Wednesday, October 19, 2005
- First of all, best wishes, thoughts and prayers to
Leonard Little and his family while they cope with the loss of his brother Jermaine.
- It looks like the original diagnosis on
Marc Bulger's shoulder is going to be correct. Bulger will probably miss this week's game against New Orleans and next week's game against Jacksonville. That would take him into the bye week which should allow him to be fully recovered for the road game at Seattle the following week. However, it appears the Rams might be holding out some hope as Bulger is listed as questionable on the injury report this week. Bulger might have come back a little too soon last season, but you wouldn't know it based on his performance in the games he came back. He is absolutely the most important piece of this team and it is going to be tough without him.
- Fortunately for the Rams, the next two games are at the Edward Jones Dome. That should help a team in desperate need of a win or two before the bye. If St. Louis can find a way to get to 4-4 at the bye week, it should be in fine shape with a good shot to squeeze into the playoffs, particularly if it can carry the momentum into a road win at Seattle. A 3-5 record put those hopes in serious danger and a pair of losses before the bye would likely put an end to any playoff hopes for the year.
- Aside from Bulger, the injury reports for both teams were extremely interesting today. The Rams are starting to heal up some and it appears receiver Isaac Bruce is edging closer to getting on the field. Bruce is questionable for this week as he recovers from a toe injury.
Torry Holt (knee) and safety Jerome Carter (hip) are probable and will most likely be good to go.
- The Saints injury report is absolutely loaded with players that contribute to the team. Every player on the report is questionable. Here's the list: linebacker James Allen (knee), tackle Jammal Brown (knee), guard Montrae Holland (knee), receiver Joe Horn (hamstring), guard Kendyl Jacox (knee), guard Jermane Mayberry (shoulder), tight end Shad Meier (knee), safety Mel Mitchell (hamstring), linebacker T.J. Slaughter (groin), safety Dwight Smith (knee) and running back Aaron Stecker (achilles). Of course, that doesn't even count running back Deuce McAllister, who is out for the year with an ACL injury.
- Allen, Brown, Holland, Horn, Jacox and Smith missed parts of Wednesday's practice.
- If Horn can't go again this week, expect former Ram Az-Zahir Hakim to become prominently involved in the offense. Hakim has been a favorite target of quarterback Aaron Brooks in the past couple of weeks and against the Rams' struggling secondary could have some success.
- Speaking of the St. Louis secondary, it looked improved against the Colts on Monday night. That isn't to see there were no weaknesses, but it did appear that at the least the defensive backs were in the right spots at the right time. Manning didn't complete a single pass over 20 yards and the one he did hit for 20 yards was a catch and run by running back Edgerrin James. That's a step in the right direction.
- The Rams absolutely have to find a way to keep Chris Claiborne and Dexter Coakley on the field. They paid a lot of money for those two to help an ailing run defense. Claiborne is an excellent run defender and was a big reason the Rams were able to stop the run the first three weeks. The problem comes when teams line up in three and four receiver sets and the Rams send one or both of Claiborne and Coakley to the sideline in their quarter packages. Claiborne played just 12 plays against the Colts and that has been an ongoing trend rather than an anomaly. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Claiborne involved in some of those packages this week. Maybe he isn't a blanket as a cover man, but it's important to remember that he has spent plenty of time as an outside linebacker in this league. That experience gave him plenty of chances to cover receivers and tight ends.
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