By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Tuesday, Nov. 07 2006
Right tackle
Alex Barron said he was trying to "get a jump" on the Kansas City
pass rush before the first of his back-to-back false start penalties Sunday.
What the Rams coaching staff wants to know is why.
"He needs to probably gain more confidence," Rams offensive coordinator Greg
Olson said. "He's probably one of the more athletic tackles in the league. So
for him to think that he needs to gain an edge and get a quick jump, it's kind
of ironic because he's one of the quicker tackles you're going to find in the
league."
If anything, Olson said Barron "can probably be a little bit late and be OK.
You don't have to worry about the quick start, because you're athletic enough
that you can recover if you do get off late."
Besides his quickness, Barron also has a huge wingspan that can help him
recover and push a pass rusher off balance. Barron often backs up so quickly
and deeply that he's almost in quarterback
Marc Bulger's lap on some passes.
Barron's false-start penalties helped derail what could have been a score-tying
touchdown drive. But on Monday, coach Scott Linehan fell short of calling for
Barron's public execution.
"Alex is doing a lot of good things," Linehan said. "He had a big part in all
four of our victories, and up until this last game he's had a pretty good year
of keeping the quarterback clean as far as pass protection. And he has improved
in the running game. ... But he's got to certainly eliminate the mistakes that
we had in this game."
Upon further review
With 10 minutes 10 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, and the Rams trailing
24-17, Jeff Wilkins lined up for what would have been a 54-yard field goal try.
But instead of kicking a field goal, Wilkins punted for only the fourth time in
his 13 NFL seasons.
It was a perfectly executed pooch punt, downed at the Kansas City 6. The Rams
called a timeout before the kick, and Linehan said he thought about going for a
field goal.
"I just felt the way our defense was playing the second half, we were playing
very well and had a lot of momentum at that point," Linehan said. "If I'd known
they were going to drive it 94 yards, I probably would've kicked the field
goal."
KC had been limited to 27 yards and one first down in the third quarter.
Wilkins hasn't made a regular-season field goal longer than 53 yards since
2001, but he did make a 55-yarder in a playoff loss to Atlanta in the 2004
season.
Injury update
— RB Tony Fisher (knee) probably is out for the season because of a torn
ligament.
— LB
Pisa Tinoisamoa (broken hand) remains questionable for Seattle on Sunday.
— WR Kevin Curtis (bruised chest and abdomen) may miss some practice time this
week but should be OK for Seattle.
— DE
Leonard Little (knee) has a mild knee sprain but should be OK for Seattle.
The stat
The Rams are 4-4 at the midway point of the season for the third year in a row.
Quotable
"There are times when people start packing, loading the car, stuff like that.
But it's time to hang together. I think there's a lot of guys with great
character on this team. We're going to hang together and play it out. There's a
lot of season left, and it's not like any of our hopes and dreams are just
shattered." "" OG Adam Timmerman
Looking ahead
Despite their three-game losing streak, the Rams will be playing for the NFC
West lead on Sunday afternoon in Seattle. Six out of the last eight games in
the series have been decided by seven points or fewer.
GO RAMS 
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