Daunting schedule awaits Rams in 2014
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2578494a-72e3-5623-ab3e-517fe2766f28.html
After a soft opening, the Rams must face playoff-caliber teams week after week after week. Making it to December in on piece will be difficult. Read more
In two prime-time home games last season against NFC West foes, the Rams managed to score a combined 20 points.
Hopefully, it goes better this time around because the Rams once again have two prime-time home games — both against NFC West foes — on their 2014 schedule.
The NFL released its schedule Wednesday and has the Rams playing host to San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 13 and two months later facing Arizona on Thursday, Dec. 11 in nationally-televised games at Edward Jones Dome.
The timing of the Monday nighter against San Francisco is strange because that’s usually postseason time for Cardinals baseball. And going up against the Cardinals in the postseason usually isn’t a good idea.
Last year, the Rams fell 14-9 to eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle in an Oct. 28 Monday night contest at the dome. An intense, physical contest came down to the final play with Kellen Clemens throwing incomplete to Brian Quick in the end zone, on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
With the Cardinals playing Game 5 of World Series that night against Boston less than a mile down Broadway at Busch Stadium, the Rams had 55,966 tickets distributed.
But there were maybe 45,000 fans in the dome that night. The Rams-Seahawks game drew a 10.9 television rating locally, compared to 43.8 for Cards-Red Sox.
So who knows what the NFL schedule-makers were thinking in having the Rams play another prime-time home game in October?
Overall, 2014 promises to be one of the Rams’ most attractive home schedules since coming to St. Louis in 1995. They open the season at home for the second year in a row, this time facing the great Adrian Peterson and Minnesota on Sept. 7.
Dallas, which has played the Rams only twice here, comes to town Sept. 21.
The Rams get Peyton Manning and Denver at the dome Nov. 16, followed by brother Eli Manning and the New York Giants here five weeks later on Dec. 21. The only other non-division home game is Oakland (Nov. 3) — here for the first time since 2002.
In that ‘02 contest, quarterback Marc Bulger started his first NFL game and led the previously winless Rams (0-5) to a stunning 28-13 victory over a previously unbeaten Raiders squad (4-0) that went on to the Super Bowl that season.
As for the Rams’ 2014 road schedule, their first away contest comes in Week 2 (Sept. 14) in Tampa Bay against new Buccaneers head coach Lovie Smith, the one-time Rams defensive coordinator. It figures to be hot and humid for that one, so the Rams will get an early test of their conditioning.
Besides their divisional opponents, the Rams also travel to Philadelphia Oct. 5 against a high-flying Eagles offense that should test new Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Three weeks later on Oct. 26, it’s Kansas City and the Sea of Red at Arrowhead Stadium.
Even the Rams’ best teams have struggled there over the years.
On Nov. 23, the Rams make only their second trip to San Diego since the move to St. Louis. And on Dec. 7, it’s time to revisit the RGIII trade when the Rams play Robert Griffin III and Washington at FedEx Field. As far as the Rams are concerned, the Redskins are practically an honorary member of the NFC West, because this game marks the eighth time the teams have met in 10 seasons.
The meat-grinder portion of the 2014 schedule has to be Weeks 5 through 12, a stretch in which seven of the eight opponents made the playoffs in 2013 including both Super Bowl XLVIII participants. It begins with the Philly game and concludes with the contest in San Diego.
The only non-playoff team from 2013 in that span is Arizona, no slouch last year at 10-6. Obviously, a team’s success one season doesn’t necessarily translate into victories the next.
Then again, San Francisco, Seattle and Denver probably aren’t going to shrivel up and die in 2014. They comprise four of the games in the eight-game stretch, including two contests against San Francisco.
Making matters worse, five of those eight games are on the road, including three in a row against KC (Week 8), San Fran (Week 9) and Arizona (Week 10).
And what would a Rams regular season be without a trip to Seattle to close things?
That’s right — for the fourth time in five seasons, the Rams end 2014 at CenturyLink Field, the loudest venue these days in the NFL.