By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Wednesday, Sep. 01 2004
OAKLAND, Calif. - Speaking for the defense, and the team's defensive leaders,
Tyoka Jackson promised it wouldn't happen again. There would be no more
debacles like the 24-7 pratfall in Kansas City on Aug. 23.
And it didn't happen. The Rams came out four days later with an impressive
defensive effort in a 28-3 victory over Washington.
"We had a players-only (meeting) in our defensive room," Jackson said. "Aeneas
(Williams) and Leonard (Little) made it be known how we're going to play this
year. And it wasn't like (Kansas City)."
Players-only meetings during the season are rare enough; players-only meetings
in the preseason are almost unheard of. But Jackson and other defensive
veterans felt the meeting was necessary to make sure evenings like Aug. 23
don't occur again. At the meeting, the importance of getting mentally prepared
to play - preseason or not - was stressed.
"For some guys, it's tougher to get excited than others," Jackson said. "But
like Aeneas said, whatever you do to get yourself ready, do it. If you like to
jump around and scream, do that. If you like to put your headphones on, do
that.
"Because there's just not enough Sundays, and enough games, to go out there and
play like we played against Kansas City. You only get so many opportunities."
With that in mind, tonight marks the Rams' last opportunity to polish up their
game in the preseason. And it's the last opportunity for numerous bubble
players to impress the coaching staff.
Momentum, even at this time of the year, can be important for a football team.
The Rams would like nothing better than to finish the exhibition season 2-2
with a victory over the Oakland Raiders at Network Associates Coliseum - aka
the Black Hole. Kickoff is 9 p.m. St. Louis time.
"Getting the Washington win was very important, because I think it's tough
going through the whole preseason with no wins," offensive guard Adam Timmerman
said. "And it was just more fun. You could tell. Guys seemed like they were
having fun."
Quarterback
Marc Bulger said, "I know last week, it was definitely a different
feeling coming in here (to work) after the game. You just have that momentum. A
win would be nice. It's not going to be the end of the world if we don't. But
for the younger guys, and even for some of the older guys, it's nice just to
have that feeling going into the regular season."
Plus, it will be an even longer flight back to St. Louis if the Rams don't play
well.
"You don't get home until 6 the next day," Bulger said. "That's the only bad
part. But you can study and review stuff, and build all that team camaraderie
we talk about."
Bulger made those last remarks with a touch of sarcasm. How much camaraderie,
after all, can you build at 4 a.m.? Sleeping might be a better way to pass the
time - for those capable of sleeping on planes.
But with final roster cuts coming by Sunday afternoon, bubble players may have
a hard time sleeping anyway. The Rams must cut 12 players to reach their
regular-season roster limit of 53, then cut one more when offensive tackle
Orlando Pace reports. Pace remained absent Wednesday.
"It's very competitive in a couple areas," coach Mike Martz said. "There's no
question about it. That's why some of these guys will play a great deal and try
to define themselves for the season."
In particular, the Rams still are heavy on the defensive line, offensive line
and the secondary. With extra evaluation in mind, Martz plans to pull the
regulars earlier in this game than he did in the Washington contest.
"We're going to take a good look at as many players as we can, put them in
difficult situations and see who can make a play for you," Martz said. "They
may not, or they may. We'll see.
"Some guys, we just don't have enough information on them to know whether or
not they belong on this roster. So this will be heavily scrutinized. We will
make an effort on both sides of the ball and special teams to get guys in
position where they have to be counted on to make a play, and we'll see what
happens."
And then they move on to the real deal, the Sept. 12 season opener against
Arizona.
"You don't want to say you want to get the preseason over with," Bulger said.
"But I think we're more anxious for the season to start and start making them
count. . . . I think we're ready to get going."
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