Showing posts with label Mike Jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mike Jones. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce





St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce This is the third of three plays nominated as the most memorable play in St. Louis Rams history. In the past two days, St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce we have featured Ricky Proehl's 30-yard touchdown catch to beat Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship Game and linebacker Mike Jones' game-saving tackle as time expired in Super Bowl XXXIV. St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce Please vote for your choice as the Rams' most memorable play. After jumping out to a 16-0 lead, the Rams seemed poised to coast to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV. St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce But those hopes were soon dashed as the resilient Titans surged from behind to tie the game at 16 with 2 minutes, 12 seconds to go. The Rams looked tired, and the high-octane offense that had taken the league by storm all season appeared to be running on fumes. But, as that offense had done all season long, it found the one final burst at just the right moment. St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce With the Rams taking over at their 27-yard line, offensive coordinator Mike Martz had no intention of playing for a field goal. St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce The Rams came out with three receivers lined up to quarterback Kurt Warner's right and one to his left with running back Marshall Faulk in the backfield. The play call was "Twins Right Ace Right 999 H Balloon." For the uninitiated, those 9's are shorthand for simple go routes, with the receivers attacking the Titans deep down the field. Each receiver to the right found himself in man coverage, with Isaac Bruce on the outside of the hashes, furthest away from safety help against cornerback Denard Walker. At the snap, the Titans rushed four and the Rams line kept the pocket safe, with the notable exception of end Jevon Kearse pushing past right tackle Fred Miller. Kearse closed in on Warner, who released the ball at the last second. The ball floated down the right sideline. St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce Walker clearly was unaware it had even been thrown, let alone that it was underthrown, but Bruce knew. He made the adjustment to come back for the ball as Walker tried unsuccessfully to catch up to the adjustment. By the time the ball arrived, St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce Bruce had room to run, but other tacklers were gaining ground. Bruce cut inside and raced to the end zone while looking up at the scoreboard to see if anyone was closing in. St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce Instead, he saw left tackle Orlando Pace celebrating and knew he was in the clear. While the trio of plays that got the Rams to the Lombardi Trophy all have their special place in history, it's hard to argue against Bruce's touchdown as the most important. St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce Proehl's catch had a higher degree of difficulty, but the Rams could have theoretically still won because they were in field goal range when he made it. And for as great as Jones' tackle was after Bruce's touchdown, St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce if he hadn't made it, the Titans would have been able to only tie the game. Bruce's touchdown provided the definitive winning points in the biggest game in franchise history. St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce As memorable plays go, that is about as good as it gets, St. Louis Rams Warner to Bruce.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Rams' top plays tackle the football





St. Louis Rams This is the first of three plays nominated as the most memorable play in team history. St. Louis Rams In the next two days, we’ll feature Isaac Bruce's 73-yard touchdown catch that provided the winning points in Super Bowl XXXIV and Ricky Proehl's 30-yard touchdown catch to beat Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship Game. St. Louis Rams Please vote for your choice as the Rams' most memorable play. St. Louis Rams While the Greatest Show on Turf stole most of the headlines in the Rams' storybook 1999 season, it was somewhat fitting that Super Bowl XXXIV would fall on the shoulders of an underrated defense. St. Louis Rams More specifically, the game would come down to the ability of solid, if unspectacular, linebacker Mike Jones to make a tackle as time expired and preserve a championship. St. Louis Rams Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher used his final timeout with six seconds remaining as his team desperately drove the length of the field in search of a tie or, possibly, the win. St. Louis Rams Quarterback Steve McNair marched the Titans down the field in short order and had an exhausted Rams defense on its heels at the St. Louis 10. St. Louis Rams The Titans were out of timeouts, and the ensuing play was nearly certain to be the last of the game. St. Louis Rams Before the snap, receiver Kevin Dyson motioned left and back to the right, where he stepped in behind tight end Frank Wycheck, allowing him a free release at the snap. Wycheck ran directly at Jones with Dyson breaking for an inside slant route. The hope for the Titans was Jones would stay with Wycheck, allowing Dyson an easy catch and run for the touchdown. St. Louis Rams Jones stayed with Wycheck for a moment but quickly realized what was happening. St. Louis Rams Upon safety help arriving on Wycheck, Jones turned his attention to Dyson, whom McNair hit in stride at the 5. Jones converged on Dyson as he moved toward the end zone and the sure-tackling Jones wrapped him up and brought him down as he stretched toward the goal line. Dyson came up a yard short, St. Louis Rams time ran out and the Rams celebrated as world champions. There's really no debate that this is one of the most memorable plays in Rams history and for the league as a whole. St. Louis Rams It doesn't get more dramatic than sealing a victory in the Super Bowl as time expires. Plays can be memorable for many reasons, St. Louis Rams including their greatness, their place in history and what they mean in telling the story of a franchise. In this case, St. Louis Rams the play simply known as "The Tackle" represents everything a memorable play should be, St. Louis Rams.