The Question was in all our minds. Who would start at QB versus the Bengals? Well,it was no Kurt Warner or Ryan Fitzpatrick outing in Cincinnati. It was the Brock Berlin show with limited reps and flair. Welcome to the NFL kid.
Given the assurance by John Shaw that Coach Linehan would return for another season do to injuries. It was no surprise that a third string QB would be starting for our Rams. Heck anyone of us could have started this week under the circumstances. But the outcome was shocking. A Bengal loss should have been. And offensively we could have helped this rookie with better blocking and gameplanning. Brock played very good for a first start. He was poised and at times showed good reads. But he is not ready for this pace. Given the situation at hand Brock commented,"It was fast,it was really exciting."
Carson Palmer also had a rough outing with the rain and added,"It was tough." So given that Brock Berlin did great for a first loss under center. He can claim to have thrown to
Torry Holt for his 8th straight year with 1000 yards or more. And he can now claim to have handed off the ball to
Steven Jackson. With Rudi Johnson and company running the ball effectively. The Rams basically put too much on a rookie QB to get a must win for 2007. Every win now matters more than ever. This team is now healthier than the first half, but is still showing signs of not working good enough to finish an opponent.
The lack of finishing a game is starting to wear thin. Against the Falcons we were up 21-0 and allowed Chris Redman to bring back the Falcons down 21 points to tally 16 points in the last quarter. We could have lost that game at home as well. The killer instinct is not a priority. We are shooting duds in the 3rd and 4th quarters and are just holding on. Versus the Browns, the Rams came out firing and could have won the game. This Rams team has been held to 10 points or fewer 5 times in 2007.
3-10 in 2007. We had the opportunity to really make an impact in the second half. Don't get me wrong. The second half has been better overall in terms of plays and personel back to form. But having a third string QB starting is really a question of durability on the offensive schemes and how this coaching staff wants to protect their quarterbacks. We are now officially a QB injury prone team.
Marc Bulger was pleased with the Brock Berlin showing," For one day of practice, he did pretty well."
Randy McMichael also was happy with the rookies outing," We didn't do enough to help him. He did a great job. We are proud of him." Coach Linehan stated," I thought he gave us a chance and managed the game well." And added," A very gutty effort by him."
Given the overall outcome. We can only be pleased with the effort of this team. And we can only wish for the Xmas gift of finishing strong for 2008. Here's to Brock Berlin hero for a day. And for his contributions. Brock Berlin versus Brett Favre. Now that is a matchup we were not expecting. But his name is rock solid. Let's hope for a miracle win with a rookie. It's a wish.
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