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Meaningless game prompts a few first impressions
By Bernie Miklasz
Of the Post-Dispatch
08/12/2004
The Rams offensive line is in such an advanced state of deterioration that I half expected to come to the Edward Jones Dome Thursday to discover that St. Louis had activated Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jackie Slater to suit up against the Chicago Bears.
Or to put it another way: Where have you gone, Dwayne "Road Grader" White?
With left tackle Orlando Pace still doing his usual summer retreat from camp, with ailing right tackle Kyle Turley visiting back specialists and chiropractors on a national tour, and with center Dave Wohlabaugh gimpy with a bad hip, the Rams aren't exactly the Seven Blocks of Granite these days.
But the strangers on the line played well against the Bears and thus spared the lives of quarterbacks Marc Bulger and Chris Chandler, at least for one evening. And head coach Mike Martz had no reservations about putting his QBs at risk by frequently dialing up passes.
This means one of four things: This patchwork line is surprisingly good, the Bears' defense is remarkably incompetent, Martz is cuckoo, or NFL preseason football is meaningless.
I choose option No. 4.
The players aren't in regular-season form. The same could be said for public address announcer Jim Holder, who called rookie quarterback Jeff Smoker "John Smoker." And the fans need work. Message on the stadium video board at halftime: "Jennifer Will You Marry Me?" This is inappropriate. Couldn't the dude wait until at least the Sept. 12 regular- season home opener to pop the question?
And the NFL officials certainly are in midseason shape. The boys in stripes were happy to prove that by calling 19 penalties on the Bears and 12 on the Rams. There were so many infractions, they should have sealed the field with yellow police tape.
Still, there is only one reason to attend a exhibition game: To scribble a list of first impressions:
Bulger looked decent. Chandler looked good. And Kurt Warner continues to draw rave reviews in the New York Giants' camp. (I just had to slip a gratuitous Warner reference into the column for no legitimate reason).
Rookie running back Steven Jackson, who has resided with Martz's dachshund "Buddy" in the coach's doghouse for much of this summer, flashed power and speed and promise. After wasting No. 1 picks on defensive linemen who can't play, have the Rams finally chosen a winner?
The Rams still have about 27 fast, acrobatic receivers with sure, flypaper hands. Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald are exciting.
After showing up Martz by ignoring Martz's phone calls, Turley showed up to watch the game. How gracious of Turley. Somewhere, New Orleans head coach Jim Haslett is laughing.
I don't know if anyone on the Rams coaching staff or front office has noticed, but the team has no standout defensive tackles on the roster. That is, unless Ryan Pickett and Damione Lewis are your idea of Bob Lilly and Mean Joe Greene.
It was irritating to see the Bears, coached by former Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, call so many blitzes in the first half. Yo, Lovie: Why didn't you blitz New England QB Tom Brady on the final drive when the Patriots upset the Rams in the Super Bowl?
It was funny to see the Bears attack the Rams defense with inside runs. Smith knows the weaknesses because he's responsible for the design flaws. Namely: An undersized front seven that will get mashed as long as an offense has the patience to stick with the run. And it's a front seven that's easily tricked by misdirection runs. For more details, review Carolina's victory over the Rams in the 2004 NFL playoffs. Can the Rams make corrections?
Bobby April is gone, but the Rams special teams still need work.
If there's anything more hideous than preseason football, it's overtime preseason football.
By Bernie Miklasz
Of the Post-Dispatch
08/12/2004
The Rams offensive line is in such an advanced state of deterioration that I half expected to come to the Edward Jones Dome Thursday to discover that St. Louis had activated Hall of Fame offensive tackle Jackie Slater to suit up against the Chicago Bears.
Or to put it another way: Where have you gone, Dwayne "Road Grader" White?
With left tackle Orlando Pace still doing his usual summer retreat from camp, with ailing right tackle Kyle Turley visiting back specialists and chiropractors on a national tour, and with center Dave Wohlabaugh gimpy with a bad hip, the Rams aren't exactly the Seven Blocks of Granite these days.
But the strangers on the line played well against the Bears and thus spared the lives of quarterbacks Marc Bulger and Chris Chandler, at least for one evening. And head coach Mike Martz had no reservations about putting his QBs at risk by frequently dialing up passes.
This means one of four things: This patchwork line is surprisingly good, the Bears' defense is remarkably incompetent, Martz is cuckoo, or NFL preseason football is meaningless.
I choose option No. 4.
The players aren't in regular-season form. The same could be said for public address announcer Jim Holder, who called rookie quarterback Jeff Smoker "John Smoker." And the fans need work. Message on the stadium video board at halftime: "Jennifer Will You Marry Me?" This is inappropriate. Couldn't the dude wait until at least the Sept. 12 regular- season home opener to pop the question?
And the NFL officials certainly are in midseason shape. The boys in stripes were happy to prove that by calling 19 penalties on the Bears and 12 on the Rams. There were so many infractions, they should have sealed the field with yellow police tape.
Still, there is only one reason to attend a exhibition game: To scribble a list of first impressions:
Bulger looked decent. Chandler looked good. And Kurt Warner continues to draw rave reviews in the New York Giants' camp. (I just had to slip a gratuitous Warner reference into the column for no legitimate reason).
Rookie running back Steven Jackson, who has resided with Martz's dachshund "Buddy" in the coach's doghouse for much of this summer, flashed power and speed and promise. After wasting No. 1 picks on defensive linemen who can't play, have the Rams finally chosen a winner?
The Rams still have about 27 fast, acrobatic receivers with sure, flypaper hands. Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald are exciting.
After showing up Martz by ignoring Martz's phone calls, Turley showed up to watch the game. How gracious of Turley. Somewhere, New Orleans head coach Jim Haslett is laughing.
I don't know if anyone on the Rams coaching staff or front office has noticed, but the team has no standout defensive tackles on the roster. That is, unless Ryan Pickett and Damione Lewis are your idea of Bob Lilly and Mean Joe Greene.
It was irritating to see the Bears, coached by former Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, call so many blitzes in the first half. Yo, Lovie: Why didn't you blitz New England QB Tom Brady on the final drive when the Patriots upset the Rams in the Super Bowl?
It was funny to see the Bears attack the Rams defense with inside runs. Smith knows the weaknesses because he's responsible for the design flaws. Namely: An undersized front seven that will get mashed as long as an offense has the patience to stick with the run. And it's a front seven that's easily tricked by misdirection runs. For more details, review Carolina's victory over the Rams in the 2004 NFL playoffs. Can the Rams make corrections?
Bobby April is gone, but the Rams special teams still need work.
If there's anything more hideous than preseason football, it's overtime preseason football.
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