RAMS HIT THE ROAD TO TAKE ON 49ERS
Sunday, October 4, 2009, Candlestick Park, 3:15 p.m. (CDT)

The Rams travel to San Francisco this week to take on the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. The Rams dropped last week’s contest to the Green Bay Packers, 36-17, but the offense posted their best performance of the young season. After an injury to starting QB Marc Bulger, Kyle Boller entered the game and led the Rams on three scoring drives resulting in two touchdowns and one field goal. Both of Boller’s touchdown passes were completed to third-year TE Daniel Fells and were the first of Fells’ career.

This week’s contest with the 49ers is the first of two meetings this season between the NFC West rivals as the Rams host the 49ers at the Edward Jones Dome in Week 17.

The Rams have faced the 49ers more than any other franchise and this game will be the 120th meeting (regular season and postseason) between the franchises. The series dates to 1950, San Francisco’s first year in the NFL. The Rams lead the all-time series 60-57-2.The teams have met twice each year since the series inception, including three meetings in 1989, the third being in the NFC Championship game.

The series began on Oct. 1, 1950, and the Rams opened by winning five of the first six games. In the 1951 and 1952 seasons, the teams played in back-to-back weeks. From 1968-1980, the Rams won 22 times, losing just four, with one tie, with winning streaks of nine and 10 games. From 1981 until the first meeting in 1990, San Francisco won 13 of 20 meetings, including the 1989 NFC Championship game, 30-3. The 49ers won 17 consecutive games from 1990-98. The Rams ended the streak in 1999 en route to sweeping the 49ers for the first time since 1980.

Passing

K. Boller
Rams
164 yards

Rushing

S. Jackson
Rams
288 yards

Receiving

D. Avery
Rams
62 yards

Passing

S. Hill
49ers
548 yards

Rushing

G. Coffee
49ers
64 yards

Receiving

V. Davis
49ers
168 yards

QB Kyle Boller saw his first action as a Ram vs. Green Bay (9/27),
playing in his first game since a contest at Miami (12/16/07) as a
member of the Baltimore Ravens. Boller missed the entire 2008 season with a shoulder injury and joined the Rams as a free agent in
April.

Boller entered the game with 14:55 left in the second quarter in placeof an injured Marc Bulger. Boller finished the game with 164 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 16-of-31 passing. Boller also added 31 rushing yards on four carries. The game was Boller’s first multi-touchdown game since he threw two touchdowns vs. New England (12/3/07) as a member of the Ravens.

After Boller threw two incompletions on his first drive of the game, he returned to the field to lead three consecutive scoring drives. The three scoring drives of 10 plays, nine plays and 12 plays resulted in two touchdowns and one field goal. Boller’s two touchdowns came on completions of 16 and 19 yards to TE Daniel Fells. On the three scoring drives, Boller completed a combined 10-of-15 passes for 120 yards.

4th Quarter

- On the second play of the final quarter, Hill hit Josh Morgan for a 24-yard touchdown to make it 28-0 San Francisco with 14:14 to play.

- Things continued to slip further away as a reverse handoff to Amendola was fumbled and San Francisco’s Ray McDonald recovered it and took it to the end zone to make it 35-0 49ers with 14 minutes to go.

- That concluded the scoring for the day as the Rams fall 35-0 and drop to 0-4 at the quarter point of the year.

3rd Quarter

- The 49ers got the ball to open the second half but after getting a first down on a pass interference penalty, the Rams got a stop and forced them to punt again.

- St. Louis took over at its 17.

- The Rams again had a third down conversions nullified by a penalty as John Greco was ruled ineligible down field on a completion to Jackson that would have had a first down.

- San Francisco took over at the Rams’ 48.

- Given that field position, the 49ers took seven plays to cover the distance with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Hill to Vernon Davis to make it 14-0 San Francisco with 7:03 to go in the third.

- Things got worse on the Rams’ ensuing possession as Boller rolled right and fired back left on third down. A waiting Willis stepped in front and returned it for a touchdown to make it 21-0 San Francisco with 5:31 to go in the quarter.

- The teams traded punts on the following two possessions and the Rams were backed up to their 3 after Jackson was dropped for a loss.

- The Rams punted again.

- At the end of the third quarter, it’s 21-0 San Francisco.

2nd Quarter

- The 49ers opened the quarter by moving into Rams territory again, penetrating as far as the St. Louis 23. But defensive end C.J. Ah You got a sack on third down and forced San Francisco to attempt a field goal.

- Kicking in the same direction as Brown, Joe Nedney hit the left upright from 43 yards out for a miss. With 9:40 to go in the half, it’s still tied at 0.

- The Rams and 49ers traded punts but on the 49ers punt back to the Rams, things went awry.

- The punt hit cornerback Quincy Butler on the leg and rolled into the end zone. There, Butler attempted to scoop it up but couldn’t and San Francisco linebacker Scott McKillop fell on it for a touchdown to make it 7-0 San Francisco with 5:27 to go in the half.

- The Rams responded on their next possession as Jackson ripped off runs of 6 and 15 yards. On third-and-5 at the 50, Boller hit McMichael for a gain of 8 and a first down.

- On third-and-4 at San Francisco’s 36, the Rams appeared to have a big conversion on a quick slant to Amendola. Instead, there was a 5-yard penalty on Barron for illegal formation and the Rams were unable to convert the third down.

- The Rams punted it back to San Francisco and a touchback gave the 49ers the ball at their 20.

- At the end of the first half, San Francisco leads 7-0.

1st Quarter

- The Rams won the toss and elected to receive. On the opening kickoff, Danny Amendola appeared to have a monster return to San Francisco’s 5 or so but a holding penalty nullified it and the Rams had to start from their 22.

- The offense went three and out on the opening possession after a 1-yard run from Jackson and two incompletions.

- San Francisco took over at its 34 and picked up a first down on a 9-yard completion to Vernon Davis from Shaun Hill. But the Rams defense got a stop three plays later.

- The Rams began their second possession from their 20 and pieced together a nice drive despite some penalty issues.

- A 22-yard catch and run by Donnie Avery and a 17-yard strike to tight end Daniel Fells got the Rams a third-and-1 at San Francisco’s 32. On third down, a handoff to Samkon Gado lost a yard and the Rams opted to try the field goal.

- Kicker Josh Brown was just short from 51 yards out and San Francisco took over at its 41.

- The 49ers picked up a first down on the first play as Hill hit Coffee for a gain of 12. But the defense again came up with a stop and San Francisco punted to the Rams’ 10 where Amendola called fair catch.

- The Rams went three and out again as Patrick Willis came up with a 6-yard sack to push the Rams back to punt from their own end zone.

- The always excellent Donnie Jones boomed a 55-yard kick angled to the sideline and San Francisco took over at its 42.

- The 49ers have second-and-13 at their 39 at the end of the quarter. It’s still knotted at 0.

Pregame Notes

- Greetings from Candlestick Park where the Rams and 49ers are preparing to renew their rivalry.

- Let’s get right down to the business of inactives and the starting lineups.

- Inactives for the Rams are third quarterback Marc Bulger, tackle Jason Smith, safety James Butler, receiver Nate Jones, guard Roger Allen III, cornerback Ron Bartell, defensive end Victor Adeyanju and defensive tackle Darell Scott.

- The Rams listed starting lineup is as such after injuries and inactives have been factored…

- On offense: QB Kyle Boller, RB Steven Jackson, FB Mike Karney, TE Randy McMichael, LT Alex Barron, LG Jacob Bell, C Jason Brown, RG Richie Incognito, RT Adam Goldberg, WR Donnie Avery and WR Keenan Burton.

- On defense: DE Chris Long, DT Gary Gibson, DT Clifton Ryan, DE Leonard Little, SLB Paris Lenon, MLB James Laurinaitis, WLB Will Witherspoon, CB Jonathan Wade, CB Justin King, FS Oshiomogho Atogwe and SS Craig Dahl.

- For San Francisco, Nate Davis is the third quarterback, he’s joined by inactives WR Michael Spurlock, cornerback Allen Rossum, running back Frank Gore, safety Curtis Taylor, safety Reggie Smith, center Cody Wallace and defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois.

- The Rams are in the all whites today.

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).