(Written on 12/11/15)
In what is arguably the most headline-less NFL match-up in Week 14, the St Louis Rams will host the Detroit Lions as each try to improve to 5-8. While the Lions have been dominant through the air, the Rams have gotten it down on the ground as both rank ninth in the NFL in their respective statistical categories. The same can be said for their lack of dominance in the other offensive aspects as Detroit ranks 31st in rushing yards per game and St. Louis is last in passing yards per game. Both franchises are on their second offensive coordinator this season, proving to be a wise decision for Detroit highlighted by the 31 more points they’ve scored in the five games since Joe Lombardi’s firing, than the first five games of the season. While Lions rookie running back Ameer Abdullah isn’t the same talent that fellow rookie running back Todd Gurley of the Rams is, both have bright future ahead and have had quite an impact on their respective offensives; to put the icing on the cake, Rams defensive tackle Nick Fairley spent the first four seasons of his career with the Lions. The similarities run much deeper, however.
Ohio is the birthplace of both franchises as the Portsmouth Spartans began operations in 1929 while the Cleveland Rams were up and running 234 miles south seven years later. In 1934, a group led by Detroit radio executive George Richards bought the Spartans, struggling financially, for$7,952.08 and moved them to Detroit and renamed them the Lions as an ode to their professional baseball team, the Detroit Tigers. Both franchises moved to the National Football League just one year after existence, the Lions in 1930 and the Rams in 1937.
The 50s were high points for the franchises as the Rams won an NFL Championship in 1951 and played in four between 1949-1955 while the Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship the very next year. The Browns would continue their tear of NFL Championships, defeating the Lions in ’53 and ’54 before defeating who else in ’55? The Los Angeles Rams. Both teams were quarterbacked by Hall of Famers Bobby Layne (Lions) and Norm Van Brocklin and Bob Waterfield (Rams) while Tobin Rote became a star quarterback for the Lions following the 1957 playoffs after the Lions traded Layne, thus ensuing “The Curse of Bobby Layne” in 1958: the Lions have won one playoff games (1991) since the trade.
Fast forward to the 80s as both teams were lead by phenomenal running backs Billy Sims (Lions, drafted in 1980) and Eric Dickerson (Rams, drafted in 1983) as both franchises experienced success. The Lions made the playoffs in 1982 and 1983, their first consecutive playoff appearances since 1953-1954. In seek of change after a disappointing stretch from 1979-1982, the Rams hired USC great John Robinson in 1983 who, coupled with Dickerson, made the playoffs six straight times including an NFC Championship game appearance in 1985. The previous year was a completely different season on both sides of the spectrum for the fellow running back: while Dickerson ran for an NFL record 2,105 yards, Sims suffered a career ending injury that lead a period of futility for the Lions from 1984-1988.
Change abounded for both teams during the 90s with the emergence of running back Barry Sanders. One of the greatest players of all-time, Sanders was the driving force behind the Lions’ playoff appearances in 1991, 1993-1995, 1997, and 1999; Lions guard Mike Utley also suffered a career ending injury against the Los Angeles Rams during the 1991 season. No matter Sanders’ talents, the Lions only advanced past the first round of the playoffs once. After moving to St. Louis in 1995, the Rams assembled the Greatest Show on Turf lead by quarterback Kurt Warner and a player of Sanders’ talents in running back Marshall Faulk that propelled them to a Super Bowl victory in 1999. The Rams would ride that wave until 2005, when things began to fall apart.
The 21st century is marked by poor ownership, coaching, and draft classes. While both franchises experienced success early on (the Lions made the playoffs in 2000-2001 without Sanders and the Rams made another Super Bowl appearance in 2001), the Lions didn’t win a single game on the road from 2001-2003, an NFL record 24 straight games that was a result of Matt Millen’s 31-81 record as team president. 2007 was an unfortunate turn of events as Detroit started 6-2 before fading and finishing 7-9 and St. Louis went 3-13 in their first year under Scott Linehan after going 8-8 the year before under Mike Martz. The next year was even worse for Detroit as they became the first NFL team to ever finish 0-16; not surprisingly, the Rams weren’t much better as they finished 2-14 and fired Linehan after an 0-4 start before promoting defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. Despite finding their franchise quarterback in Matt Stafford the 2009 Draft, the Lions finished with the second worst record in the NFL at 2-14. The Rams were the only worse team at 1-15 as they took Sam Bradford with the first overall pick the next year, but did not become the franchise quarterback Stafford has materialized into. Both have averaged five wins a season since 2000 which is attributed to those poor drafts I mentioned early as an awful stretch occured for the Lions bewteen 2001-2005 that featured Jeff Backus, Joey Harrington, Charles Rodgers, and Mike Williams. St. Louis was equally awful from 2002-2009, featuring Robert Thomas, Tye Hill, Jason Smith, and Adam Carriker.
Records and stats out the window, this should be an interesting game showcasing young talent for years to come.
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