Within a six-day span, the "Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams" have lost control of their own playoff destiny.

Also, within a six-day span, the "Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams" have dropped out of first place in the National Football Conference Western Division.

Also, within a six-day span, a "certain" playoff position for the "Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams" has now become questionable.

Also, within a six-day span, the " Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams" have achieved more losses than all of last season.

Also, within a six-day span, a national television audience has watched the "Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams" lose at home in an uninspired fashion.

It is now football like it used to be for the "Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams".

Squawk radio football fans are sounding like hockey fans. Call the highway patrol to watch the bridges for fans wearing a London Fletcher jersey. Hide the sharp objects. The 2000 St. Louis Rams are beginning to take a striking resemblance to those fabled St. Louis teams of 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998.

Before a capacity crowd at the Trans World Dome, the Rams allowed the New Orleans Saints to take over the NFC West lead without their number one quarterback and their profile/franchise player. Rookie signal caller Aaron Brooks resembled Archie Manning by completing 17 of 29 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown. Brooks also rushed for a second as well as engineering several successful third down attempts in the second half against the confused Rams Defense.

Former Ram Jerald Moore out-rushed current Ram Marshall Faulk. Moore scored one touchdown and rushed for 61 yards on the afternoon.

Bluntly: New Orleans came prepared to play. The Rams did not. The better team won the game: again. Right now, our Navy and Gold heroes are not a very good football team.

The New Orleans game plan was very simple: if you hold on to the football then St. Louis cannot score. The final time of possession proved that theory correct. Also, keep the offense basic in order for Brooks to maneuver easily. That game plan also worked quite effectively. The Saints defense, led by the Coordinator that got away, John Bunting, answered every test thrown at them this Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Rams played uninspired all afternoon. From the opening play where they were unprepared for an on-side kick, to the final play of the afternoon when Quarterback Trent Green was sacked on a desperation passing situation (where Green was NOT in the shotgun formation): our Navy and Gold heroes once again did not respond in front of the home folks. There was not much to be thankful for on this Sunday after Turkey Day. This football game consisted of dropped passes, missed tackles, turnovers, questionable clock management (again) and penalties from the Home Team.

For the second straight game, the Rams must have thought that they were back in Los Angeles as the majority of the PSL holding faithful left the building before the final gun. Yet while the fans did hang around, they did offer many choruses of boo's throughout the afternoon for the Home Team. It was like old times at the Dome: the Rich Brooks era and years one and two of the Dick Vermeil regime.

Once again Mike Martz looked very much like an inexperienced Head Coach. The agents for Todd Lyght and Kevin Carter have to be concerned with their upcoming commission as their client's free agency value is dropping like a rock. Trent Green reminds us why Kurt Warner is the Rams' Number 1 quarterback.

With the win, the Saints are 8-4. With the loss, the Rams are 8-4. New Orleans earns the top spot in the division because of the head to head record of the two teams.

The Rams have four games left: next week in Carolina, then Minnesota at the Dome, a Monday night match-up in Tampa Bay, before enjoying Christmas Eve in the Big Easy.

Let's see now: both the Panthers and Saints have beaten the Rams in St. Louis so far in 2000. Minnesota currently has the best record in the NFC. Tampa Bay, who came within four and one-half minutes and five points from advancing to the Super Bowl last January in St. Louis, will welcome our Male Sheep to their grass field in South Florida.

Remarkably, it is not out of the realm of possibility that the "Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams" will miss the playoffs this season. This feat is almost impossible to fathom since the Gateway City's team started the season 6-0.

With four weeks to go, Martz and Charlie Armey cannot make any significant player change with the exception of the return of Warner. Even with #13 in the lineup, the psyche of this football team is bad. The Rams players, thanks in large part to an adoring and unquestioning local media, feel they are beyond reproach. They have the Bill Clinton syndrome: it's someone else's fault and an adoring media will not question.

Still, Gateway City fans will know shortly if we need to contact the Wizard for a heart for this football team. The Rams have totally floundered a certain playoff position to a now marginal event. The defense must be more concerned about doing their job than celebrating routine plays. The offense must be more concerned about scoring points instead of pointing out that a couple of All Pros are not in the lineup.

If the Rams do fail to make the playoffs, the pundits might be right: the 1999 NFL season may have been a fluke.

Four weeks to go, starting next Sunday in Carolina. The regular season will end on Christmas Eve in New Orleans.

It's now gut check time for the Home Team.

We'll know within a month whether the "Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams" will be home for Christmas-for good.