Editor’s note: This is the Wednesday Aug. 10 edition of the “Game Day with Kevin Modesti” newsletter. To receive the newsletter in your inbox, sign up here.
Until yesterday I thought the way for fans to handle the Rams’ bad start was to stay cool until things get better. Now I wonder why the rest of us should do that if the Rams themselves don’t.
Non-Rams news is mostly good for L.A.:
The Lakers finally won a game, with Russell Westbrook a spark.
Also under the heading of “finally,” the Lakers retired George Mikan’s number 99.
LAFC advanced to the MLS Cup final for the first time by routing Austin FC.
Columnist Mirjam Swanson says MLS’s best team didn’t wilt under the pressure, it applied it.
The Ducks snapped a losing streak by coming from behind against the Maple Leafs. And there are some surprises in CIF Southern Section football playoff pairings.
The Rams lost 31-14 to the San Francisco 49ers, nemeses who got better when they traded for Christian McCaffrey, and the only relief for L.A. is that Cooper Kupp’s twisted ankle didn’t sound serious.
It was anything but the improvement that should have been expected with the Rams having a week to regroup and benefiting from the return of some injured players.
And it looked even worse when the game began to get away in the second half and the Rams seemed, as Fox TV color man and former NFL tight end Greg Olsen put it, to “kind of lose their composure.”
Linebacker Ernest Jones hit McCaffrey out of bounds and had to be led away by defensive back Nick Scott, a 15-yard unnecessary-roughness penalty giving the 49ers the ball at the Rams’ 36 yard line on the way to a touchdown and two-score lead early in the fourth quarter.
On the Rams’ next possession, wide receiver Allen Robinson taunted former USC safety Talanao Hufanga after catching a Matthew Stafford pass for a first down. The 15-yard penalty sent the Rams back to their 21. They wound up punting.
The other key mistake on that failed drive was Tyler Higbee dropping a third-down pass, after which the veteran tight end slammed his helmet to the turf on the sideline.
Then there were several altercations involving cornerback Jalen Ramsey: pushing and jawing with 49ers defensive back Tarvarius Moore after a special-teams play, shoving 49ers kicker Robbie Gould after a PAT, even arguing with Rams rookie cornerback Derion Kendrick on the sideline.
It’s hard to blame the Rams for being frustrated on a day they lost to the rival 49ers for the eighth straight time in the regular season, in front of another maddeningly pro-49ers crowd at SoFi Stadium, with damaging drops by the reliable Higbee on that short pass and Ramsey on a would-be interception near midfield.
But the Super Bowl champions should be handling it better than they did yesterday.
“Picking fights, personal fouls, pushing guys late out of bounds, taunting,” Olsen said. “They’ve got to pull it together. … They’re going to have to play with a little more poise under this pressure if they want to get back into it.”
They didn’t, and now it’s Rams fans who have a right to lose their cool.
With the loss, the Rams fell to 3-4 and third place behind the Seahawks and 49ers in the NFC West. Sean McVay has coached 94 regular-season weeks, and the Rams have been under .500 after only three of them. That shows how good he has been, but also how rare his current challenge is.
McVay was asked after the game about mental mistakes, and he didn’t take it as an opportunity to speak directly about the examples above.
He did say “adversity” provides “opportunities” to gain “real insight into how people handle tough things or some setbacks.” He went on: “It’s easy to do it when things are always good, but how do you handle these types of moments? You don’t want to be in these types of situations, but you want to make sure you respond the right way with what you can control, and I’m very confident how we’re going to do that.”
After yesterday’s loss to the 49ers come games against the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay and the Cardinals at SoFi. Those are the three teams the Rams beat in the NFC playoffson the way to defeating the Bengals in the Super Bowl.
Last January, as champions, the Rams were the epitome of calm under second-half pressure, of channeling games’ natural emotions the right way. Now, as defending champions, not so much.
This was their most upsetting loss yet, and nobody showed it in a worse way than the Rams themselves.
TODAY
Clippers host the Rockets, losers of six of their last seven, with both teams playing for the second straight night (7:30 p.m., Ch. 5). Kawhi Leonard will sit out again.
Kings open a four-day, three-game trip by facing the slow-starting Blues in St. Louis (5 p.m., BSW).
READERS REACT
The World Series resumes tonight in Philadelphia with the Astros and Phillies tied 1-1. More replies came in to my question: If you’re a Dodgers or Angels fan, who are you rooting for? The answers aren’t all pro-Phillies anymore.
Twitter user DavidA2920 wrote: “I’m rooting for the Astros. People need to get over 2017. This is a good team. That being said, I’d just love to see a seven-game series.”
achoomf1 said: “Dodgers fan. Going for the Phillies cuz of course. Also can’t hate on Dusty (Baker) getting a ring.”
nerraza said: “I’m a Dodger fan, and besides the obvious reason, I’m cheering for the Phillies for the same reason I did for the Nationals in 2019: It’s the underdog team.”
NEXT QUESTION
If you’re a Rams fan, what’s your reaction to seeing 49ers fans pack SoFi Stadium for recent games in the rivalry? Respond by email to KModesti@scng.com or on Twitter at @KevinModesti.
280 CHARACTERS
Credit to @MirjamSwanson https://t.co/gFV7neZnS1
— Sabreena Merchant (@sabreenajm) October 31, 2022
– Basketball writer and podcaster Sabreena Merchant, referring to Mirjam’s column urging Lakers fans to cheer for Russell Westbrook, which they did during last night’s win at Crypto.com Arena.
1,000 WORDS
Out of reach: 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey eludes Rams defensive back Nick Scott in the third quarter yesterday at SoFi Stadium. Photo is by David Crane of the Los Angeles Daily News and SCNG.
TALK TO ME
Thanks for reading the newsletter. Send suggestions, comments and questions by email at KModesti@scng.com and via Twitter @KevinModesti.
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