jimmyram

Favre fumbles, Rams win as history repeats itself


Cornerback Jerametrius Butler (23) covers the Brett Favre fumble late in the fourth quarter that sealed the Rams' 23-20 win over the Packers Sunday in Green Bay.
(Mike Roemer/AP)

GREEN BAY, WIS. — Much to the dismay of defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, Leonard Little and the rest of the St. Louis defense couldn't get close to Brett Favre on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

"Haslett got on me on the sideline," Little said. "He said, 'When are you going to do something?' So I tried to do something."

Little did something, all right, and just in the nick of time. Favre was on the verge of pulling out his 36th comeback victory for Green Bay, when Little came racing around the edge on the pass rush.

Little used a "rip" move with his right arm to get around Green Bay offensive tackle Mark Tauscher.

"I saw the ball at the last second," Little said. "(Favre) was about to throw the ball, so I slapped it out of his hand."

If Little hadn't got there, defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy would have. Working a stunt with teammate La'Roi Glover, Kennedy was in the process of sacking Favre just as Little poked the ball out.

"I just wrapped around Glover and Favre was right there," Kennedy said.

And then the ball popped out.

"The ball hit me first, and it rolled," Little said. "It seemed like it took forever. It seemed like the ball was going in slow motion. I was just hoping someone would jump on it."

Well, Green Bay guard Daryn Colledge tried to flop on it, but it squirted loose. And there was cornerback Jerametrius Butler. Remember him? Inactive the first four games, and in uniform only because of an injury to Fakhir Brown, Butler fell on the football on the Rams' 13 with 36 seconds to play.

Just like that, the Rams had survived yet another narrow escape, holding off Green Bay 23-20 to win their third consecutive game.

"We've had some emotional roller-coaster type games," coach Scott Linehan said. "They're all like that in this league."

Well, they're all like that for the Rams. All five of their games have been one-possession contests -- decided by eight points or less. In all five games, the trailing team has had a chance to tie or win in the closing minutes.

The Rams have managed to win all but one of those five. At 4-1, they are in sole possession of first place in the NFC West. Yes, the Greatest Show on Turf is dead.

"That was '99," quarterback Marc Bulger said. "We're almost a decade away. We have a new coach. A lot of new players."

But a new kind of moxie.

"We're the second coming of the Cardiac Kids right now," cornerback Ron Bartell said. "We're getting lucky, but I'd rather be lucky than unlucky any day. Hey, we've seen the alternative last year."

The alternative was 6-10, leading to wholesale roster changes and contributing to the departure of Mike Martz.

But as wide receiver Torry Holt noted, there was nothing lucky about Little's play at the end.

"That was just hustle," Holt said. "That was just will -- something that Coach speaks about. We knew it was going to come down to who was going to be strong-willed late in the game."

Little says that's what separates the '06 Rams from their recent predecessors.

"This team always fights," Little said in the locker room, after taking three IVs for dehydration. "That's the difference between this team and the teams of the past. We're fighting till the very end. Today is another example of that. Arizona was an example of that. Last week (Detroit) was an example of that."

Why is it different? "Different coaching. Different personnel," Little said. "Even though we have players here from the past, this team is totally different. We don't stop playing till the last second goes off the clock."

Plagued by penalties, and outplayed in the first half, the Rams still managed a 14-13 halftime lead on the strength of Bulger touchdown passes to Holt and Kevin Curtis.

The Rams settled down in the second half, but they sputtered in the red zone. They reached the Green Bay 7, 8, and 1 on three consecutive possessions in the third and fourth quarters -- but had to settle for Jeff Wilkins field goals each time. That 23-13 lead shrank in a hurry when Favre beat rookie cornerback Tye Hill -- making his first NFL start -- with a 46-yard TD pass to Greg Jennings with 6 minutes 42 seconds left to play.

Green Bay got the ball back at its 21, down by 3, with 2:46 to play. With Favre wheeling and dealing, the Packers worked the ball to the Rams' 11 with 44 seconds to play.

"It's always a treat to watch Favre like that," Holt said.

Even when he's threatening to beat you?

"Yeah, even when he's trying to beat us," Holt said. "I hate to say that. But he's got so much in his bag. He can pull a trick from anywhere."

But Little, Kennedy and Butler put an end to those tricks. The ball popped out, and Butler plopped on it in a sequence that was reminiscent of Kurt Warner and Arizona two weeks ago.

"Again! That's all I said," Bartell said. "Again! How many times can that possibly happen this year?"

"They're driving, and that ball pops out," center Richie Incognito said. "That's divine intervention."

Divine intervention?

"Whatever you want to call it, that's amazing," Incognito said.

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