All the talk about Martz not caring about this game was a bunch of crap. Watching the game, you could tell that this meant more to him than anything. And you could tell that he honestly thought they were going to win, and they almost did…ALMOST!

And then there was Mike Furrey, ex-Rams WR/Safety who humbled himself last year to play a new position on the other side of the ball only to lead the Rams in INT’s for that year. For him to have the best receiving game of his career against the Rams had to be very fulfilling to him, as evidenced by his spiking the ball against the Rams Logo after each of his two TD’s. Granted, it was against a team that honestly just didn’t have any room for him and actually did him a favor by allowing him to go somewhere he could start, but still. A big heart on a small guy and his appreciation of the game and desire to succeed showed throughout.

The emotion and fire that Coach Linehan showed after Little got two 15 yard penalties on one play proves that he, too, wanted to win and was giving everything he had to do so. And in getting those two penalties, Leonard once again proved his desire and love for the greatest game on the planet. Even though he let his emotions get the best of him in removing his helmet to argue, he still kept himself under control and used the rest of the game to rid himself of that anger and did so without further incident.

This game means so much to everyone involved, from the ownership to the coaches to the players to us, the fans. But what it does not mean is kicking a player in the face when he is lying on the ground, defenseless. This happened yesterday in the Tennessee vs. Dallas game, when Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth kicked Dallas center Andre Gurode in the head so hard that his helmet flew off. He then proceeded to step on Gurode’s face, cutting him so severely that it resulted in blurred vision and required thirty stitches to close the gash over his eye. This is NOT the meaning of the game.

This game is brutal and fierce, but is not meant to intentionally injure other players or end their career over loss of control of emotions and cannot be tolerated. And this is another reason why I am proud to be a Rams fan. The passion and the drive of our team are always at the highest level, but not to the point of crossing the line (on the field, at least). I truly hope that this type of behavior never creeps into Rams Park or The Ed, and that Haynesworth is punished so severely that it re-establishes the true meaning of the game into everyone’s mind.

GO RAMS!

~BeaverRam~