Monday, Sep. 28, 2009

Rams raise Deacon's No. 75 to the rafters

Defensive end has his number retired by team

ST. LOUIS -- The No. 75 jersey of NFL legend David "Deacon" Jones now hangs from the rafters of the Edward Jones Dome as a testament to playing with a relentless passion.

Jones, the man credited with coining the term "sack" during his Hall of Fame career, had his jersey retired during a pregame ceremony Sunday.

"Deacon invented ferociousness and devastation on the defensive side of the ball," said Bruce Allen, the former general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the son of former Los Angeles Rams coach George Allen.

Allen served as the master of ceremonies, pointing out that Jones was the NFL's true single-season sack leader since he had 27 sacks in 1967 and 24 sacks in 1968.

The NFL, however, didn't recognize sacks as an official statistic until 1982, so Michael Strahan holds the official single-season record with 22.5.

Jones was a member of the Rams' Fearsome Foursome, a defensive line that also included Rosey Grier, Lamar Lundy and Merlin Olsen.

"Fearsome Foursome led by Deacon Jones was not a nickname, it was life," Allen said. "If you watch NFL Films, you can see the fear in the opposing quarterback's eyes."

Jones stepped up to the microphone and said, "Everything he said is true. I took no prisoners. You know it, and I know it."

Jones played for the Los Angeles Rams from 1961-71, yet he professed a love for St. Louis.

"I love you St. Louis," Jones said. "I want you to know the Deacon will always love you."

Jones received a video tribute on the Rams' two giant scoreboards. He also spoke to the Rams players during a pregame meeting.

"I've had a chance to hear Mr. Jones talk a couple of times now, and every time he talks I take away his passion for the game, his relentlessness to never fail and be the best," Rams running back Steven Jackson said. "Football is the ultimate team sport, but each person has their own individual battle within the game. He talks about being relentless and always fighting to make that play."

Injury report

In addition to quarterback Marc Bulger's shoulder injury, the Rams lost strong safety James Butler to a knee injury in the first quarter.

"Both of those guys are tough guys, so I'm certain if they could have went, they would have gone back in there," Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said. "There is some significance to those injures. We'll know more once we get a chance to look at them tomorrow."

Spagnuolo said Butler has an injured MCL in his knee.

Rams wide receiver Laurent Robinson sustained an ankle injury when the pile rolled up on him from behind on a run by Steven Jackson.

Donnie Avery left the game with an injury to his ribs.

"He just told me he got the wind knocked out of him, but it's probably more than what he thinks," Spagnuolo said. "An X-ray will tell that."

Quick hits

Defensive end Victor Adeyanju was among the Rams' inactives for the third straight game.

Adeyanju played in all 16 games with nine starts last season. He had 73 tackles and two sacks.

As expected, Rams rookie right tackle Jason Smith also was among the inactives because of a sprained knee. Adam Goldberg started in Smith's place.

The rest of the inactives for the Rams were: wide receiver Ruvell Martin, defensive tackle Darrell Scott, safety David Roach, safety Anthony Smith, guard Roger Allen III and third-string quarterback Keith Null.

* Safety Craig Dahl, playing in his first game this season after missing the Rams' first two with a hamstring injury, had a team-leading seven tackles.

Dahl got extensive time on defense after Butler was injured.

"I was ready to go this week, but I did not expect James Butler to go down," Dahl said. "It's a big loss to our team. I think the other guys rallied behind me. I was confident in my body and the trainers cleared me to go."

* New return specialist Danny Amendola returned eight kickoffs for 187 yards, an average of 23.4 yards per return.

Amendola had 42-yard return on the opening kickoff, but he also failed to get back to the St. Louis 20 three times.

Amendola had two punt returns for 23 yards.

* After being sacked 10 times in the Packers first two games, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked only twice by the Rams. Leonard Little had both of the sacks.