After earning a 23-20 victory over the New York Jets in Steve Spagnuolo’s first game as head coach last week, the Rams host the Atlanta Falcons on Friday in the Rams’ preseason home opener.

The game, the first at the newly-renovated Edward Jones Dome, will be a rematch of the 2008 regular season finale in Atlanta. In that game, RB Steven Jackson rushed for 161 yards, the second-highest total of his career.

The contest will be the second between the Rams and Falcons in the preseason as the teams faced off in 1991 in Jacksonville, Fla.Despite having met only once in the preseason, the Rams and Falcons are familiar foes. The teams have played 75 times – 74 times in the regular season and once in the postseason. The Rams lead the all-time regular season series 47-25-2 while the Falcons were victorious in the teams’ only postseason meeting, the 2004 NFC Divisional Playoff game.

The series, which dates to 1966, featured two meetings per season between the teams from 1967-81 and 1983-2001. The teams met only once in the strike-shortened 1982 season. The Rams and Falcons were division mates, first as members of the Coastal Division of the Western Conference from 1967- 69 and then as members of the NFC West division from 1970-2001.

4th Quarter

- The Rams got the final quarter started right as safety Todd Johnson made a diving catch of a deflected pass for an interception to give the Rams a chance to tie from Atlanta’s 43.

- With Keith Null at quarterback, the Rams looked for a little late game magic from their backups for the second week in a row.

- After picking up a first down on fourth and inches with a sneak, Null hit Bajema for a gain of 17 yards.

- The Rams continued to march into Atlanta territory but couldn’t get a third down conversion and settled for a 24-yard field goal from
Brown to make it 17-13 Falcons with 10 minutes to go.

- Atlanta moved all the way to the Rams’ 9 but had to settle for a 27-yard field goal to make it 20-13 with 3:20 to play.

- Null moved the Rams deep into Atlanta’s territory, showing some poise and getting a big run from Kenneth Darby along the way. After getting to Atlanta’s 13, the Rams faced fourth-and-6 and Null lofted a pass to the right corner that was intercepted by Eric Brock.

- That sealed a 20-13 win for Atlanta.

3rd Quarter

- The Rams received first to open the second half and showed some signs of life but a holding penalty on Ronald Curry killed any momentum and the Rams had to punt.

- Donnie Jones booted it inside Atlanta’s 5 and the ball trickled back to the 7 where the Rams killed it.

- Atlanta moved out of the danger zone quickly but Larry Grant made a big play, coming up with a sack and a forced fumble that was recovered by defensive tackle Hollis Thomas.

- This time, the Rams converted the takeaway into points as Brock Berlin fired a perfect strike to Derek Stanley for a 20-yard touchdown to cut Atlanta’s lead to 14-10.

- The Falcons responded by driving deep into St. Louis territory with the help of some flags.

- But the Rams defense bowed its neck and came up with a stop as rookie Darell Scott got off a block on third down to get a sack and kill the drive.

- Atlanta’s Jason Elam converted a 34-yard field goal to give the Falcons a 17-10 lead with 4:23 left in the third quarter.

- The Rams began to move on their possession after a third down conversion off a catch and run by tight end Billy Bajema. But the drive stalled on a sack by Lawrence Sidbury, his second of the game.

- Atlanta takes over at its 23 with 35 seconds left in the quarter.

- At the end of the third, Atlanta leads the Rams 17-10.

2nd Quarter

- Atlanta plugged in its second team offense to open the quarter and after a 15-yard run from Jerious Norwood, the Rams got a big play from the defense. D.J. Shockley fired a pass into the left flat and cornerback Justin King broke up the pass. The ball went up in the air and rookie middle linebacker James Laurinaitis picked it off at Atlanta’s 27.

- The offense couldn’t generate anything though and the Rams settled for a 43-yard field goal from Josh Brown to make it 14-3 Atlanta with about 13 minutes to go in the half.

- The Rams defense came up with another stop on the ensuing drive as Ron Bartell narrowly missed an interception opportunity.

- After picking up a first down, the Rams’ drive died after a holding penalty on rookie Jason Smith. Atlanta takes over at its 16 following the punt.

- The Rams got another stop and after taking over on their 34, pieced together a nice drive with the help of some nice play making by the young receivers.

- Laurent Robinson continues his nice night with a 25-yard catch and run. Burton followed by doing the same for a gain of 11 to Atlanta’s 19.

- That drive died when Gado fumbled a handoff from Boller.

- At the end of the first half, Atlanta leads 14-3.

1st Quarter

- The Falcons won the toss and received, promptly marching down the field for a quick 7-0 lead on running back Michael Turner’s 1-yard touchdown run.

- Turner accounted for 65 yards on seven carries on the first possession, including a 43-yard jaunt up the middle on the second play from scrimmage. It was a disappointing start for the Rams after playing well against the run last week. The drive was pocked with missed tackles.

- The Rams picked up a lone first down on their first possession but had to punt after picking up just 13 yards.

- Atlanta took over at its 30 following the punt and quickly covered the 70 yards to find the end zone again. This time, Matt Ryan hit Tony Gonzalez for a 14-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

- After using the run to do most of the work on the first possession, the Falcons took to the air this time and Ryan connected on five of six passes for 69 yards.

- The Rams are piecing together a nice drive at the end of the quarter. Boller has them moving and they are down to Atlanta’s 40 with a second down at the end of the quarter.

- Boller picked up a first down with an 11-yard run and connected with Keenan Burton for a gain of 19 on third-and-9.

- At the end of the first quarter, Atlanta leads 14-0.

Pregame Notes

- Greetings from the new look Edward Jones Dome where the Rams and Falcons are preparing to kickoff at 7.

- The improvements to the dome are noticeable as soon as you walk in. The new scoreboards and ribbon boards circling the dome not only brighten up the place but look outstanding in high definition.

- On to business. The Rams have no real surprises on the injury front.

- Quarterback Marc Bulger (finger), receivers Donnie Avery (foot), Tim Carter (groin) and Brooks Foster (ankle), guard Jacob Bell (concussion) and defensive tackle Adam Carriker (ankle) are out.

- Kyle Boller will start for Bulger, making his first start as a Ram. He made plenty in regular season contests in his time with the Ravens.

- On the offensive line, the shuffle is also as expected. With Barron out, Adam Goldberg slides over to the left side with rookie Jason Smith getting the nod at right tackle. Mark Setterstrom starts in place of Bell but John Greco could also get some work.

- Keenan Burton will start for Avery opposite Laurent Robinson.

- Gary Gibson starts again at defensive tackle for Carriker.

- The Rams still plan to give the starters about a half of work tonight so there will be a good chance to get a long look at the top units.

- The only injury of note for the Falcons is safety William Moore. Thomas Jefferson starts at defensive tackle in place of Peria Jerry.

- Be back after each quarter with another update.

2nd Quarter

KTVI, FOX 2 is once again “The Home of the Rams” in 2007.  On Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m., check out Rams Weekly where Fox 2 Sports Director Martin Kilcoyne goes one on one with head coach Scott Linehan and a Rams’ player.

Prior to each game, Kilcoyne will be joined by the St. Louis Post Dispatch’s Bryan Burwell, FOX 2’s Rob Desir and FOX 2’s Maurice Drummond for Rams Gameday pregame show, bringing viewers in-depth analysis, player profiles and the latest inside scoop on every Rams game.

The 2009-2010 broadcast team for Rams Radio is as follows:

Rams Radio Pre-Game Show:
Host: Randy Karraker
Analyst: Coach Jim Hanifan
Reporter: Brian Stull
Gameday Insider: Jim Thomas
Studio Host: Tom Casey
Segment Contributors: Bernie Miklasz, Bryan Burwell, Pat Parris,
D’Marco Farr and Steve Savard
Executive Producer: Chris “Hoss” Neupert

Rams Radio In-Game Coverage:
Play by Play: Steve Savard
Color Analyst: D’Marco Farr
In-Game Reporter: Brian Stull
Studio Host: Tom Casey
Executive Producer: Chris “Hoss” Neupert

Rams Radio Post-Game Show:
Hosts: Steve Savard and Brent Stover
Analysts: D’Marco Farr and Coach Jim Hanifan
Locker Room Interviews: Brian Stull
Studio Host: Tom Casey
Executive Producer: Chris “Hoss” Neupert

All of the Rams game day shows and coverage, along with the weekly Rams programs will be executed under the watchful eye of Executive Producer Chris Neupert. Studio Producer duties will vary by program and schedule, rotating between 101 ESPN Producers Ben Boyd, Todd Wise and Chris Gardner. Steve Bear will be the In-Game Spotter, and engineering responsibilities will be handled by Dodie Rahlman, Craig Rutledge, Marshall Rice, Bob Hoffman and Ken Cunetto.

Along with the Rams game day coverage and pre-and post-game shows, 101 ESPN will broadcast “Rams Rush Hour Shows” weeknights from 7:00 until 8:00 pm. As part of “Rams Rush Hour Shows,” Coach Steve Spagnuolo and General Manager Billy Devaney are expected to do weekly shows.

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Weekly Prize

Seventeen (17) Weekly Team Prizes (1 weekly prize each week for 17 weeks)

• Week 1: Jason Smith Autographed Photo (ARV: $20.00 USD)
• Week 2: Rams Fan Pack: includes Rams hat and Rams t-shirt (ARV: $30.00 USD)
• Week 3: Rams Player Autographed Football. (Choice of autograph is at the sole discretion of St. Louis Rams) (ARV: $59.99 USD)
• Week 4: NFL Wilson Portfolio (ARV: $30.00 USD)
• Week 5: Steven Jackson Autographed Photo (ARV: $20.00 USD)
• Week 6: Rams Fan Pack: includes Rams hat and Rams t-shirt (ARV: $30.00 USD)
• Week 7: Rams Player Autographed Football. (Choice of autograph is at the sole discretion of St. Louis Rams) (ARV: $59.99 USD)
• Week 8: NFL Wilson Portfolio (ARV: $30.00 USD)
• Week 9: Jason Smith Autographed Photo (ARV: $25.00 USD)
• Week 10: Rams Fan Pack: includes Rams hat and Rams t-shirt (ARV: $30.00 USD)
• Week 11: Rams Player Autographed Football. (Choice of autograph is at the sole discretion of St. Louis Rams) (ARV: $59.99 USD)
• Week 12: NFL Wilson Portfolio (ARV: $30.00 USD)
• Week 13: Chris Long Autographed Photo (ARV: $20.00 USD)
• Week 14: Rams Fan Pack: includes Rams hat and Rams t-shirt (ARV: $30.00 USD)
• Week 15: Rams Player Autographed Football. (Choice of autograph is at the sole discretion of St. Louis Rams) (ARV: $59.99 USD)
• Week 16: NFL Wilson Portfolio (ARV: $30.00 USD)
• Week 17: Donnie Avery Autographed Photo (ARV: $20.00 USD)

One (1) Overall Grand Team Prize
Rams 2010 Home Opener Dream Package: Package for two (2) for the Rams 2010 regular season home opener, includes (2) club seat tickets***, two (2) pre-game sidelines passes, one (1) complimentary parking pass, and one (1) Rams gift bag which includes autographed memorabilia (such memorabilia determined by Rams in their sole discretion). (ARV: $1,500.00 USD).