Random Thoughts on Tonight

[Nick]

-I'm concerned about our running game with Marshall Faulk in the backfield. I'd feel much better about the offense with Jackson in the backfield, if only because he seems to be able to pick up some yards. Marshall looks hesitant and seems to have lost any explosiveness he may have had. At least with Jackson he'll hit a hole and shed the initial tackle, plus some of his cutbacks looked great. He's really impressed me thus far in the preseason.

-Overall, I think Marc Bulger looked good tonight. On the first drive, I thought he did well. The second drive, well, he missed three receivers completely. Not impressive. The third drive was magic, IMO. He missed Curtis on what looked like a miscommunication, but was rock solid from there. Bulger's gotta have more accuracy on those open passes. There's no excuse for not being able to hit a wide open Holt for a gain of 20+. But I think looking at the entire game, he looked good tonight.

-Chandler's deep pass to Holt on the post... I think I shed a tear. It was like God was singing. It seems obvious that Chandler's more comfortable and accurate than Bulger is right now. Both have had their miscues, but Chandler has looked more accurate and more decisive. I have to wonder what role (1) his veteran experience and (2) the defenses he's going against play in this, though. I wasn't impressed by the deep pass that was intercepted. Way too much air under the ball, I thought. But that floater to McDonald in stride for the touchdown was a thing of beauty.

-Speaking of McDonald, he and Curtis are really coming into their own this preseason. I'm very excited about what the two of these guys will be able to do for the offense. Both of them look pretty speedy with great sets of hands.

-The blocking was much better this evening. Looked like the blitzes were being picked up well (I remember Goodspeed picking up a great inside rush), but I think the dreams of having Tercero at right tackle need to end NOW. The only memories I have about him for the game was whiffing on a rush that got Bulger sacked on the first drive, and a false start penalty. Move him back into the interior, I say, because he didn't look good as a tackle at all in my opinion. Furthermore, it wasn't that great to see Nutten leave the game with an injury. This was a concern when he decided to retire from the Jets, right? Not a good sign to see it so shortly after his coming back on the field.

-Defensively, I loved what we did with our first unit. Bryce Fisher was ALL OVER THE FIELD, or so it seemed. Pisa Tinoisamoa looks like a leader on defense. He had a couple of nice tackles and a great hit early in the game. Robert Thomas had a nice play where he penetrated into the backfield and tackled Portis for a loss. I thought our run defense was improved by 200%, but I'm not convinced whether we played better pass defense or Ramsey just struggled out there. He's been unimpressive this year so I can't really credit the pass defense too much. I think the roughing the passer penalty on Lewis was horse@#%, as was the overruled challenge on the Bulger/Holt third down pass.

-I'm not any more secure about Kevin Garrett after tonight. I didn't pay as close attention as I should have, but he didn't seem to be as efficient as a defender as he was against KC. He got flat-out beat on that one pass where he forced the fumble, and I don't think he would have caught the receiver had Aeneas not been flanking the guy and forced him to slow down a bit. I guess it's good Garrett is getting this experience now, because he'll need it when the season starts.

-Would it be at all possible for the Rams to get some good field position on a kickoff? Our kickoff coverage looked much improved, but I think we really need to get some better field position to start drives. It doesn't help the offense when they're starting half their drives inside their own 25.

I think that about covers it. I probably missed some stuff, but that's all I could remember when writing this. As always, opinions are welcome and appreciated.

[Curly Horns]

-I'm concerned about our running game with Marshall Faulk in the backfield. I'd feel much better about the offense with Jackson in the backfield, if only because he seems to be able to pick up some yards. Marshall looks hesitant and seems to have lost any explosiveness he may have had. At least with Jackson he'll hit a hole and shed the initial tackle, plus some of his cutbacks looked great. He's really impressed me thus far in the preseason.

Ditto, I told you all you would be impressed with Jackson and that Faulk is seemingly on his last legs.

-Defensively, I loved what we did with our first unit. Bryce Fisher was ALL OVER THE FIELD, or so it seemed.

I agree and I was also impressed with Bryce. Losing wistrom looks to be no big deal, except for the cap hit in seattle...lol

I think the roughing the passer penalty on Lewis was horse@#%, as was the overruled challenge on the Bulger/Holt third down pass.

Uh, I think it was a late hit and Kollar looked pissed at Lewis. The refs usually try to establish this during preseason. Shortly after that, I think our first series, a skins defender rolled up on Bulger and twisted him down by the knee long after the ball was released. Bulger got up limping, and of course, there was no flag.

I thought the overrule on the challenge was BS. The refs originally stated Holt did not have control of the ball before going out of bounds. There was no mention that he did not get his feet down. Then after the replay they say it's the feet. I'm not sure what exactly was ruled on the field and what was challenged. Either way, it looked like Holt did drag the foot.

-Would it be at all possible for the Rams to get some good field position on a kickoff?

It would seem that one can only hope!!





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[CRAZYHORNS]

Please save the I told you for the season not the preseason. I think one of the better PRE SEASON players is WR Darrius Watts..... All we can hope for is that the Rams get a little work and come away healthy.....

When has Faulk ever been impressive in the preseason wearing a Rams uniform????

[coy bacon]

Just like guys got way to down after being thumped by KC, so too we should not get way up because we beat a suspect team.

But winnin is always better than losin. :-)

I think the OL did great in pass protection, but only average with run blocking.

Bulger looked great at times, and horrible at others. He reminds me of the Bulger of last year. I would have hoped that he would have become more consistent BY NOW. It's not as if he's brand new at the position.

Chandler looked better than Bulger. If it weren't for his injury history I'd prefer him to start.

We have the best corps of WRs in the league!

The DL looked mediocre at best. The LBs looked great. The DBs looked capable.

Jackson does move the pile forward and I think we all saw some great potential out there. I'm kinda excited thinkin about what he can become when he gets more experience and confidence.

It was sickening to see the Refs suck again with that blown call, even after the review. NFL referring has sucked the last couple of years. It doesn't make me feel good about future prospects - if they can blow a call as easy as that....

Yeah, Tercero may not be the guy we want on the end.... shades of St. Clair and upcoming sacks and injuries.

Remember, we are not out of the woods yet. This was only preseason. The German's bombing of Pearl Harbor didn't end WW1, neither did our victory at Gettysburg end WW2.

[Reborn]

I second what crazy said. When has Faulk ever been himself in pre season? And I also will go forward and say if Faulk is so suspect due to his poor pre season play and you guys feel that Jackson is the second coming then shall we not say the same about Chandler? Bulger looks bad as well and Chandler looks great.

Stay consistent Gents.

Reborn

[serkicker32]

So do ya'll agree that we should have Scott working at left gaurd, an what about Greg Randell?

[majorram]

Scott should be at left guard and Grant williams will be moving over to RT come the season....


steve :ramlogo:

[Fargo Ram Fan]

Thanks for the synopsis of the game folks. I was all set to enjoy it on my local FOX station...but the *******s aired the NAUSEATING VIqueens game instead. At least I can look forward to the Raider game being shown on NFL NET.

[Curly Horns]

Please save the I told you for the season not the preseason. I think one of the better PRE SEASON players is WR Darrius Watts..... All we can hope for is that the Rams get a little work and come away healthy.....

When has Faulk ever been impressive in the preseason wearing a Rams uniform????

I second what crazy said. When has Faulk ever been himself in pre season? And I also will go forward and say if Faulk is so suspect due to his poor pre season play and you guys feel that Jackson is the second coming then shall we not say the same about Chandler? Bulger looks bad as well and Chandler looks great.

Stay consistent Gents.

There were many complaints from Rams fans after Jackson was drafted. I watched Jackson play at OSU several times over the last two seasons and I thought he would be a very good NFL RB. I said shortly after the draft that I thought Rams fans would be impressed when they got a chance to see him on the field. I think I'm being consistent with my recent statement. I guess, in other words, you guys are telling me you are not impressed with Jackson?

As far as Faulk goes, I said he was seemingly on his last legs. He looks like he did last season through the first three regular season games. It was revealed after week three, when he broke his hand, at seattle, that his knee was not right and he took the time to undergo another knee surgery. Faulk has looked better in past pre-seasons. Sure he has never played extensively during pre-season, but he has looked better. Besides that, it's not like he is getting any younger and he does not look rejuvenated, as Martz claimed, earlier in the offseason. I'm still holding out hope that Faulk will be himself, he does know the offense inside and out, but it is also nice to see that Jackson is showing that he is capable.




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[Nick]

Uh, I think it was a late hit and Kollar looked pissed at Lewis. The refs usually try to establish this during preseason. Shortly after that, I think our first series, a skins defender rolled up on Bulger and twisted him down by the knee long after the ball was released. Bulger got up limping, and of course, there was no flag.

I don't think it was late. I think it was perhaps a second after the pass, and I wouldn't expect a 300 lb defensive lineman pursuing the QB to be able to pull up in time at that point.

I think you bring up a good point though. Lewis gets called for roughing this week and Jackson last week while Bulger is a fair target for defenses. There's a lot of inconsistency in these calls.

[Reborn]

I also feel that Jackson will be our future Fert. I just have an odd feeling that Faulk is going to surprise quite a few people this year.

Has Faulk ever been challenged like this? It will be interesting to see how he responds. I hope he finds the greatness for at least one more season. It will have even a bigger impact on Jackson then if he has to take the reins so early on.

Reborn

[Curly Horns]

I don't think it was late. I think it was perhaps a second after the pass, and I wouldn't expect a 300 lb defensive lineman pursuing the QB to be able to pull up in time at that point.

I think you bring up a good point though. Lewis gets called for roughing this week and Jackson last week while Bulger is a fair target for defenses. There's a lot of inconsistency in these calls.

Yeah, I know what you're saying, but the refs expect them to be able to pull up. Like I said, I think it had a lot to do with it being a pre-season game and the refs trying to establish protecting the QBs. Either way, I will say it was a close call. I agree, the refs don't seem to be very consistent with that type of call, even during the regular season.



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[Curly Horns]

I also feel that Jackson will be our future Fert. I just have an odd feeling that Faulk is going to surprise quite a few people this year.

Has Faulk ever been challenged like this? It will be interesting to see how he responds. I hope he finds the greatness for at least one more season. It will have even a bigger impact on Jackson then if he has to take the reins so early on.

Reborn

I'm not sure that he has, Reborn. I too hope he steps up and meets the challenge. Good point about Jackson taking on the load during his rookie year. Certainly he does not know the offense as well as Faulk.

It will be interesting to see how Martz reacts if Faulk comes out of the gate slowly.....



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[Curly Horns]

I think the roughing the passer penalty on Lewis was horse@#%

Hey, I just thought of something about that play. Wasn't that a line stunt? Bryce Fisher rushed inside and Lewis came around the end on that play. I'm not sure it was designed that way, but I'm thinking it was. Anyways, it was nice to see. Seems we never saw much stunting, on the D-line, with Lovie's schemes.



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[DJRamFan]

Overall everyone looked better. I'm not really all that concerned with Marshall at this point, I think we have other areas that should be of more concern, especially with Jackson playing as well as he has.

Bulger looked better, but he has to get used to the blitzes because it's become cleat that that's his weakness. A few times he got hurried and pushed the ball into tough spots.