Suburban Journals of Chicago Sports Page

© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

There’s no place like home .. in the dome .. Rams beat Panthers 20-10
by Dan Peters

© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

Sam Bradford is maturing just fine, and this group of St. Louis Rams are far from the same team that won only one game last season.

The rookie quarterback threw two touchdown passes Sunday, the defense forced four turnovers and St. Louis reached the season's midway point at 4-4 and in contention in the NFC West after beating the Carolina Panthers 20-10.

Bradford threw a 2-yard scoring pass to Danny Amendola in the second quarter and a 23-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Fells in the fourth quarter. He was 25 for 32 for 191 yards and no interceptions, with a season-best quarterback rating of 112.4.

© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

"I felt very comfortable out there today, probably the most comfortable I've felt," said Bradford, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. "I think the game is really slowing down for me."

St. Louis goes into its bye week with more wins than the previous two seasons combined -- the Rams were 2-14 in 2008 before last season's NFL-worst 1-15 record.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo isn't worrying about what could have been.

"Everything that we had in front of us is still there," Spagnuolo said. "The NFC West is the first focus and we'll go from there."

And the Rams have Cheerleaders as well…

© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

For the Carolina Panthers, (1-6). they continue to make mistakes. Quarterback Matt Moore was 23 for 37 for 194 yards. One of his three interceptions, and a fumble by Steve Smith, led to 10 St. Louis points in the fourth quarter.

"You're just not going to win games, especially on the road, when you turn it over that many times, so it was frustrating," Carolina coach John Fox said.

"I think right now Matt gives us our best chance," Fox said. "We'll evaluate it after we look at the tape. We've got to do something to be better and execute more consistently on offense."

Honoring a Rams Legend..

© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

Isaac Bruce became the second member of the "Greatest Show on Turf"-era Rams to have his number retired.

The Rams honored the 37-year-old wide receiver before Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers, the crowd greeting him with chants of "Bruce," just as they did in his prime.

Dick Vermeil, the coach who led the Rams to the 2000 Super Bowl championship, was in attendance. So was Mike Martz, the offensive coordinator for that team and the coach when the Rams lost the 2002 Super Bowl to the New England Patriots. Martz is now the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears, who had a bye week

© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

Mike Martz

"He took a level of excellence and a standard he set for himself throughout his career and worked toward that, a standard higher than anybody else's," Martz said during the ceremony. "He is the standard of how that position is supposed to be played."

"If anybody should have their jersey retired where no one else can wear it again, it should be No. 80 Isaac Bruce," former tight end Ernie Conwell said.

Bruce joined former teammate Marshall Faulk as the only member of the "Greatest Show on Turf" to have their numbers retired to date.

Bruce thanked his coaches and teammates, and he said the greatest moment of his career wasn't one of his catches but a teammate's -- Ricky Proehl's against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the NFC championship and put the Rams in the Super Bowl.

Bruce and Family watch the tributes on the big screen
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

Bruce was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round (33rd overall) in 1994 and spent 14 seasons with the team. He holds every major receiving record in Rams history, including most career receptions (942), career receiving yards (14,109) and touchdown catches (84).

Bruce was a four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Rams before ending his career with two seasons as a San Francisco 49er. Bruce was traded back to St. Louis in July to retire as a Ram.

The Rams also honored Bruce on Sunday by wearing throwback uniforms from that Super Bowl-winning season. It was Bruce in that uniform who provided perhaps the best moment in Rams history -- his game-winning 73-yard touchdown catch from Kurt Warner in the waning moments of the Super Bowl to give St. Louis a 23-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans.