St. Louis Rams report card vs. San Francisco *****

[RamWraith]

By Bill Coats
St. Louis Post-Dispatch


Here’s one blogger’s grades for the Rams after Sunday’s 17-16 loss to the ***** at the Edward Jones Dome:

QUARTERBACK: An interception snuffed a promising final drive with the Rams about 10 yards short of Josh Brown’s field-goal range. Previous to that, Marc Bulger had been OK. He made a nice throw for a 30-yard TD to rookie WR Keenan Burton. A couple of his passes were incomplete because of poor route-running. Bulger gets points off for again failing to rally the offense when most needed. GRADE: D+

RUNNING BACK: Despite a balky hamstring, Steven Jackson pounded out 108 yards on a season-high 32 carries. Jackson often had little room to operate but was a force between the tackles. Backup Kenneth Darby got 10 touches — five carries for 15 yards and five receptions for 57 yards. GRADE: B+

RECEIVERS: Isaac Bruce was the best receiver on the field, with seven catches and a TD . . . oh, that’s right. He’s not a Ram anymore. Among the current Rams, rookie Donnie Avery has his best day in a while, with several acrobatic grabs. Torry Holt was effective, getting 55 yards on four catches. Rookie Keenan Burton scored his first NFL touchdown. GRADE: C+

OFFENSIVE LINE: Rookie John Greco filled in nicely at LG after Jacob Bell left with a bad hamstring. RG Richie Incognito had another holding penalty, and RT Alex Barron added to his false-start collection. Pass-blocking was pretty good; run-blocking was mediocre. GRADE: C

DEFENSIVE LINE: Niners backs averaged less than 3 yards per carry. DE Leonard Little had a sack. Pressure on QB Shaun Hill was generally OK, but he didn’t face much in the two late TD drives. GRADE: C+

LINEBACKERS: Pisa Tinoisamoa had a big afternoon, getting a team-high nine tackles (press-box stats), including two sacks. He also had three quarterback hurries. Chris Draft was solid against the run; Will Witherspoon was OK in coverage. Quinton Culberson disappeared again. GRADE: C+

SECONDARY: FS Oshiomogho Atogwe (interception, fumble recovery) and CB Ron Bartell (two interceptions) produced all four Rams turnovers. CB Fakhir Brown was beaten for the game-winning TD. Overall, coverage was decent. SS Todd Johnson again was effective, especially vs. the run. GRADE: B+

SPECIAL TEAMS: P Donnie Jones rallied after a slow start. K Josh Brown hit both field goal tries. Returns were pretty good, as was coverage. GRADE: B

COACHING: Another late collapse damages Jim Haslett’s chances of returning. Still, the Rams played hard despite their woes. Dubious play-calling at crucial times by OC Al Saunders, a recurring theme. Again using a lot of three-man front, the defense was active. Not as aggressive as last week. GRADE: C-

[DaScorpion]

Just saw the highlights. Had to be a heart breaker for the Rams Fans. But on the bright side, there's always next year. A lot of things changing in the organization, and there's no where but up to go.