By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Tuesday, Dec. 11 2007
It's not just the big mistakes in personnel evaluation that can haunt a team.
Sometimes it's the little ones. From the second floor of Rams Park in Earth
City, the scouting department can practically see Lindenwood University across
the Missouri River.
It's not that running back DeDe Dorsey escaped the Rams' notice. He was brought
in for a pre-draft visit before the 2006 draft after earning NAIA All-American
honors on both offense and defense. But Dorsey signed with Indianapolis as a
rookie free agent in '06, and hurt the Rams with three early running plays
Sunday for Cincinnati.
On third and 5 from the St. Louis 37 midway through the first quarter, Dorsey
broke a tackle by Rams cornerback Fakhir Brown and raced 19 yards, keeping
alive the Bengals' one and only touchdown drive of the day.
Early in the second quarter, Dorsey took what looked like a short screen pass
from quarterback Carson Palmer, faked out cornerback
Ron Bartell near the line
of scrimmage and sprinted 45 yards to the Rams 35. Official scorers later
changed the play to a run, ruling that Palmer's toss was not a forward pass.
Later in that drive, Dorsey gained 14 yards on third-and-2, setting up the
first of four Shayne Graham field goals.
Dorsey finished with four carries for 81 yards.
"He energized us," Bengals teammate Willie Anderson said. "He's got players and
coaches hoping he gets more carries. ... DeDe is a guy that changes the pace of
the game, and makes it much faster."
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Speaking of Bartell, not only was he about to snuff out a Cincinnati scoring
drive, it looked like he had a chance to return an interception a long way
early in the second quarter. But on the way out of the end zone — oops! —
Bartell dropped the football.
So instead of an interception, it was an incomplete pass. The Bengals kicked a
field goal on the next play to take a 10-0 lead. It turned out to be a big
three points in a 19-10 Cincinnati victory.
"I kept trying to pull it in," said Bartell, who did get an interception on
Cincinnati's next series. "But between my bad hands, the rain, and the wet
gloves, it was tough. I let it get away from me. It was pretty disappointing
because it could've saved three points on the board."
INJURY UPDATE
— Victor Adeyanju (hip pointer) should be fine for Green Bay.
— Oshiomogho "O.J." Atogwe (groin) should be fine for Green Bay.
— QB
Marc Bulger (concussion) told offensive coordinator Greg Olson on Monday
that he felt better and would try to practice Wednesday.
— QB Gus Frerotte (throwing shoulder) threw Monday under the supervision of
Rams athletic trainers and may practice Wednesday.
— RT Rob Petitti (concussion) failed his neuropsych exam last week and is
doubtful for Green Bay.
— WR-returns Brandon Williams' (ankle) status is uncertain for Green Bay.
THE STAT
Jeff Wilkins' 50-yard field goal against Cincinnati was the 25th of his career
from 50 yards or more — all with the Rams.
QUOTABLE
"He's hard to bring down. You forget he's 6-5 and 230 pounds. ... He's a big
man. We hit him a lot and we came free on a lot of blitzes. He did a good job
of sliding away and buying time for himself, or taking a hit." — Defensive
coordinator
Jim Haslett on Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer.
LOOKING AHEAD
Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers come to town Sunday for the first time
since 2003. The Packers (11-2) already have clinched the NFC North title and
potentially can wrap up a first-round bye with a victory over St. Louis.
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