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I thought I'd pull a Jeff Gordon and divide up my thoughts into the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. So here we go.
The Good
-Steven Jackson is the real thing. He had a number of good runs tonight, and really shined in pass protection. 15 carries for 73 yards as well as four receptions. This guy can play ball.
-The offensive line was okay. Not stellar, but a lot better than I expected considering the personnel. They allowed Bulger and Chandler to have enough time to make some plays. I think if Turley misses significant time, Grant Williams will be able to keep things safe on the right side.
-Shaun McDonald looked very good out there. Five receptions for 78 yards, and he had a punt return for a TD brought back because of penalty. This guy looks very talented and very sharp.
-Chandler was the most impressive quarterback of the night, with Bulger coming in a close second. Chandler showed some surprising mobility in the pocket, and Bulger looked to be pretty accurate, especially that second pass to Bruce on the first drive.
-Overall, our defensive ends looked very strong. We had a number of guys getting into the backfield. Bryce Fisher and Tyoka Jackson look like they'll be very adequate replacements for Grant Wistrom, and even Erik Flowers got in on the action.
-Our special teams coverage, for the most part, looks much better than it has in previous seasons, especially when you factor in McDonald's touchdown that wasn't meant to be.
The Bad
-Jeff Smoker started off somewhat strong, but faltered from there. A flash here or there, but overall, I thought he was disappointing. Martz seemed to share a similar opinion, because it sounded as if Smoker was getting chewed out (per typical Martz fashion I guess). He's going to have to show me a lot more if I'm to believe some of the hype I've heard about his skills.
-Groce and Garrett looked fairly good, but Garrett missed what sounded like an easy interception, and that Anderson kid really goofed on the defensive holding when the Bears were backed up to 3rd and 27.
-Damione Lewis and Tony Hargrove seemed invisible, from what I heard. I expected them to be around the ball more, but Hargrove only had two assisted tackles and Lewis only one solo. Nothing great.
-Combined, the three Bear quarterbacks who played tonight completed nearly 68% of their passes tonight. I understand that Fisher and Butler were out, but we can't allow quarterbacks to be that effective, especially when they're throwing for over seven and a half yards per pass (as Grossman and Quinn were).
The Ugly
-Ugh, the kick return in OT. Just when you think the Rams have made some serious strides on special teams, they prove us wrong. I still think they look better as a unit overall, but this really made me scream.
-The run defense was poor, which is disappointing. We allowed Thomas Jones to achieve 53 yards on seven carries, 7.6 yards per carry. Adrian Peterson had over five yards per carry against us. This defense needs to be able to stop the run if they're going to be successful, and we didn't see it at all tonight.
-I don't know what's worse: the fact that we were penalized 12 times for 80 yards, or the fact that the Bears beat us despite being penalized 19 times for over 150 yards. I think we really let this one slip through our fingers and allowed the Bears to negate their 15 offensive penalities by running all over our defense.
-Arlen Harris, Erik Flowers, and Pisa Tinoisamoa. What do these three guys have in common? They all sustained injuries! From what I've heard, nothing too serious. But it's never a good sign to see guys going down in preseason games. Oh well, at least no one pulled a Jon Jansen.
The Good
-Steven Jackson is the real thing. He had a number of good runs tonight, and really shined in pass protection. 15 carries for 73 yards as well as four receptions. This guy can play ball.
-The offensive line was okay. Not stellar, but a lot better than I expected considering the personnel. They allowed Bulger and Chandler to have enough time to make some plays. I think if Turley misses significant time, Grant Williams will be able to keep things safe on the right side.
-Shaun McDonald looked very good out there. Five receptions for 78 yards, and he had a punt return for a TD brought back because of penalty. This guy looks very talented and very sharp.
-Chandler was the most impressive quarterback of the night, with Bulger coming in a close second. Chandler showed some surprising mobility in the pocket, and Bulger looked to be pretty accurate, especially that second pass to Bruce on the first drive.
-Overall, our defensive ends looked very strong. We had a number of guys getting into the backfield. Bryce Fisher and Tyoka Jackson look like they'll be very adequate replacements for Grant Wistrom, and even Erik Flowers got in on the action.
-Our special teams coverage, for the most part, looks much better than it has in previous seasons, especially when you factor in McDonald's touchdown that wasn't meant to be.
The Bad
-Jeff Smoker started off somewhat strong, but faltered from there. A flash here or there, but overall, I thought he was disappointing. Martz seemed to share a similar opinion, because it sounded as if Smoker was getting chewed out (per typical Martz fashion I guess). He's going to have to show me a lot more if I'm to believe some of the hype I've heard about his skills.
-Groce and Garrett looked fairly good, but Garrett missed what sounded like an easy interception, and that Anderson kid really goofed on the defensive holding when the Bears were backed up to 3rd and 27.
-Damione Lewis and Tony Hargrove seemed invisible, from what I heard. I expected them to be around the ball more, but Hargrove only had two assisted tackles and Lewis only one solo. Nothing great.
-Combined, the three Bear quarterbacks who played tonight completed nearly 68% of their passes tonight. I understand that Fisher and Butler were out, but we can't allow quarterbacks to be that effective, especially when they're throwing for over seven and a half yards per pass (as Grossman and Quinn were).
The Ugly
-Ugh, the kick return in OT. Just when you think the Rams have made some serious strides on special teams, they prove us wrong. I still think they look better as a unit overall, but this really made me scream.
-The run defense was poor, which is disappointing. We allowed Thomas Jones to achieve 53 yards on seven carries, 7.6 yards per carry. Adrian Peterson had over five yards per carry against us. This defense needs to be able to stop the run if they're going to be successful, and we didn't see it at all tonight.
-I don't know what's worse: the fact that we were penalized 12 times for 80 yards, or the fact that the Bears beat us despite being penalized 19 times for over 150 yards. I think we really let this one slip through our fingers and allowed the Bears to negate their 15 offensive penalities by running all over our defense.
-Arlen Harris, Erik Flowers, and Pisa Tinoisamoa. What do these three guys have in common? They all sustained injuries! From what I've heard, nothing too serious. But it's never a good sign to see guys going down in preseason games. Oh well, at least no one pulled a Jon Jansen.
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