By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

If indeed a team’s identity is forged in four preseason games and a training camp full of practices, then the Rams left little doubt about what their legacy for the 2009 preseason would be.

Buoyed by defensive takeaways and offensive ball security in the first three preseason contests, the Rams stuck to the formula on Thursday night in a 17-9 win against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Edward Jones Dome.

“I thought the mindset and approach was really good,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “The turnovers again are helpful in winning a football game.”

That time-tested method for winning football games holds true whether it’s the preseason, the regular season or the postseason and the Rams have made it a point of emphasis in this exhibition season.

On Thursday night, the Rams came up with three takeaways and gave it back to the Chiefs on just one occasion to cap a 3-1 preseason.

In those four contests, the Rams had 12 takeaways and only three giveaways for a plus-9 turnover differential. On nine of those 12 takeaways, the Rams converted them into a score for 47 total points.

Against the Chiefs, no takeaway was bigger than the one produced by cornerback Quincy Butler in the third quarter.

Trailing 9-7 with 2:56 to go in the third quarter, Kansas City quarterback Tyler Thigpen dropped back to pass. On a three-step drop, Thigpen quickly fired to the right side intended for Rodney Wright.

But Butler was all over the play from the beginning.

“I just did what I was supposed to do,” Butler said. “I read three steps, the ball comes out, go out and get the ball. We got pressure, the quarterback threw a not so great ball and I went over there and made a play.”

Butler, who has made a habit of making plays in practice and had an interception against Cincinnati last week, had only one destination in mind as soon as he secured the ball.

Butler grabbed the ball at the 28 and had nothing but green FieldTurf in front of him. After his return came up short of the end zone against the Bengals, Butler had no intention of coming up short this time.

“Last week I couldn’t score and I made a promise to myself that I would score this time and not get tackled by the quarterback,” Butler said.

That touchdown gave the Rams a 14-9 lead they would never relinquish.

Cornerback Justin King added his first career interception to ice a Kansas City drive in the fourth quarter and safety David Roach caused a fumble recovered by linebacker Dominic Douglas to kill a Chiefs drive in the third quarter.

While the defense was doing what it’s done consistently in the preseason, another consistent preseason performer generated the Rams’ best drive of the night.

After falling behind 6-0 in the first half, Rams quarterback Brock Berlin engineered a 15-play, 85-yard drive in seven and a half minutes that garnered the Rams only touchdown of the night.

Berlin, embroiled in a battle for the team’s third quarterback job, has made a habit of coming through in these final auditions. And though no decisions will be made based on this one game, there’s no doubting that Berlin’s drive was impressive.

On the drive, Berlin was seven-of-nine for 74 yards with a touchdown and the only two incompletions came on drops and another completion was nullified by penalty.

Berlin connected with a determined Daniel Fells from 6 yards out as Fells was hit by three defenders and still managed to fall into the end zone to make it 7-6 Rams in the second quarter.

“He showed me a little grit getting in there,” Spagnuolo said. “He would have had the first down but he said ‘Na, I’m not going to take the first down, I’m going to get the six points.’ So that was good to see.”

The Rams added a late field goal for the final margin and to bring the Governor’s Cup back to St. Louis after a one-year hiatus.

Now, the Rams and the rest of the league will turn their attention to the real deal. The team will get back to work next week with only Seattle on its mind and the regular season opener on Sept. 13.

In the next 48 hours, the Rams will cut down to the final 53 players and that’s not something that will be done easily.

In the meantime, the Rams can take away all of the work they have done in this preseason, correct the mistakes and continue to strengthen the positives.

“The challenges are going to get tougher; we know the mountain’s a lot tougher when we tee it up next week,” Spagnuolo said. “Everybody has to step it up a notch that’s just what the NFL is all about. Everything just goes up and our guys will have to have to step that up too because every other team in the league will do that.”