned San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback, Blaine Gabbert.
It didn’t happen.
Gabbert was able to slowly work himself into the game, using journeymen and no-name players to march down for a pair of first half touchdowns. New 49er Jeremy Kerley, who finished up with a team-leading seven catches, actually out-gained Rams MVP and AP Rookie of the Year last season, Todd Gurley by a margin of 61 to 47. Chalk, if available, would probably pay 50 to one on that unforeseen occurrence.
From Bad to Worse
One would assume that L.A. head coach Jeff Fisher would read his team the riot act at halftime beneath the bowels of Levi’s Stadium, and that the team actually favored by 3.5 to win this season opener would come to play in the last thirty minutes. Unfortunately, things would only get worse. The final nail in the Rams coffin would take place early in the fourth quarter on an eight-yard Gabbert to Vance McDonald touchdown pass, putting the 49ers up 21 to zip.
The only thing left to watch after that was a Donald meltdown late in the game. After head-locking San Francisco wide receiver Quinton Patton, Donald showed the frustration every Rams fan can relate to who was watching this fiasco, when he shoved one of the linesman, got ejected, and spiked his helmet into the Levi’s turf. Here is hoping we see another spike of a different sort next week in the way of a Los Angeles touchdown.
It certainly didn’t happen tonight. Rams quarterback Case Keenum had most likely his worst game as a professional, finishing up 17 of 35, for a paltry 130 yards and two picks. The final score of 28-0 was probably right on the money as to how accurate and humiliating this defeat was for the visitors from down south.
Home Opener on the Horizon
So now let’s look onward and upward for the home opener Sunday at the Coliseum versus the perennial powerhouse Seattle Seahawks. Fisher (a Culver City native), and his staff have their work cut out trying to gel this team into something of the respectable variety in a few short days. Angelenos wait with bated breath on what will become of this first season in the return of the Rams to L.A. One thing we do know is that the Red Hot Chill Peppers will be performing before the game at the Coliseum against the Seahawks on Sunday. As for the Rams, hopefully they can move on from the events of Santa Clara on that most miserable of Monday evenings.
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