RAMS TRAVEL TO JACKSONVILLE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY
Sunday, October 18, 2009, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Noon (CDT)

The Rams will hit the road for the fourth time in the last six weeks as they travel to Florida to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

This week’s contest is the third meeting between the teams and the first in Jacksonville. The Rams previously hosted the Jaguars in St. Louis in 1996 and 2005 and won both contests. Only one team, the Houston Texans, has faced the Rams fewer times than the Jaguars. The Rams and Texans have met only once in the regular season.

St. Louis is coming off it’s top offensive performance of the season. Last week vs. Minnesota, the Rams produced 27 first downs and 400 net yards. The Rams were led by RB Steven Jackson who produced 109 total yards (84 rushing and 25 receiving). Four Rams receivers tied for the team-lead with five receptions and WR Donnie Avery led the group with a season-high 87 receiving yards and a touchdown. QB Kyle Boller started his second consecutive game, passing for 209 yards on 20-of-31 passing before leaving the game after being shaken up. QB Marc Bulger returned to the field after missing last week’s game with a shoulder injury, throwing for a touchdown on seven-of-seven passing.

Passing

M. Bulger
Rams
427 yards

Rushing

S. Jackson
Rams
451 yards

Receiving

D. Avery
Rams
196 yards

Passing

D. Garrard
Jaguars
1129 yards

Rushing

M. Jones-Drew
Jaguars
330 yards

Receiving

T. Holt
Jaguars
306 yards

DE Chris Long is tied for fourth on the team with 22 tackle (10 solo)
this season. The 22 tackles are tied for first with DE James Hall
among Rams’ defensive linemen. The second-overall choice in the
2008 NFL Draft, Long is looking to build off of a productive rookie
season.

As a rookie, Long started all 16 games for the Rams, recording 57
tackles, 4.0 sacks, 16 quarterback pressures and one fumble recovery. Long’s 16 quarterback pressures led the Rams defense and his 4.0 sacks tied for second among NFC rookies.

Long tallied four or more tackles in 10 games in 2008, including a
career-high eight tackles in Week 3 at Seattle (9/21/08). Long’s best game of the season came in Week 8 at New England (10/26/08). Long started at right defensive end, recording five tackles and 2.0 sacks.

Overtime

- Jacksonville won the toss to open overtime and elected to receiver.

- The Jaguars got a first down on a second-down pass but the Rams had linebacker Will Witherspoon and cornerback Ron Bartell shaken up on the plays.

- The Rams got Jacksonville to a third-and-3 but Jones-Drew picked up 4 for a first down.

- The Rams got the Jags to another third down, this time third-and-6 on the next set of downs. Garrard hit Thomas for a gain of 17 yards to the Rams 37.

- Jones Drew picked up 11 on first down, putting Jacksonville in field goal range.

- Kicker Josh Scobee booted a 36-yard field goal to win it 23-20.

4th Quarter

- The Rams went three and out to open the quarter, punting it back to Jacksonville. The Jaguars start from their 31.

- Jacksonville finally broke the scoreless second half as Jones-Drew had a big drive, including a 26-yard gain to the Rams 1 that led to his scoring on his third run from that distance.

- The Jaguars led 13-10 with 8:05 to go.

- The Rams couldn’t muster a first down and punted it back to Jacksonville. The Jaguars took over at their 30 with 6:54 to play.

- On second and 10 at their 45, Garrard dropped back to pass and floated it to his right for Jones-Drew. Little stepped in front, deflected it to himself and raced 36 yards for a touchdown. The extra point made it 17-13 Rams with 4:36 to play.

- Jacksonville started its drive from its 25. The Jaguars quickly moved into Rams territory on the strength of a 13-yard run by Garrard, an 18-yard run by Jones-Drew and a 26-yard completion to Sims-Walker.

- Jones-Drew picked up 4 on third-and-2 to the Rams 6.

- On first down, Jones-Drew picked up 3 to the Rams 3.

- Jones-Drew scored on the second play to give Jacksonville a 20-17 lead with less than two minutes to go.

- On the first play of their possession, the Rams got a 38-yard completion from Bulger to Jackson.

- On third-and-5 at Jacksonville’s 35, Bulger hit Amendola for a gain of 13.

- The Rams took one shot at the end zone but Bulger had to throw it away under pressure. Brown hit from 27 yards out to tie at 20 and send it to overtime.

3rd Quarter

- The Rams defense bent a little to open the second half but got a stop and took over at their 20.

- Jackson picked up 15 on his first carry of the possession but the Rams couldn’t pick up another first down and had to punt it away. Jacksonville takes over at its 14.

- The defense got another stop, finally getting off on third down after the Jags converted a pair.

- The Rams started their next possession at their 22 but went three and out as a completion to Daniel Fells came up 1 yard short.

- Jacksonville took over at its 32.

- The Jaguars marched deep into Rams territory but on first-and-10 at the 16, end C.J. Ah You tipped a Garrard pass in the air and James Laurinaitis came up with his second interception in as many weeks.

- The Rams took over at their 26 with a 10-6 lead heading into the final quarter.

2nd Quarter

- The Rams opened the second quarter just how they’d like as Ron Bartell put a perfect hit on Jones-Drew to force a fumble. Safety Craig Dahl recovered at the Rams’ 15 to kill Jacksonville’s drive.

- The Rams got a big third down conversion as Bulger hit Jackson for a gain of 16 but the Rams punted three plays later.

- Jacksonville took over its next possession on the 30.

- The Rams defense got a stop after a pair of sacks from James Hall and Leonard Little. The offense took over at its 15.

- The Rams got a pair of 9 yard runs from Jackson and a 16-yard completion to tight end Randy McMichael for a first down at Jacksonville’s 44.

- The Rams picked up 9.5 yards on the next three plays and went for it on fourth and inches at Jacksonville’s 35. The Jaguars jumped offsides giving the Rams a first down at the 30.

- A tripping penalty and a loss of 3 yards gave the Rams a second-and-23 at Jacksonville’s 43.

- The Rams had to settle for a 52-yard field goal attempt from kicker Josh Brown. He converted to make it 10-6 Rams with 37 seconds to go.

- The Jags got in position for a 58-yard field goal but it fell short and wide. The Rams lead 10-6 at the half.

1st Quarter

- The Jaguars won the toss and elected to defer. The Rams got the ball first and got to the 27 on a 28-yard return by Danny Amendola.

- The Rams got right to work as Marc Bulger hit Keenan Burton for a gain of 21 yards on the second play from scrimmage. Bulger hit Burton again for a gain of 8 and followed by hitting Steven Jackson for a gain of 18.

- On second-and-8 at Jacksonville’s 17, Bulger hit Donnie Avery in the right corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

- The Jaguars answered back after a short kick was returned to their 42. David Garrard hit Torry Holt for a gain of 10 yards. He followed with a 41-yard strike to Holt. One play later, Maurice Jones-Drew scored from 4 yards out to make it 7-6.

- A miscue on the hold of the extra point forced Jacksonville to take the loss and keep the score at 7-6.

- Amendola returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to give the Rams excellent field position at Jacksonville’s 42. The Rams decided to take a deep shot on the first play as Bulger fired deep down the middle for Avery. But the ball hung in the air just a bit too long and Jags cornerback Rashean Mathis intercepted it and returned it to the Rams 19.

- The Rams defense responded with a three and out.

- The Rams offense gave it right back with a three and out of its own and a short punt gave Jacksonville the start at its 24.

- The Jaguars have moved to the Rams 19 with the help of a 45-yard completion to Mike Sims-Walker. Jacksonville has a first down there at the end of the first quarter.

Pregame Notes

- Greetings from Jacksonville Municipal Stadium where the Rams are looking for win No. 1 against the Jaguars today.

- There are some interesting matchups in today’s game. Jacksonville ranks near the bottom of the league in defense and has switched to a 3-4 defense midway through the season. Could be the chance for the Rams to get it going offensively.

- Keep an eye on Rams WR Donnie Avery. He had a solid outing last week and Jacksonville’s corners are a bit banged up.

- On the inactive front, the Rams have third quarterback Keith Null, safety James Butler, safety Anthony Smith, receiver Nate Jones, guard Roger Allen III, guard John Greco, receiver Ruvell Martin and defensive end Victor Adeyanju.

- As expected, Adam Goldberg will start at right tackle. Jason Smith will get some series though as he works back from a knee injury.

- Also no surprise is the second consecutive start for cornerback Bradley Fletcher.

- Jacksonville’s inactives include receiver Tiquan Underwood, corner Scott Starks, safety Sean Considine, linebacker Adam Seward, linebacker Justin Durant, offensive tackle Maurice Williams, tackle Jordan Black and defensive tackle Greg Peterson.

- With Durant down, the Jaguars will start Brian Iwuh in his place.

- Check back here for quarterly updates and live updates on Twitter throughout the day.

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).