mfranke01@gmail.com
08-17-2008, 02:33 PM
RamView, August 16, 2008
From Row HH
(Report and opinions from the game.)
Preseason Game #2: Rams 7, Chargers 6
After getting knocked out last week in Tennessee, the Rams rebounded
in some areas this week, particularly run defense and offensive line,
taking positive steps toward regular-season respectability. Punch-
drunk play at starting QB, though, continues to lend to concern that
the 2008 season is still a fight that’s going to be called early.
Position by position:
* QB:.With Marc Bulger (7-14-56, 2 INT), it’s getting to the point
where you wonder if he’s ever going to be right again. His passer
ratings so far this preseason? 3.7 and 20.8. Bulger is a gun-shy
quarterback, rushing his throws and his mechanics to beat a rush that
isn’t there. His accuracy and decision-making are just as suspect as
anything else. With Randy McMichael wide open on a deep seam route
during the Rams’ opening possession, Bulger’s throw missed badly and
turned into an interception for Antoine Cason. Later in the quarter,
having already thrown a handful of sideline passes to Drew Bennett,
Bulger is asked to go there again, and when he does, it’s with a throw
that has absolutely nothing on it. Predictable route + soft throw =
easy interception for Cletis Gordon. He missed 2-3 other throws, or at
least made them very difficult catches, by throwing well behind the
intended receiver. Bulger’s best play tonight wasn’t with his arm; it
was a 14-yard scramble he made in the 2nd. Bulger was sacked late in
the first half and left the game with a slight shoulder injury. And
so, for their $60 million, the Rams have gotten a QB who gets booed
off the field by his own fans and who can’t lead his team to a TD in a
half of play against San Diego’s second-string offense. Who the
offensive coordinator lost confidence in tonight to the point that he
called 15 runs vs. 3 passes on one drive. Trent Green, meanwhile, came
off the bench cold after Bulger’s injury, hit McMichael twice for 35
yards, spiked twice and threw another away to avoid a sack and
preserve a FG attempt. Green is the Rams’ best QB right now. He is in
much better rhythm than Bulger. Bruce Gradkowski (6-9-49) played the
3rd; Brock Berlin (3-3-9) the 4th. Gradkowski gained a little ground
in the QB3 contest by driving the Rams to the game’s only TD, with a
scramble and a 4th-down completion as key plays, but he also had the
goofy play where he tried to throw a bomb but the ball slipped out of
his hand and went straight up about 3 feet instead. With roster having
a QB who may be shot, a near-40-year-old QB and two inexperienced-at-
best QBs, who’s to say right now the Rams aren’t going to need help at
this position next offseason?
* RB: Bulger’s struggles tonight were absorbed by a very effective
running game. After Bulger’s second INT, Al Saunders went repeatedly
to the ground game. Antonio Pittman (9-67) started the Rams’ third
drive with a 14-yard draw off a block by Nick Leckey, followed by 15
more sprung by Richie Incognito’s block. Pittman was spelled a couple
of plays later by Brian Leonard (8-38), who ran more elusively than
he’s known for – bouncing a middle run around the pileup and outside
for 10, then driving up the middle for 9 the next play, breaking a
tackle with Orlando Pace’s help. Pittman returned to convert a 2nd-and-
long by bouncing a run outside for 18. Only problem with all that
effective running is that it didn’t result in a score. Safety Eric
Weddle submarined Leonard on 3rd-and-goal from the 2, and Stephen
Cooper stuck to him like glue and held him to no gain on a 4th-and-
goal flare route. The Rams didn’t score until the 3rd, and that was a
TD run by Travis Minor (11-39). Lance Ball (4-14) got into the game
late but his only highlight was a 10-yard run. He committed a nearly-
costly fumble and didn’t look very “quick to the hole”, making him
another player who hasn’t seemed to play up to his enthusiastic
training camp reports once he’s on the field. And in possibly bad
injury news, Leonard left the game after getting injured on a special
teams play and seemed to be experiencing a great amount of pain in his
left shoulder. But, the good news: the Rams’ running game is showing
signs it’s getting untracked.
* WR: Whoa, the Rams re-discovered the tight end tonight! Though a
poor Bulger throw likely denied him a TD in the first, Randy McMichael
(3-54) was still the Rams’ leading receiver and was wide open every
time the ball went his way. Torry Holt (back spasms) and Donnie Avery
(pelvis) sat the game out. Drew Bennett (2-12) looked like a go-to
receiver early but had a couple of passes go through his hands.
Bennett really killed one of Bulger’s drives with a poor play on a
sideline pass. Joe Klopfenstein (1-12) dropped a couple as well.
Marques Hagans had a big 24-yard catch on 3rd-and-7 to keep the Rams’
TD drive alive in the 3rd. Keenan Burton (2-11) showed some promise
running underneath patterns.
* Offensive line: The offensive line’s play was quite a step up from
last week. Bulger was under nowhere near as much pressure as he was in
Tennessee, and the starters helped establish a solid ground game.
Orlando Pace held his own, though he did get beat inside again for a
sack by Jyles Tucker late in the 2nd. Jim Hanifan is still concerned
that Pace is not using his punch effectively, so that certainly bears
watching. Alex Barron held his own though he did have a false start.
One of the pleasant surprises of training camp is Nick Leckey, who
started at center and played into the second half, looking solid all
the way. Sad news, though: Mark Setterstrom’s leg had to be carted off
the field in the 3rd. Sounds like another season-ending injury for
Setterstrom. That’ll keep Richie Incognito at RG for the season. John
Greco stepped in at RG after Setterstrom left. Greco also got some
snaps at RT but looked much too slow to get the job done out there,
per Hanifan. Adam Goldberg’s play was off some from last week but he
did have a critical fumble recovery late in the game. The second unit
didn’t give up a sack if you don’t count the Gradkowski blooper play.
Dustin Fry and Dominic Raiola saw work with the third unit. Yes, San
Diego’s second-string defense is quite a drop down from Tennessee’s
first-string, but this was a night of progress for the Ram offensive
line all the same.
* Defensive line/LB: The Ram defense did yeoman’s work to keep the
game from getting out of hand right away, allowing San Diego to turn
two early interceptions into just field goals. James Hall stuffed
Jacob Hester on 2nd-and-goal from the Rams 1, and Leonard Little
sacked Billy Volek on 3rd-and-goal from the 2, to force the first FG.
That was a theme while those two were in the game. Hall shut down the
run; Little harassed the QB on nearly every play. After Bulger’s 2nd
INT, Volek hit Mike Tolbert, who appeared to have plenty of room to
run on 3rd-and-15, but Chris Long tracked him down from behind for a
tackle that forced another FG attempt. That was about it for Long,
though. From my seat it looked like Haslett was using Long only on
passing downs, Hall on running downs. Haslett also lined Long up
inside a lot, I think hoping to imitate what the Giants do with Justin
Tuck, but what I saw most of the night with Long was that he was
getting stonewalled. With Will Witherspoon back, the LB corps was a
far sight better than last week. Quinton Culberson was one of the
leading tacklers, and Witherspoon killed a Charger drive in the 2nd
with a blitz and sack of Volek. Culberson blitzed in for a hard sack
on Volek the next Charger possession. In the second half, Cliff Ryan
just took over. He had a sack early in the 3rd and penetrated into the
San Diego backfield frequently. Late in the game, I thought the
interior combo of Henry Smith and Willie Williams was actually quite
effective. Victor Adeyanju looked like he was putting a decent amount
of pressure on the QB throughout the second half. And I have got to
get me one of those cool clubs like the one he’s wearing on his broken
hand. Though I suspect wearing one would tend to make my typing
ol;/.op;/op;/kll;,/b vi9kjeb vtyhjmb i9sd.,
* Secondary: The Ram secondary wasn’t tested very much tonight: San
Diego threw for just 125 yards. Ron Bartell broke up a 4th-down pass
attempt to Malcom Floyd late in the 3rd; that turns out to be one of
the game’s pivotal plays. Bartell seems to be playing quite well in
Fakhir Brown’s absence. Sebastian Sejean delivered one of the game’s
bigger hits in the 4th, but Gary Banks held on. It’s not like Antonio
Gates played or anything, but Charger TEs didn’t do much. Chris
Chamberlain made a nice coverage play in the 2nd half. Problems may
not really emerge in the Ram secondary until the regular season
starts; none of the passing offenses they’re facing in preseason are
really challenging ones.
* Special teams: So here’s what Josh Brown was made the highest-paid
kicker in the league to do: hit a clutch FG with time running out,
which the Rams have him set up to do with a 49-yarder at the end of
the first half, and the result is – wide left. At least Brown’s
kickoffs were deep, which helped kickoff coverage fare well. Punt
coverage didn’t fare as well, though. Perhaps trying to one-up Charger
punter Mike Scifres’ arsenal of moon shots, Donnie Jones appeared to
be trying to overkick the ball, which sometimes led to low line
drives, and other times led to punts like his 63-yarder in the third.
Except that one was kicked well past his coverage and allowed Craig
Davis, who’s probably San Diego’s third best punt returner, a 36-yard
return. Dante Hall seems to be returning kicks out to the 25 or 30 all
on his own speed and guile; imagine what he’ll do if he ever gets a
block or two.
* Coaching/discipline: The most intriguing strategy of the night was
the drive Al Saunders called after Bulger’s second interception.
Saunders ran and ran and ran. And ran some more. And some more. 18
plays, 15 runs! And yet the worst call of the series is the last one –
I cannot excuse not throwing into the end zone when that’s where you
have to get to get a first down. What’s more interesting is what that
drive said to Bulger. Whether he meant to or not, Saunders said with
that drive that he couldn’t trust Bulger not to make some kind of foul
play. And I think it was a great move by Saunders. It tells the rest
of the team they don’t have to be sunk just because Bulger is at the
moment, and Bulger’s personality is to rally (WE HOPE) off this kind
of adversity, so I don’t see it creating any kind of coach/player
rift. We’ll probably see what kind of effect Saunders’ ground attack
had on Bulger next week.
You have to call tonight a win for Jim Haslett. His D gave up just
six points – despite some really bad field position – and they got two
sacks off of blitzes without a blitz really getting burned. Plus
rushing yards dropped to 106 this week, from 340 last week. Haslett
sure does juggle the formations around, though. At time during the San
Diego post-interception drives, it looked like he had a classic 3-4
look on at times. He also experimented quite a bit with a three-DE
line, where either Hall or Long lined up inside. I have to think
that’s not going to be an effective way to use Long, but we’ll see.
Postgame, Scott Linehan tried furiously to spin this game as a big
win. This team needed something, anything, to build on after last
week, so I don’t blame him. But there are plenty of reasons to temper
expectations this week, largely that San Diego barely played any
starters. None of the starting “skill” position players played. I
could only identify three regular defensive starters that played. Not
having Shaun Merriman on the field makes a difference all by itself.
So the Ram starting offense’s failure to score a TD this week, in
almost thirty minutes, came against the Chargers’ second string.
That’s not good. On the other hand, the Rams played without Torry Holt
or Steven Jackson, and San Diego used mostly starters on their
offensive line, so the defense’s success tonight is unqualified.
At a minimum, we all have to agree that this week was a step up, and
that the Rams, especially on offense, have a ways to go yet in this
direction.
* Waiver bait: Dane Looker still seems to have the edge for the last
receiver spot, based on him coming off the bench first among all the
candidates. Derek Stanley and Reche Caldwell saw action, but the
receivers getting catches late were Matt Caddell and Marques Hagans. I
have to wonder how much more pass-dropping Linehan’s willing to put up
with from Klopfenstein. He’s going to be a hard sell if his hands are
inconsistent. Good news, not much of any competition really going on
at TE. Tanard Davis and Cortney Grixbey let a Charger receiver behind
them on a coverage mixup that would have been an easy TD if not for
Charlie Whitehurst’s bad pass.
* Upon further review: Not only did the Rams have their own injuries
to deal with, the Bill Carollo-led officiating crew had to work a man
short for a while in the second half because the umpire suffered a leg
injury. That seemed by far their biggest problem; again this week, I
didn’t find much of any officiating decisions to disagree with. The
least popular call was an unnecessary roughness call on, of all
people, Dane Looker, in the first. That was a pretty ordinary-looking
block, and if the flag was because the block came after the play, it
seems like the call should have been for a late hit rather than
roughness.
* Cheers: Tonight’s had to be the smallest crowd I have seen in the
Dome for any Rams game. I think 25,000 is a generous attendance
estimate. The Dome was certainly less than half full. And even at
that, the crowd valiantly raised its voice at key moments of the game,
as loud as or louder than much larger crowds of the past, especially
for a preseason game. Folks may actually be buying into the message of
the ticket sales campaign. For the curious, I saw no sign of planned
or completed physical changes in the Dome. The music selection has
been changed up significantly. I didn’t recognize a lot of the music
because I’m an old fogey, but I also doubt I heard much that Steven
Jackson would like, either. Bad choices: whatever the hell that weird
crap was they were playing during kickoffs. My thought when I first
heard it: “Oh my God, I can’t believe they’re playing Cher.” Also, I
hate Chicago and Neil Diamond, for future reference. Good choices: the
return of “Bang The Drum All Day” and Gary Glitter after touchdown(s).
Statistic of the night: 12 total points in tonight’s Cardinals
baseball game; 13 total in the Rams game.
Oh, and interestingly, the PSA that usually runs in pregame for Steven
Jackson's charity foundation? Nowhere to be found.
* Food review: tonight’s food choice was “nachos supreme”, a large
meal-sized plate of corn chips covered with nacho cheese sauce, chili,
salsa, sour cream, jalapenos and black olives. Feeds (at least) two,
and make sure to ask for a fork. Pros: good taste combination;
restaurant-quality presentation. Cons: available at only a few stands;
chili could have used more heat; costs $8.75. RamView rating: 2 ½
stars (out of 4). Nobody say this isn’t a full-service column.
* Who’s next?: Continuing this preseason’s theme, the Rams will meet
up with another team with a solid defense, sturdy running game and
awful passing game when the Baltimore Ravens come to the Dome next
week. And RB-wise, the Rams are actually catching a break. Willis
McGahee is out all preseason for the Ravens, so the Rams are likely to
see rookie Ray Rice instead. And with the Ravens rebuilding their
offensive line in the wake of Jonathan Ogden’s retirement, Baltimore’s
not necessarily an offensive team that’s going to control the line of
scrimmage. And there are few things more rewarding to NFL defenses
than stopping Baltimore’s run and making Kyle Boller throw. He’s lousy
in the face of a rush, and though he’s capable of stringing a few
passes together, he’s also more than capable of committing a crippling
turnover. With Joe Flacco looking extremely raw in Baltimore’s
exhibition opener, I’d have to call Troy Smith the Ravens’ most
dangerous QB, even though I don’t think he’ll ever take Boller’s
starting job. He’s mobile and looks like a pretty accurate thrower.
That change of pace at QB is the best threat the otherwise mediocre
Raven offense has to throw at the Rams.
Of course, Baltimore’s always been about defense anyway. They’re fast
and aggressive, physically and strategically, and are more than a
match for the Ram offense. The Ram o-line will be accomplishing
something if they can control the line of scrimmage and keep Bulger’s
jersey clean against the Raven starters. This’ll be a hard-hitting,
tone-setting kind of game.
And since week 3 is the tone-setting preseason game for the regular
season, it looms large for Scott Linehan. Tonight may not have been
pretty, but it was a move in the right direction (yeah, I know – up
was the only direction after last week). It’s paramount to keep the
team going in that direction and build up to a crescendo on Sept. 7 in
Philadelphia.
-- Mike
Game stats from nfl.com
From Row HH
(Report and opinions from the game.)
Preseason Game #2: Rams 7, Chargers 6
After getting knocked out last week in Tennessee, the Rams rebounded
in some areas this week, particularly run defense and offensive line,
taking positive steps toward regular-season respectability. Punch-
drunk play at starting QB, though, continues to lend to concern that
the 2008 season is still a fight that’s going to be called early.
Position by position:
* QB:.With Marc Bulger (7-14-56, 2 INT), it’s getting to the point
where you wonder if he’s ever going to be right again. His passer
ratings so far this preseason? 3.7 and 20.8. Bulger is a gun-shy
quarterback, rushing his throws and his mechanics to beat a rush that
isn’t there. His accuracy and decision-making are just as suspect as
anything else. With Randy McMichael wide open on a deep seam route
during the Rams’ opening possession, Bulger’s throw missed badly and
turned into an interception for Antoine Cason. Later in the quarter,
having already thrown a handful of sideline passes to Drew Bennett,
Bulger is asked to go there again, and when he does, it’s with a throw
that has absolutely nothing on it. Predictable route + soft throw =
easy interception for Cletis Gordon. He missed 2-3 other throws, or at
least made them very difficult catches, by throwing well behind the
intended receiver. Bulger’s best play tonight wasn’t with his arm; it
was a 14-yard scramble he made in the 2nd. Bulger was sacked late in
the first half and left the game with a slight shoulder injury. And
so, for their $60 million, the Rams have gotten a QB who gets booed
off the field by his own fans and who can’t lead his team to a TD in a
half of play against San Diego’s second-string offense. Who the
offensive coordinator lost confidence in tonight to the point that he
called 15 runs vs. 3 passes on one drive. Trent Green, meanwhile, came
off the bench cold after Bulger’s injury, hit McMichael twice for 35
yards, spiked twice and threw another away to avoid a sack and
preserve a FG attempt. Green is the Rams’ best QB right now. He is in
much better rhythm than Bulger. Bruce Gradkowski (6-9-49) played the
3rd; Brock Berlin (3-3-9) the 4th. Gradkowski gained a little ground
in the QB3 contest by driving the Rams to the game’s only TD, with a
scramble and a 4th-down completion as key plays, but he also had the
goofy play where he tried to throw a bomb but the ball slipped out of
his hand and went straight up about 3 feet instead. With roster having
a QB who may be shot, a near-40-year-old QB and two inexperienced-at-
best QBs, who’s to say right now the Rams aren’t going to need help at
this position next offseason?
* RB: Bulger’s struggles tonight were absorbed by a very effective
running game. After Bulger’s second INT, Al Saunders went repeatedly
to the ground game. Antonio Pittman (9-67) started the Rams’ third
drive with a 14-yard draw off a block by Nick Leckey, followed by 15
more sprung by Richie Incognito’s block. Pittman was spelled a couple
of plays later by Brian Leonard (8-38), who ran more elusively than
he’s known for – bouncing a middle run around the pileup and outside
for 10, then driving up the middle for 9 the next play, breaking a
tackle with Orlando Pace’s help. Pittman returned to convert a 2nd-and-
long by bouncing a run outside for 18. Only problem with all that
effective running is that it didn’t result in a score. Safety Eric
Weddle submarined Leonard on 3rd-and-goal from the 2, and Stephen
Cooper stuck to him like glue and held him to no gain on a 4th-and-
goal flare route. The Rams didn’t score until the 3rd, and that was a
TD run by Travis Minor (11-39). Lance Ball (4-14) got into the game
late but his only highlight was a 10-yard run. He committed a nearly-
costly fumble and didn’t look very “quick to the hole”, making him
another player who hasn’t seemed to play up to his enthusiastic
training camp reports once he’s on the field. And in possibly bad
injury news, Leonard left the game after getting injured on a special
teams play and seemed to be experiencing a great amount of pain in his
left shoulder. But, the good news: the Rams’ running game is showing
signs it’s getting untracked.
* WR: Whoa, the Rams re-discovered the tight end tonight! Though a
poor Bulger throw likely denied him a TD in the first, Randy McMichael
(3-54) was still the Rams’ leading receiver and was wide open every
time the ball went his way. Torry Holt (back spasms) and Donnie Avery
(pelvis) sat the game out. Drew Bennett (2-12) looked like a go-to
receiver early but had a couple of passes go through his hands.
Bennett really killed one of Bulger’s drives with a poor play on a
sideline pass. Joe Klopfenstein (1-12) dropped a couple as well.
Marques Hagans had a big 24-yard catch on 3rd-and-7 to keep the Rams’
TD drive alive in the 3rd. Keenan Burton (2-11) showed some promise
running underneath patterns.
* Offensive line: The offensive line’s play was quite a step up from
last week. Bulger was under nowhere near as much pressure as he was in
Tennessee, and the starters helped establish a solid ground game.
Orlando Pace held his own, though he did get beat inside again for a
sack by Jyles Tucker late in the 2nd. Jim Hanifan is still concerned
that Pace is not using his punch effectively, so that certainly bears
watching. Alex Barron held his own though he did have a false start.
One of the pleasant surprises of training camp is Nick Leckey, who
started at center and played into the second half, looking solid all
the way. Sad news, though: Mark Setterstrom’s leg had to be carted off
the field in the 3rd. Sounds like another season-ending injury for
Setterstrom. That’ll keep Richie Incognito at RG for the season. John
Greco stepped in at RG after Setterstrom left. Greco also got some
snaps at RT but looked much too slow to get the job done out there,
per Hanifan. Adam Goldberg’s play was off some from last week but he
did have a critical fumble recovery late in the game. The second unit
didn’t give up a sack if you don’t count the Gradkowski blooper play.
Dustin Fry and Dominic Raiola saw work with the third unit. Yes, San
Diego’s second-string defense is quite a drop down from Tennessee’s
first-string, but this was a night of progress for the Ram offensive
line all the same.
* Defensive line/LB: The Ram defense did yeoman’s work to keep the
game from getting out of hand right away, allowing San Diego to turn
two early interceptions into just field goals. James Hall stuffed
Jacob Hester on 2nd-and-goal from the Rams 1, and Leonard Little
sacked Billy Volek on 3rd-and-goal from the 2, to force the first FG.
That was a theme while those two were in the game. Hall shut down the
run; Little harassed the QB on nearly every play. After Bulger’s 2nd
INT, Volek hit Mike Tolbert, who appeared to have plenty of room to
run on 3rd-and-15, but Chris Long tracked him down from behind for a
tackle that forced another FG attempt. That was about it for Long,
though. From my seat it looked like Haslett was using Long only on
passing downs, Hall on running downs. Haslett also lined Long up
inside a lot, I think hoping to imitate what the Giants do with Justin
Tuck, but what I saw most of the night with Long was that he was
getting stonewalled. With Will Witherspoon back, the LB corps was a
far sight better than last week. Quinton Culberson was one of the
leading tacklers, and Witherspoon killed a Charger drive in the 2nd
with a blitz and sack of Volek. Culberson blitzed in for a hard sack
on Volek the next Charger possession. In the second half, Cliff Ryan
just took over. He had a sack early in the 3rd and penetrated into the
San Diego backfield frequently. Late in the game, I thought the
interior combo of Henry Smith and Willie Williams was actually quite
effective. Victor Adeyanju looked like he was putting a decent amount
of pressure on the QB throughout the second half. And I have got to
get me one of those cool clubs like the one he’s wearing on his broken
hand. Though I suspect wearing one would tend to make my typing
ol;/.op;/op;/kll;,/b vi9kjeb vtyhjmb i9sd.,
* Secondary: The Ram secondary wasn’t tested very much tonight: San
Diego threw for just 125 yards. Ron Bartell broke up a 4th-down pass
attempt to Malcom Floyd late in the 3rd; that turns out to be one of
the game’s pivotal plays. Bartell seems to be playing quite well in
Fakhir Brown’s absence. Sebastian Sejean delivered one of the game’s
bigger hits in the 4th, but Gary Banks held on. It’s not like Antonio
Gates played or anything, but Charger TEs didn’t do much. Chris
Chamberlain made a nice coverage play in the 2nd half. Problems may
not really emerge in the Ram secondary until the regular season
starts; none of the passing offenses they’re facing in preseason are
really challenging ones.
* Special teams: So here’s what Josh Brown was made the highest-paid
kicker in the league to do: hit a clutch FG with time running out,
which the Rams have him set up to do with a 49-yarder at the end of
the first half, and the result is – wide left. At least Brown’s
kickoffs were deep, which helped kickoff coverage fare well. Punt
coverage didn’t fare as well, though. Perhaps trying to one-up Charger
punter Mike Scifres’ arsenal of moon shots, Donnie Jones appeared to
be trying to overkick the ball, which sometimes led to low line
drives, and other times led to punts like his 63-yarder in the third.
Except that one was kicked well past his coverage and allowed Craig
Davis, who’s probably San Diego’s third best punt returner, a 36-yard
return. Dante Hall seems to be returning kicks out to the 25 or 30 all
on his own speed and guile; imagine what he’ll do if he ever gets a
block or two.
* Coaching/discipline: The most intriguing strategy of the night was
the drive Al Saunders called after Bulger’s second interception.
Saunders ran and ran and ran. And ran some more. And some more. 18
plays, 15 runs! And yet the worst call of the series is the last one –
I cannot excuse not throwing into the end zone when that’s where you
have to get to get a first down. What’s more interesting is what that
drive said to Bulger. Whether he meant to or not, Saunders said with
that drive that he couldn’t trust Bulger not to make some kind of foul
play. And I think it was a great move by Saunders. It tells the rest
of the team they don’t have to be sunk just because Bulger is at the
moment, and Bulger’s personality is to rally (WE HOPE) off this kind
of adversity, so I don’t see it creating any kind of coach/player
rift. We’ll probably see what kind of effect Saunders’ ground attack
had on Bulger next week.
You have to call tonight a win for Jim Haslett. His D gave up just
six points – despite some really bad field position – and they got two
sacks off of blitzes without a blitz really getting burned. Plus
rushing yards dropped to 106 this week, from 340 last week. Haslett
sure does juggle the formations around, though. At time during the San
Diego post-interception drives, it looked like he had a classic 3-4
look on at times. He also experimented quite a bit with a three-DE
line, where either Hall or Long lined up inside. I have to think
that’s not going to be an effective way to use Long, but we’ll see.
Postgame, Scott Linehan tried furiously to spin this game as a big
win. This team needed something, anything, to build on after last
week, so I don’t blame him. But there are plenty of reasons to temper
expectations this week, largely that San Diego barely played any
starters. None of the starting “skill” position players played. I
could only identify three regular defensive starters that played. Not
having Shaun Merriman on the field makes a difference all by itself.
So the Ram starting offense’s failure to score a TD this week, in
almost thirty minutes, came against the Chargers’ second string.
That’s not good. On the other hand, the Rams played without Torry Holt
or Steven Jackson, and San Diego used mostly starters on their
offensive line, so the defense’s success tonight is unqualified.
At a minimum, we all have to agree that this week was a step up, and
that the Rams, especially on offense, have a ways to go yet in this
direction.
* Waiver bait: Dane Looker still seems to have the edge for the last
receiver spot, based on him coming off the bench first among all the
candidates. Derek Stanley and Reche Caldwell saw action, but the
receivers getting catches late were Matt Caddell and Marques Hagans. I
have to wonder how much more pass-dropping Linehan’s willing to put up
with from Klopfenstein. He’s going to be a hard sell if his hands are
inconsistent. Good news, not much of any competition really going on
at TE. Tanard Davis and Cortney Grixbey let a Charger receiver behind
them on a coverage mixup that would have been an easy TD if not for
Charlie Whitehurst’s bad pass.
* Upon further review: Not only did the Rams have their own injuries
to deal with, the Bill Carollo-led officiating crew had to work a man
short for a while in the second half because the umpire suffered a leg
injury. That seemed by far their biggest problem; again this week, I
didn’t find much of any officiating decisions to disagree with. The
least popular call was an unnecessary roughness call on, of all
people, Dane Looker, in the first. That was a pretty ordinary-looking
block, and if the flag was because the block came after the play, it
seems like the call should have been for a late hit rather than
roughness.
* Cheers: Tonight’s had to be the smallest crowd I have seen in the
Dome for any Rams game. I think 25,000 is a generous attendance
estimate. The Dome was certainly less than half full. And even at
that, the crowd valiantly raised its voice at key moments of the game,
as loud as or louder than much larger crowds of the past, especially
for a preseason game. Folks may actually be buying into the message of
the ticket sales campaign. For the curious, I saw no sign of planned
or completed physical changes in the Dome. The music selection has
been changed up significantly. I didn’t recognize a lot of the music
because I’m an old fogey, but I also doubt I heard much that Steven
Jackson would like, either. Bad choices: whatever the hell that weird
crap was they were playing during kickoffs. My thought when I first
heard it: “Oh my God, I can’t believe they’re playing Cher.” Also, I
hate Chicago and Neil Diamond, for future reference. Good choices: the
return of “Bang The Drum All Day” and Gary Glitter after touchdown(s).
Statistic of the night: 12 total points in tonight’s Cardinals
baseball game; 13 total in the Rams game.
Oh, and interestingly, the PSA that usually runs in pregame for Steven
Jackson's charity foundation? Nowhere to be found.
* Food review: tonight’s food choice was “nachos supreme”, a large
meal-sized plate of corn chips covered with nacho cheese sauce, chili,
salsa, sour cream, jalapenos and black olives. Feeds (at least) two,
and make sure to ask for a fork. Pros: good taste combination;
restaurant-quality presentation. Cons: available at only a few stands;
chili could have used more heat; costs $8.75. RamView rating: 2 ½
stars (out of 4). Nobody say this isn’t a full-service column.
* Who’s next?: Continuing this preseason’s theme, the Rams will meet
up with another team with a solid defense, sturdy running game and
awful passing game when the Baltimore Ravens come to the Dome next
week. And RB-wise, the Rams are actually catching a break. Willis
McGahee is out all preseason for the Ravens, so the Rams are likely to
see rookie Ray Rice instead. And with the Ravens rebuilding their
offensive line in the wake of Jonathan Ogden’s retirement, Baltimore’s
not necessarily an offensive team that’s going to control the line of
scrimmage. And there are few things more rewarding to NFL defenses
than stopping Baltimore’s run and making Kyle Boller throw. He’s lousy
in the face of a rush, and though he’s capable of stringing a few
passes together, he’s also more than capable of committing a crippling
turnover. With Joe Flacco looking extremely raw in Baltimore’s
exhibition opener, I’d have to call Troy Smith the Ravens’ most
dangerous QB, even though I don’t think he’ll ever take Boller’s
starting job. He’s mobile and looks like a pretty accurate thrower.
That change of pace at QB is the best threat the otherwise mediocre
Raven offense has to throw at the Rams.
Of course, Baltimore’s always been about defense anyway. They’re fast
and aggressive, physically and strategically, and are more than a
match for the Ram offense. The Ram o-line will be accomplishing
something if they can control the line of scrimmage and keep Bulger’s
jersey clean against the Raven starters. This’ll be a hard-hitting,
tone-setting kind of game.
And since week 3 is the tone-setting preseason game for the regular
season, it looms large for Scott Linehan. Tonight may not have been
pretty, but it was a move in the right direction (yeah, I know – up
was the only direction after last week). It’s paramount to keep the
team going in that direction and build up to a crescendo on Sept. 7 in
Philadelphia.
-- Mike
Game stats from nfl.com