Pros & Cons from last nights game....

[ManofGod]

Haven't done this in a while, but I wanted to share some thoughts after watching last nights game. Too keep things positive let's start with the positives shall we.....

Pro's:

1. Sam Bradford-our QB of the future looked poised, calm, and in control even when faced w/ constant pressure & being sacked 4 times. I have to admit when he took the biggest hit (and on his repaired shoulder no less) I couldn't help but hold me breath, but he bounced up and didn't show any negative body language. Threw the ball accurately, but he did have a few mental mistakes which is expected from a rookie.

2. Larry Grant- for everyone wondering why he was with the first team defense, you saw a glimpse of what the coaches have been seeing in practice, the guy was flying all over the place, making plays, and tackling very well. The game seems to have slowed down for him, which hopefully will yield positive results for us this season.

3. Craig Dahl-this guy seems to do everything well, he just isn't the physical specimen that the big name safeties in the league are, but if he was......man oh man. Craig takes all the right angles, and seems to have improved his tackling, not to mention he plays great on special teams.

4. David Vobora- Mr. Irrelevant huh...you just have to love the guy, he was blowing things up last night, read the offense well, & the thing I love about him is he is a solid tackler. He got pushed around last year a bit so I'm not sure if he can wrestle a starting spot away from Grant, but he's more than a servicable back-up.

5. Danny Amendola- the guy reminds you of Wes Welker so much, runs crisp routes, plays hard, has a great motor, etc. He was the 3rd WR tonight w/ the first team & of course had the big punt return (which was followed by a fumble which set up a score for the vikings). Now his teammate (I believe Murphy) did him a dis-service (missed a block), but you still have to both catch & secure the ball if it touches your hands. Maybe he was trying to do too much knowing that he is fighting for a roster spot (with both Gilyard & Q. Butler on his heals for the return job), but we'll see how things go next week.

6. George Selvie- had a nice sack showing a more than adequate bull rush, and people fail to remember that until he ran into injury problems he was a beast/sack machine at USF; we'll see if he can make an impact w/ the team long term.

7. Team Tackling- for those of us who watching the games last year, if you recall we looked like a high school team out there on defense, however tonight was a totally different story, it was quite refreshing.

Cons:

1. Pass rush-we still fail to produce a consistant pass rush, yes tonight our starting defensive backfield was not present (coverage is important)(and our starting DT's didn't play a great deal), but regardless the opposing teams QB is going to have a big day if we can't get to the QB. However I am sure that this will improve when our starters return, and I am pleased w/ how solid we looked against the run (even for a preseason game).

2. WR play- our WR's still fail to create seperation against ANYBODY, I don't care if they are an all-pro, a rookie, or even my next door neighbor. This was a huge issue last year, and if we can't get consistant play from our WR's as well as our TE's then teams will simply load up 8-9 in the box to shut down the run and then blitz us to death....hopefully we'll see improvment by our WR's (regarless, if we have a NFL season next year we HAVE to draft A.J. Green we need help desperately at the WR position).

3. WE HAVE NO BACK-UP RB if "The Beast" goes down: there is nothing more to say about that subject. Obie does not seem to be the answer.

4. Jason Smith- oh my....this could have been number one, but last night he looked simply horrible. Just in case any of you might have saw 4 sacks on Bradford and thought (hmmm....maybe Jared Allen played LE tonight), no you would be wrong Smith couldn't block a 2nd teamer, now I know he's been hurt & rusty but good lawd......well I think we all see why Rodger Saffold is playing LT. Saffold played "ok" and only really got "handled" by Allen once (althought it was prett funny).

I know "one game does not a season make" just giving the guys that didn't get a chance to watch the entire game some insight, We still have plenty of room for growth, can't wait to see how we look this week!

Be Blessed!

[Action_Jackson]

We have to remember it is pre season.

Do you think the Colts are worried about being spanked off the *****?

Pre season is about trying new stuff and finding positives.

[TheBritishRam]

4. Jason Smith- oh my....this could have been number one, but last night he looked simply horrible. Just in case any of you might have saw 4 sacks on Bradford and thought (hmmm....maybe Jared Allen played LE tonight), no you would be wrong Smith couldn't block a 2nd teamer, now I know he's been hurt & rusty but good lawd......well I think we all see why Rodger Saffold is playing LT. Saffold played "ok" and only really got "handled" by Allen once (althought it was prett funny).

You really have to remember that Smith has only 3 or 4 full days of practice in the last month or two. Of course he's gonna be rusty. As Spags said he just needs loads more repititions in practice. He'll be fine by opening day.......I hope.

[SJacks039]

I know it was 3rd and 4th stringers, but Thaddeus Lewis had sharp throws and looked poised.

[ManofGod]

You really have to remember that Smith has only 3 or 4 full days of practice in the last month or two. Of course he's gonna be rusty. As Spags said he just needs loads more repititions in practice. He'll be fine by opening day.......I hope.

I hope he is fine by opening day....really I do.

I know it was 3rd and 4th stringers, but Thaddeus Lewis had sharp throws and looked poised.

Living here in N.C. I saw Thaddeus play at Duke and he always showed up even against the big name schools like Miami, Florida St., etc. Null may not have the 3 spot locked up after all.

[shower beers]

2. Larry Grant- for everyone wondering why he was with the first team defense, you saw a glimpse of what the coaches have been seeing in practice, the guy was flying all over the place, making plays, and tackling very well. The game seems to have slowed down for him, which hopefully will yield positive results for us this season.

This was a big performance for him. It was really nice to see now, what I saw fortunate enough to see when he played at OSU. I'm sure there were quite a few of us wondering why Carpenter was behind him, but I think he answered the critics. It'll be interesting to see if he can keep this up. He looks like he can develop into a solid player for us.

Cons:

1. Pass rush-we still fail to produce a consistant pass rush, yes tonight our starting defensive backfield was not present (coverage is important)(and our starting DT's didn't play a great deal), but regardless the opposing teams QB is going to have a big day if we can't get to the QB. However I am sure that this will improve when our starters return, and I am pleased w/ how solid we looked against the run (even for a preseason game).

2. WR play- our WR's still fail to create seperation against ANYBODY, I don't care if they are an all-pro, a rookie, or even my next door neighbor. This was a huge issue last year, and if we can't get consistant play from our WR's as well as our TE's then teams will simply load up 8-9 in the box to shut down the run and then blitz us to death....hopefully we'll see improvment by our WR's (regarless, if we have a NFL season next year we HAVE to draft A.J. Green we need help desperately at the WR position).

3. WE HAVE NO BACK-UP RB if "The Beast" goes down: there is nothing more to say about that subject. Obie does not seem to be the answer.
!

I think you pretty much covered it. These are still glaring needs for our team. People can give the preseason excuse all they want, but its still clear to see that these things haven't been dramatically improved, and we don't really have any reason to believe things will be different in the regular season. It's not like we have any big time playmakers sitting out the preseason or anything like that (Save Steven Jackson). What we're seeing now is pretty much what we're going to see on week 1.

I believe these areas are going to continue to plague us this year, although I hope Bradford's accurate arm can somewhat remedy the WR situation. Also, Chris Long is looking more and more like he's ready to tear off his jersey hulk style and rage this year. Hopefully we see a breakout year for this fellow.


All in all, there's still plenty of work to do, although I'm sure no one expected anything else. I'm just glad I get to watch the Rams again!