Newsgroup: it.sport.americani
Titolo: [SCORE] Rams - 49ers

Questo post contiene il risultato della partita tra Rams e 49ers, non
andate oltre se volete rimanere all'oscuro....
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Ieri sera era tutto pronto a Hooks house per il big match della Nfc, i
miei niners erano a Saint Louis per sfidare gli imbatutti Rams. 
Patatine, birra e rutto libero per una nottata di football e per
riuscire a sopportare il commento in tedesco...
Peccato pero' che il divertimento sia durato poco; i Rams hanno da
subito affettato la secondaria dei 49ers e l'accoppiata Warner - Bruce
ha fatto rimpiangere a tutti i tifosi di frisco i tempi di Ronnie
Lott.
La partita inizia con un td pass di 13 yards da Warner (10td in
quattro partite) a Bruce (primo della serata). I niners reagiranno,
devono dimostrare che non son oYoung dipendenti, ma la risposta e' un
altro td di Warner (11) a Bruce, questa volta di 5 yards. La
secondaria dei niners e' ridicola e la faccia di Mariucci prevede
uragani nello spogliatoio...
I 49ers si svegliano, ma riescono a produrre solo un fg di Richey, la
pressione addosso a Garcia e' altissima, nonostante tutto due completi
avvicinano i 49ers al raggio da field goal.
I Rams sono abbattuti, e per tutta risposta piazzano prima un kor di
54 yards e subito dopo un'altra bomba di Warner (12) a Bruce (3 td in
un quarto), finisce il prim oquarto (meno male) e il tabellone segna
21-3 x i Rams.
Grazie all'ottima prova di Graner i 49ers iniziano il quarto con un td
di Phillips, 2 yards, dopo 3 completi ed una corsettina del sergente
Garcia, 21-10 qualche speranza rimane. 
Dopo qualche drive interlocutorio i Rams capiscono che basta buttare
la palla in profondita' per segnare e cosi' fanno, Warner (13) al te
Robinson e siamo 28-10; in questo drive anche un interferenza
difensiva di ben 35 yards....
Quando ormai credi che la squadra abbia ceduto ci pensa Junior Bryant
a ricoprire un fumble di Warner in td, 28-17 e tutti negli spogliatoi
dove spero che Mariucci usi la frusta nei confronti dle backfield...
Il terz oquarto inizia e i Niners piazzano un field goal di Richey, i
Rams sono vicini, 28-20, forza ragazzi che ce la possiamo fare, ma....
c'e' sempre un ma Tony Horne piazza un ritorno di kick off da 97
(novantaseete) yards e segna il td della rottura, 35-20.
Ormai la partita e' finita, ma Kurt Warner piazza il suo 14° td pass
in 4 partite (record NFL) per Isaac Bruce (al suo quarto td della
partita) per chiudere 42-20.
Con questa vittoria i Rams rimangono l'unica squadra imbattuta nella
Nfl ed hanno dato una ottima chiave di lettura su come battere i
niners che se non sistemano  i db's avranno vita dura nel resto della
stagione.
Adesso sono curioso di vedere i Rams alla prova con dei db's un po'
piu' tosti, Warner ha una mano dolce, i palloni quasi sempre sono con
lo spin e i ricevitori sono veloci, vedremo un po' settimana prossima
se contro i Falcons i Rams continueranno a fare il rullo compressore.
Dal deluso cronista e' tutto....
Giovanni (AKA John Hooks)
-------------------------
Huddle M@gazine
La webzine del football italiano
http://huddle.freeweb.org
e-mail:hud...@tin.it

Beh, se consideri che Marshall Faulk non ha praticamente corso, visto che
non ce n'era bisogno, penso che i Rams proveranno questa strada se i
passaggi non funzioneranno.
Se continuano cosi' candidano fortemente per la finale della NFC e visto le
altre squadre della division penso che affronteranno i Packers, che hanno
sfornato un formidabile Schoedrer come sostituto di Robert Brooks.
Certo che i pronostici di inizio stagione stanno saltando alla grande, visti
anche gli infortuni che stanno maciullando le varie squadre: chi avrebbe
pensato i Rams imbattuti, i Jets e i Broncos quasi tagliati fuori e i
Patriots cosi' competitivi???
Comunque la stagione e' ancora lunga ... e cio' significa una lunga agonia
per i 49ers, purtroppo.
--
Ilario.
GO 49ers!!!
John Hooks <bel...@NOSPAMaltavista.net> wrote in message
3801c23...@diesel.cu.mi.it...


per i 49ers, purtroppo.
Ilario, facciamocene una ragione, sara' una sofferenza...
Ecco un bell'articoletto del SjMercury news
Will season turn pitiful from here?
TAKE your pick. Which is more embarrassing for the 49ers? Losing to
the St. Louis Rams by 22 points? Or accepting the Rams' pity?
That is what happened Sunday in the final seconds, you know. Pity
ruled. The final margin could have been seven points worse. But the
Rams demonstrated compassion by kneeling down twice at the 1-yard
line.
``I think that Steve Mariucci would do the same,'' St. Louis Coach
Dick Vermeil said. ``I tell my players the cheapest thing to show is
class.''
Wrong. The cheapest thing to show, at least on this afternoon, was yet
another replay of yet another Isaac Bruce touchdown. The Rams wide
receiver caught four of them. The last time that happened to a 49ers
defense was in the Eisenhower administration. The next time it happens
could be next week, the way things are going.
And the real question might be this: Will Steve Mariucci ever have a
chance to order a kneel-down at the 1-yard line again?
The 49ers are not a profoundly horrible team, not yet. But they sure
were horrible Sunday, for the second time in five weeks. Fortunately,
because of that landmark 41-3 loss to Jacksonville on opening day, you
can't say this was the worst effort of the season. But the Scarlet
Heroes of Yore have never looked more Yore. And the Rams were trying
their best not to gloat. But after losing 17 consecutive games to the
49ers, that was difficult.
``I don't want to go off the wall like we won the Super Bowl,''
defensive back Keith Lyle said. ``It's the 49ers. That's all. I'm
excited. But there are still a lot more games to play.''
It's the 49ers, that's all? Who would ever think a St. Louis Ram would
utter that phrase? Yes, it's a new NFC World Order. The Niners can
still reach the playoffs, and they probably will, but it will be a
painful struggle every week getting there. The most depressing
realization Sunday was that there was no complex, secret Rams strategy
to undo the 49ers' defense. Bruce himself was delighted to outline it.
``Jacksonville had gone up on top of them several times,'' Bruce said.
``So we thought we would try. Tim McDonald isn't as much of a
pass-covering safety as some guys are. He likes to crowd the line and
make tackles. So the cornerbacks cover the wide receivers. That made
it possible for us to make plays. We have a big running threat in our
backfield in Marshall Faulk, so McDonald crowds the line of scrimmage
even more to fill the gaps. That puts the cornerbacks in single
coverage a lot of times. And we were able to hurt them.''
Actually, the Rams' receivers often weren't close enough to the 49ers'
cornerbacks to hurt them. Bruce spent much of his day blowing past
Darnell Walker, who is playing with a bad hamstring injury that he
doesn't want to talk about (``My hamstring didn't play a factor,'' he
said) and couldn't stay with Bruce or anyone else.
The day's most spectacular understatement, from Walker: ``I feel like
we have to get better at some things.''
Of course, the 49ers' defensive backs weren't the sole problem. The
defensive line allowed Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, the Arena
Football League wonder, to stand back and select his receivers from a
menu. Except for one great blitz play by McDonald in the first half
that resulted in a fumble and a touchdown, Warner had time enough to .
. . well, to assemble some brothers and make a movie.
The 49ers' offense was slightly more impressive than the defense, but
still couldn't make the important first downs. Mostly, that was
because the 49ers couldn't gain the 2 or 3 yards rushing necessary on
many third downs. The patched-up line couldn't make the blocks. And
it's a good thing Steve Young didn't play. Jeff Garcia was never
sacked, but he was clobbered again and again just as he threw the
ball, and he hit the artificial turf hard several times. Young's skull
might not have survived the first half.
On both sides of the ball, this 49ers loss was on a man-to-man basis.
It was the kind of loss that always used to happen to the Rams, which
was pretty much the day's theme. The most gratified men in the St.
Louis clubhouse were the players who had been with the team for much
of the 17-game streak. One was Todd Lyght, a Rams defensive back since
1991.
``It's a relief,'' Lyght conceded. ``I've been on the other side of
this so many times . . . It used to be, the 49ers had such a good
defense we could never accumulate any points on them, so our defense
had to play a perfect game to win. But the guys we have on offense
now, we have so many game-breaking weapons, that makes it easier for
the defense and special teams, too.''
Conventional wisdom is that the 49ers dynasty will collapse all at
once, the way the Packers did at the end of the '60s or the Steelers
did at the end of the '70s. Instead, we have been seeing the 49ers'
mystique slowly leak air like a punctured tire. The team is still
winning, but for the second time in two years, a division opponent
that was formerly hapless has suddenly discovered its hap. Last
season, the hap guys were the Atlanta Falcons. This season, the Rams
are the hap guys.
``Last year,'' 49ers offensive lineman Ray Brown said of the St. Louis
players, ``it looked like there was a lot of bickering among
themselves. They weren't at that time playing for one another.''
They are now. Six weeks from now, when the teams meet again at 3Com
Park, it will be interesting to see if it's the same way. Early in
Sunday's game, there was a typical Rams moment that -- if these were
the good old days -- would have quickly snowballed into a 49ers rout.
On the day's first punt, with the game still scoreless, St. Louis kick
returner Az-Zahir Hakim made a wretched play and juggled the ball
before losing it at the Rams' 17. Multiple 49ers had a chance to
recover the fumble. None did. Hakim ended up coming out of the pile
with the ball.
``I can't even explain what happened,'' Hakim said. ``I just knew I
had to get it. I wrestled it away from a couple of their guys.''
In previous years, that wrestling match would have been unanimously
won by the 49ers. They would have (a) recovered the fumble inside the
red zone, (b) scored a quick touchdown, and (c) watched the Rams
quietly surrender.
Now, the 49ers can't even get to step (a). 
The 49ers' best hope is to hang in there until the last month, clinch
a playoff spot, then hope like crazy that every other good team's
quarterback gets hurt while Young can start the postseason in
relatively healthy condition.
Hey, it could happen. As of this morning, there are only six NFC teams
with winning records -- including the 49ers. Since six teams make the
playoffs, that means a playoff spot is still the 49ers' to lose.
They'll probably need 10 victories to get there, which would require
them to go 7-4 the rest of the way. That's quite realistic.
Why, right after the final play, there was even a sign that the 49ers'
mystique hasn't totally evaporated. Rams tight end Roland Williams
stopped Jerry Rice on his way off the field to request Rice's
autograph on a poster. Rice was a nice guy and signed it. The scene
was rather poignant. Six weeks from now at 3Com, will Williams be
asking Rice for another autograph out of admiration, or out of pity?


sfornato un formidabile Schoedrer come sostituto di Robert Brooks.
<mode RAMS FAN off>
Ora non esageriamo :))))
I Rams hanno sorpreso tutti. Tra le cose che hanno facilitato l'avvio
c'e' anche una schedule molto soft e la fortuna di incontrare i
Falcons allo sbando.
<mode RAMS FAN on>
Sicuramente chi vorra' la corona della NFC West se la dovra' venire a
prendere al St. Louis!!!!
Ciao  
Massimo

Massimo Foglio wrote:

Sicuramente che andra' a St. Louis trovera' una squadra a dir poco galvanizzata
e se poi aggiungi il fatto che la NFC WEST non e' certo un girone improbo, li
vedo bene verso la finale: se poi dai un occhio alle partite fuori conference,
scopri che solo Tennesse e Detroit sembrano avversari di cui preoccuparsi.
E' chiaro che quest' anno gli sta girando tutto a favore, visto che dalle
ultime dichiarazioni sembra che Steve Young non sia troppo sicuro di giocare la
prossima partita e forse anche di giocare ancora a football (ha poi gia' 38
anni): penso che se a Frisco mancasse una una pietra per finire il mucchio,
oggi e' arrivato un macigno li' a fianco solo da posare a mo' di lapide...
Comunque come dice Hooks, facciamocene una ragione e proviamo a lavorare per il
futuro (si, magari puntando su Charles Haley...)
Ilario
GO 49ERS!!!