ST. LOUIS – One day after the St. Louis Rams picked up their first victory of the season, more good news may be on the way: Sam Bradford began to exercise Monday.

Bradford is no longer wearing a protective boot on his left ankle. He sustained a high ankle sprain two weeks ago in a loss at Green Bay. The quarterback did not play last week against Dallas and missed the Rams’ stunning 31-21 upset of New Orleans on Sunday that improved St. Louis to 1-6.

“He did some strengthening exercises this morning,” Spagnuolo said. “He’s moving around a little bit. I don’t know that we’ll get him on Wednesday (for practice), but we’ll slowly work him in there. He’s about the same right now.

“He’ll be day to day and we’ll see where we are after Wednesday. He’s getting there. This thing, these high ankle sprains, you never know.”

Spagnuolo acknowledged the win over the Saints was a milestone for his club, but cautioned against putting too much emphasis on it. Certainly, it is a confidence builder for the Rams.

“What’s nice is you’ve been saying certain things to the football team all the way through this rough patch and what we thought they were capable of, and I think the players felt the same way,” Spagnuolo said. “This is a little bit of the proof in the pudding, so to speak.

“Hopefully, you build on that. That’s the hope. I will be cautioning the guys to the fact that many people on the surface looked at the schedule and said this was the gantlet, these seven games. Well, it’s not going to get any easier. If you fall into the ‘we’re through the tough part and away we go,’ then we’re in trouble.”

The overall record of the Rams’ first seven opponents is 31-19. The record for the next four foes is 7-21. St. Louis is at Arizona this Sunday and then travels to Cleveland before coming home with two games in November against Seattle and Arizona.

“This Arizona team we’re getting ready to play is going to be as tough a challenge as any of the seven we’ve already played. I really believe it,” Spagnuolo said.

Steven Jackson scored two touchdowns in his first 100-yard rushing game in three seasons. Jackson had 159 yards on 25 carries.

Backup quarterback A.J. Feeley, starting for the second straight week in place of Bradford, threw his first touchdown pass in four years.

Young players stepped up for the Rams in the victory. Darian Stewart returned an interception for the clinching touchdown late in the fourth quarter, the team’s first defensive score in more than two seasons. Rookie Robert Quinn, the team’s No. 1 draft pick, blocked a punt to set up one score and had a sack.

“I’m tremendously proud of the team,” Spagnuolo said. “I thought they fought hard. There’s still plenty of work to do. We’re certainly not blinded by the fact it’s just one win. It was a good football team we played and it was a good win, but we still got a lot of work to do.”

NOTES: Starting CB Justin King (groin) was inactive Sunday after being listed as questionable. He will practice Wednesday. … WR Mark Clayton still is bothered by an Achilles tendon injury but he is out of the protective boot he was wearing. …OT Jason Smith and DT Darell Scott both will be out Wednesday. Both have not been cleared since sustaining concussions.

Not many people would even believe that this win took place. In addition to that, did you take note there wasn’t one single score in the entire first quarter?

I did an article last week on some of the best all-time NFL comeback games. I was able to watch hours of phenomenal footage, exciting, thrilling, amazing. And then, I got to watch the Rams-New Orleans game.

If I didn’t before, now, after this, I believe in magic. I believe that in football, anything is possible. If you have to believe in order for it to happen, then I’m set, cause I really do believe. I think this factor is one of the most intriguing parts of the game and what keeps our eyed addictedly fixated on the glowing screen in front of us even when we think all is lost.

On Sunday, Oct. 30, the St. Louis Rams beat the New Orleans Saints 31-21 in arguably the season’s biggest upset thus far. Steven Jackson ran for 159 and two touchdowns to lead the Rams to their first victory of the season.

Honestly, only the most gullible of fans would have believed the team could beat the Saints. New Orleans entered Sunday’s matchup averaging just over 34 points per game. The way the Rams have played defense this season, I thought St. Louis would be lucky to leave with a 28-10 loss.

However, the Rams came out looking nothing like the team that began the year 0-6. Maybe the celebration surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals motivated them, or perhaps they were tired of getting beat up every week. I don’t know what it was, but it felt great to see the Rams play hard every down.

What really surprised me was the defense’s performance. One of the Rams’ greatest strengths last season was their ability to pressure the quarterback and create turnovers. This year, the defensive line has been nowhere near as effective as it was in 2010. In some games, the unit has completely disappeared. But against the Saints, Chris Long(notes) and the defense had a field day with a combined six sacks for 42 yards lost. Additionally, the team created two turnovers, including Darian Stewart’s(notes) 27-yard interception return for a touchdown.

As I watched all of this unfold, I couldn’t help but wonder where this Rams’ team has been all season. This wasn’t the defense that gave up 294 yards rushing to the Dallas Cowboys just a week ago. Instead, the team bottled up Saints running backs Christopher Ivory(notes), Pierre Thomas(notes), and Darren Sproles(notes) for most of the game. Offensively, the club rallied around Jackson and blocked for him like I haven’t seen them do in a couple years. I think the Rams were tired of getting embarrassed every week.

“We had to punch the Saints in the mouth today,” Jackson said. “If you’ve ever been in a fight and tasted your own blood, that’s what we were feeling—and if you’re a man, you fight back.”

For once, the Rams did just that. They fought back and shocked football fans across the country. It wasn’t a fluke victory either. The Rams shut down the Saints’ running game and contained Drew Brees(notes) enough to limit the Saints’ ability to exploit the weaknesses in the St. Louis defense.

The offense controlled the football and kept the pressure on New Orleans all afternoon. Today, I’m proud to be a Rams fan. I’m not naïve enough to believe the team will run the table or anything. There are too many holes for on the roster for that. However, the Rams stood tall for the first time this season, and at this point, that’s all I can really ask for.

Derek Ciapala has been a Rams fan since he was a child and the team was in Los Angeles. His favorite Rams moments include Flipper Anderson’s 336-yard receiving night against the Saints in 1989, and their miracle 1999 run to their first Super Bowl victory. You can follow him on Twitter @dciapala.

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Rams running back Steven Jackson is tackled by Saints linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar, left, and linebacker Jonathan Vilma (51) during the first quarter of Sunday’s game. Jackson rushed for 159 yards, the third-best total of his career, on 25 carries.
( Jeff Roberson, the Associated Press
)

ST. LOUIS — Nothing in the St. Louis Rams’ first six games indicated they were capable of even keeping this one close.

Maybe the crosstown Cardinals’ pregame appearance with the World Series trophy inspired them to pull off a shocker of their own. A few choice words from their star player helped too.

Steven Jackson awoke in the middle of the night on game day, deciding he would tell teammates enough was enough and that no way were the Rams this awful. Then he led by example with two touchdowns in his first 100-yard game in three seasons, helping St. Louis earn its first win with a 31-21 upset of the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

“I think the Cardinals being here was great for the city,” Jackson said. “Whoever showed up today, regardless if the place was empty, today was the day.

“We came out with a mind-set we were going to fight.”

Drew Brees barely kept alive his touchdown pass streak on a meaningless score in the final seconds a week after throwing five in a 62-7 rout of the winless Indianapolis Colts. Brees was intercepted twice too, with Darian Stewart’s pick and 27-yard return putting the game away with 2:51 to go.

“As you look at the cardinal sins of football, we committed quite a few of those today,” Brees said, no pun intended. “Obviously, we gave them a lot of momentum.”

The NFC South-leading Saints (5-3) average a league-best 35 points, but never got on track against a defense ranked near the bottom of the league. The Rams (1-6) had a season-high six sacks after entering the game with just 11, three by Chris Long.

“We always thought we had that in us,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “It was a wonderful weekend for St. Louis fans.”

Saints pass catchers were bottled up by a secondary minus its top three players, and the rushing game totaled just 56 yards on 20 carries.

The Rams trailed by double digits in each of their first six games, and before Sunday had the lead for only 6:28 all season. They led at halftime for the first time since they were up 3-0 against the 49ers in the 2009 season finale in a 28-6 loss.

The Saints were held scoreless in the first half for the first time since 2007, mustering just 94 yards total offense and going 1-for-6 on third down.

“They certainly played with more energy than we did,” coach Sean Payton said. “I just thought we looked flat.”

The Rams secondary has been decimated by injuries this season.  Starters Ron Bartell and Jerome Murphy, along with nickel back Bradley Fletcher and dime back Justin King, have all suffered injuries this season. 

Bartell, Murphy and Fletcher are all out for the season.  All together, the Rams have lost seven defensive backs since the start of training camp.

In the Rams’ Week 8 game against the Saints, their defensive secondary had by far their best performance of the season.  Would the Rams still be open to adding a solid veteran if the chance came along?

We may soon find out, as the New England Patriots have released corner back Leigh Bodden.

Bodden was moved from outside corner to more of a slot coverage role with the Pats this season, and according to reports, he didn’t embrace that role.  Bodden is a very good player.  He is probably good enough to step right in and start for the Rams.

The Rams might also take a look at running back Tashard Choice, who was just released by the Dallas Cowboys.   

I always liked Choice and thought he was that second or third back that was just biding his time before he got a shot somewhere else.  With Jerious Norwood not able to stay healthy, and Cadillac Williams slowing down, maybe Choice would be worth a look.

Choice averaged over five yards per carry during his first two seasons in the league, and he is a very capable pass catcher.  The knock on Choice is that he isn’t a good special teams player, and that might hurt his chances with the Rams.

If Choice doesn’t get a call from the Rams, expect the Detroit Lions to have him on speed dial.

The other noteworthy cut this week that I guarantee the Rams will take a look at is Bears ex-safety Chris Harris, who was also cut this week.  Harris was good enough to be the Bears’ opening day starting safety last season.  He would probably not start for the Rams, but he has to be an upgrade over Craig Dahl, who gets a lot of time as a backup with the Rams.

With one or two more moves, the Rams could be a completely different team.  Brandon Lloyd has been a great addition.  Steven Jackson is finally healthy.  Greg Salas has matured into a very reliable target.  Mark Clayton should be healthy and ready to play next week. 

Also, expect Sam Bradford to make his return to the lineup.

The Rams might be firing on all cylinders at just the right time, as their schedule softens up.  One or two waiver wire pickups might be the final push that puts this team over the hump.