St. Louis Rams get mauled by New York Jets

St. Louis Rams get mauled by New York Jets
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/10/2008

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Three kneel-downs from Kellen Clemens saved the Rams from the worst humiliation in franchise history.

Running at will, and with a first and goal at the St. Louis 8 yard line with 2 minutes to play, the Jets were one touchdown away from handing the Rams their worst defeat ever. But Clemens, who replaced New York Jets starter Brett Favre early in the fourth quarter, didn't pass, didn't hand off, didn't run. He took a knee three times.

The Rams were in no mood to prolong this beating. Despite having two timeouts remaining, they let the clock run out and headed back to St. Louis — tails firmly tucked between legs.

As it was, Sunday's 47-3 annihilation at Giants Stadium was the third-worst defeat in the 71 years of Rams football:


— The 1987 Los Angeles Rams lost to San Francisco 48-0.

— The 1942 Cleveland Rams lost to Chicago 47-0.

And now, Jets 47, St. Louis Rams 3.

"It's embarrassing," coach Jim Haslett said. "That was bad football all the way around."

"I'm embarrassed, as I think everybody else is," tight end Anthony Becht added.

That sentiment was pretty much universal in the Rams' locker room.

"It's definitely embarrassing," wide receiver Dane Looker said. "You come here and play on the big stage in New York ... and we're down 40-0 at halftime."

That's right, 40-0. In a league where nearly half the games are decided by a touchdown or less, the Rams were down by 40 after two quarters.

"If someone would've told me that we would be down 40 points at halftime, I would've probably slapped them in the face," defensive end Leonard Little said.

Instead, it was the Jets who slapped, shoved, bruised, bullied, punished and otherwise pummeled the Rams.

The 40-point deficit tied for the third-largest halftime deficit in the entire history of the NFL. And the 44-point margin of victory for the Jets was a franchise record.

So yes, it was a loss of epic proportions for the 2-7 Rams. (Somewhere, Scott Linehan must be chuckling.)

"It was just bad football," Haslett said. "We turned the ball over. Had guys fumbling. Interceptions. I don't know how you want me to describe it."

The Jets scored on all seven first-half possessions. And that doesn't include a 50-yard return of a Marc Bulger fumble for a touchdown by Jets linebacker Calvin Pace in the opening quarter.

Haslett pulled Bulger at halftime, following an awful opening two quarters. Bulger was six of 13 for 65 yards with an interception and a 29.3 passer rating. His replacement, Trent Green, was almost equally ineffective, completing five of 10 for 70 yards with an interception and a 33.3 passer rating. (The Rams did manage a third quarter field-goal drive under Green for their only points.)

Haslett benched running back Kenneth Darby after his second lost fumble of the first half. (The first lost fumble was nullified by a penalty on the Jets.)

"I was just a little too eager to make something happen," Darby said. "Hey, I can only blame myself. Technique-wise, I was horrible with it carrying the ball."

And save for a kickoff return in the fourth quarter, wide receiver Derek Stanley disappeared from sight after his lost fumble in the second quarter.

"It's one of those things you learn ... I've got to protect the ball better." Stanley said.

All told, the five Rams turnovers that counted led directly to 27 Jets points.

"We put our defense in a lot of bad situations," Bulger said. "The brunt of the blame should go on the offense."

But when you lose by 44 points, there's plenty of blame to go around. The defense set the tone, putting up minimal resistance on the Jets' 80-yard touchdown march to start the game.

Haslett was angered by the play of his linebackers Sunday, particularly on the opening drive.

"They went right down the field running the ball," Haslett said. "We weren't in position to make plays. It was mostly our linebackers on the first drive."

On the Jets' second drive, linebacker Quinton Culberson — starting in place of the injured Chris Draft — blew a coverage assignment. The result was a 54-yard catch and run by Jets rookie tight end Dustin Keller, who finished with six catches for 107 yards and a TD.

The Rams' defensive line was continually pushed back by Jets blockers. By day's end, Jets running back Thomas Jones had 149 yards rushing on 26 carries, tying the franchise single-game mark with three rushing TDs.

"And that was our main focus today — stopping the run," Little said.

In the secondary, cornerbacks Fakhir Brown and Jason Craft both dropped what looked like sure interceptions.

"As a defensive back, they always tell you catch the ball first and don't think about scoring," Craft said. "Actually, I was just thinking the opposite."

And like everything else on this day, the result was not good.

"It's either one or two things," Haslett said. "We either don't want to do it. Or we're not good enough to do it."

Or both.

"I hope not," Haslett said. "But we'll find out."





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