Rams are looking super so far

There is still a long way to go in the 2001 National Football League season, but already I don't feel very comfortable about something I wrote in an early September column.

I talked about how I believed the St. Louis Rams would be better than they were last year -- when their defense was statistically one of the worst in NFL history -- and that I thought they would make the playoffs, but I didn't see the Super Bowl in their future.

Well, who knows if the Rams will ultimately wind up in the Super Bowl. So many things can happen between now and then.

But after three games of the season, the Rams clearly look like the NFL's best team and right now they appear to be the odds-on favorite to reach pro football's ultimate game. That's not just me talking. A majority of the national media has been singing that tune ever since St. Louis destroyed Miami 42-10 last Sunday.

Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and company turned one of the NFL's best defenses into -- for one day at least -- a hapless unit that was riddled for well over 400 yards.

And the Rams' new-look, greatly improved defense held strong for the third straight game. If St. Louis is going to make it to the Super Bowl, then that 'D' will no doubt play a big role.

The high school football scene Friday night, three area teams fell from the ranks of the undefeated -- and none more stunningly than New Madrid County Central, which was upset by a rapidly improving Sikeston squad 25-14.

Also tasting defeat for the first time in 2001 were Poplar Bluff and Anna-Jonesboro (Ill.). The Mules lost to a strong Columbia Hickman team 33-15 while the Wildcats fell to a stout Nashville (Ill.) club 21-6.

So the list of undefeated local squads is now down to two: Jackson and Hayti.

Jackson continued to be impressive by crushing arch-rival Cape Central 33-0. The Indians, who proved once again that they are much more than just the Mario Whitney show, have outscored their six opponents 248 to 49. And they figure to keep rolling the next three weeks as they head into a highly anticipated district showdown with Poplar Bluff on the final date of the regular season.

It looks like Southeast Missouri State University's young but talented women's soccer team truly is for real.

The Otahkians likely opened plenty of eyes around the Ohio Valley Conference Friday as they began league play with a 1-0 win at Eastern Illinois. The Panthers had never before lost a regular-season OVC match.

Southeast is 9-0 and has recorded seven shutouts. What a job coach Heather Nelson and her staff have done in building the program after starting from scratch three years ago.

After floundering much of the season, the Cardinals got their act together in time to qualify for the playoffs.

All those critics that were calling for Tony LaRussa's head earlier in the year -- I wasn't quite that strong, but I didn't think too much of his managing at one point -- have likely had to eat their words.

It just goes to show you that baseball really is a LONG season and most teams are going to have their ups and downs. But generally what happens over the total 162-game schedule is a true indication of how most of the squads stack up.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian