Ugly and the Beast

Sunday’s 13-9 victory over the Whiners was not what I expected. When they came out firing on the first drive and scored a touchdown, I said to my son “we could score huge today, and I think I’m gonna win all my fantasy leagues this week.” Whoa! Slow down. Not so fast, big fella. Whatever it was that the Rams had in them for that drive suddenly went away and the rest of the game was ugly IMHO. At least it ended in a win, a win that had the Rams almost snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory once again this season.

There were several positives and quite a few milestones that this game produced, and even though you are probably aware of most of them, I now list some of them for your viewing pleasure:

· Having started this season with 498 franchise victories, the Rams have finally posted their 500th win, something that only five other teams in the history of the National Football League have ever done.

· Claiming their first win in San Francisco since 2004, Sunday’s contest was the 116th of what used to be an unparalleled West Coast rivalry.

· The Rams are no longer all by themselves in the NFC Worst cellar. The Whiners now know how it feels to lose eight in a row and are now tied with the Rams at the bottom at 2-8. There is a bad element to this win for the Rams, however, as each win takes them farther down the draft board.

· On the opening drive that ended in the 50th+ TD hookup for Bulger and Holt, Bulger hit Isaac Bruce on a 15 yard pass that moved Bruce past ex-Rams receiver and current Rams receivers coach Henry Ellard into sixth place on the NFL's career list with 13,778 reception yards. Although Ike ended the game with only 54 total yards he also catapulted past Cris Carter (13,940) for 20th place on the League’s all-time scrimmage yards list, now standing at 13,967. His overall stats right now: sixth on the NFL’s all-time receiving yards list, seventh on the NFL’s all time receptions list, 17th on the NFL’s all time touchdown reception list and 20th on the NFL’s all time scrimmage yards list. He is one of only nine receivers to have accumulated 13,000 receiving yards and is now the Rams all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.

· Bulger was 27 for 33 passing, resulting in a career high completion percentage of 81.8. His passer rating of 125.0 was his best since last year's game against the Redskins on Xmas Eve.

· The Rams did something they have not been able to do in recent years — rely on their defense…and it worked! Frank Gore was virtually invisible, grinding out a mere 32 yards on 15 carries. This was the 10th time this year that the Rams haven’t given up a 100 yard rushing game to a RB. THAT’S ALL SEASON! 10 backs did it last year, with Gore doing it twice, going off for 127 and 134.

· Jeff Wilkins extended his streak of successful PATs to 358. This is the second longest streak in the league and is 13 short of tying the NFL record set by Denver’s Jason Elam from 1993-2002.

· Turnovers – ZERO! Zero in their two wins, resulting in a +4 turnover ratio in them. I see a pattern developing here…

One of my favorite sayings is that I would rather look bad and win than look good and lose. While I’d love to see a "look good and win" game every week, Sunday’s ugly victory will do just fine. Now if we can only get 6 more. So what if we’re the ugliest team to make the playoffs – that just means there will be a whole of pretty teams sittin’ at home watching. Who ever said being ugly can’t be beautiful?