Same Old Sorry Ram Special Teams

[ramsbruce]

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for the win. But our special teams are terrible once again. They looked like the Bobby April special teams of old. Why is Arlen Harris a kick returner? He is SLOWWWWWW. Our run defense scares me, Emmitt Smith looked like he was 22 years old today against us. I give the Cards some credit, they played well (for the Cards) but 3 turnovers in the 1st quarter for us? WOW! The challenge Martz made on Jacksons fumble was ridiculous, we need a special coach that just does challenges LOL. Even though Bulger had an 89 QB rating he didnt play very smart, he was lucky he wasnt intercepted more. All in all we were lucky to win the game. Now to the good Faulk looked amazing!!! Jackson looked good besides the fumble. Isaac Bruce was on fire, and Holt played well. Goodspeed as our fullback has really helped the run game. Our young CBs did a nice job. We need to fix our special teams and run defense fast or it could be a long season.

:ramlogo: :helmet: :ramlogo: :helmet: :ramlogo: :helmet:

[ZigZagRam]

Re: Same Old Sorry Ass Ram Special Teams

For what it's worht, Josh Scobey scares me more than any other kick returner in the league.

[ramsbruce]

Re: Same Old Sorry Ass Ram Special Teams

For what it's worht, Josh Scobey scares me more than any other kick returner in the league.

More than Dante Hall?

[ZigZagRam]

Re: Same Old Sorry Ram Special Teams

Ok, you got me.

[adarian_too]

Re: Same Old Sorry Ram Special Teams

Why is Arlen Harris a kick returner?

This has troubled me since Candidate was back there. I was hoping that a new ST's coach was going to return the role of KR back to speed merchants. But apparently sMartz's influence is too great.

Faulk shouldn't have been trying to return a kick in the SB all the way back top the 9 yard line. And now Jackson shouldn't be back there either. I cannot believe that RBs make better kick returners that WRs - not year in, year out.

It was an effective job by Landeada to punt his 2nd one into the endzone for no return. Maybe directionally out at the 5 might be better, but hey - no return.

As for Scoby's return, the wedge starting holding hands and the coverage guys steered towards the blockers instead of maintaining lanes ... how difficult can it be to assign one person only as the wedge buster?

[txramsfan]

Re: Same Old Sorry Ram Special Teams

My boy Garrett played terrible on the return by Scobey. Just stuck out his hand, he looked confused. However, he did make up for it the next time.

Bulger did have a few mishaps, however I thought he played a pretty good game. Yes, the deep ball was a terrible pass and he knew it. However, he didn't waver. He came back and led this team to a W. Especially when the Rams were down.

The run defense is somewhat tricky. Emmitt still has some life in him, and Arizona is going to be a much better team this year anyway. He had a few big breaks, but the Rams shut down the Arizona offense when they had to. Especially after turnovers.

[HUbison]

Re: Same Old Sorry Ram Special Teams

Our run defense scares me, Emmitt Smith looked like he was 22 years old today against us.

I can't be too critical of our run defense. Contrary to the rest of the team, the Cards O-line is actually pretty good. And Emmitt is old, not dead. I think our D-line did well, considering all but Pickett are there for their pass-rushing abilities more than run stopping. They looked much better than last year in several areas; most noticeable being the movement (or lack thereof) of the line of scrimmage. Last year, you could watch the line move towards the LBs before a hole was opened. Yesterday, the line held place which leaves less room to even open a hole much less maintain it.

They've still got work to do, but I feel better about our D-line after yesterday.

[Nick]

Re: Same Old Sorry Ram Special Teams

I feel like we were very inconsistent at getting pressure on McCown, especially in the second half. But overall, I was pleased with the team.

[ZigZagRam]

Re: Same Old Sorry Ram Special Teams

Didn't "The Future" return a kickoff yesterday? I think it was the play where he leveled Calvin Pace. I was listening on the radio during that play while I was on my way back from Hardee's, and I wasn't sure.

PS, the sexy chica riding the mechanical bull doesn't work there and has no ties to the current employees. My drilling of the employees went unsuccessful.

[moklerman]

Re: Same Old Sorry Ram Special Teams

I didn't want to bother starting a thread but I was miffed at a couple of things yesterday that have been brought up in this thread.

First, why in HELL would you put Jackson in as a kick returner? What's happened to the Rams having a good return game? Jeez, I'd take Tony Horne back at this point even with his blunt smoking.

Second, why burn a challenge on Jackson's fumble? Martz has no clue about these things apparently.

Most importantly, the overall performance yesterday is just an extension of last year. Bulger's still inconsistent and Martz seems to trust him even less in the red zone. The defense doesn't stop the run very well and the coverage teams are mediocre at best. Looker needs to be replaced as soon as possible. I really pulled for him when he was trying to make the team. I liked his guts and determination but he has turned into a fumbler. The "Rudy" story was nice while it lasted but he doesn't have "it".

The bright spots are obviously Faulk, Bruce, Holt and Wilkins. Faulk looked great and hopefully will stay healthy all year for once. Bruce and Holt are still the best tandom in the league. Wilkins should have another career year based on yesterday.

As nice as it was to pull some positives out of the game I still fear the schedule the Rams face this year. They're going to have to get a lot better if they hope to compete with the varsity teams of the NFL. Playing in the worst division in football might be enough to squeak into the playoffs but struggling with Arizona, with a rookie qb (4 career starts?), an ancient Emmit Smith who had his best game since 2002, a banged up receiving corps without it's best player in the lineup and a virtual "no-name" defense doesn't bode well for the Rams.

The pass protection was good/great, the running game was good/great and the o-line should be as good or better than it was last year. However, the main point to remember is that we were playing the Cardinals. I'm happy for the win but I'm not comforted by much that I've seen so far.