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Rams starters were shoved around
By Jeff Gordon
STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
08/24/2009
The Rams are back at work, preparing for their third preseason game of the season.
Here is what they must focus on:
1. Blocking.
2. Tackling.
The Rams challenge is that fundamental. Their first-unit players neither blocked or tackled well during Friday night’s preseason loss to Atlanta.
As a result, the Falcons starters shoved them around.
What happened after that was more encouraging. Several of the depth players made a positive impression as coach Steve Spagnuolo continued his sorting process.
But their first quarter was alarming. The Rams fell behind 14-0 immediately.
Their offensive line was missing starters Jacob Bell and Alex Barron and it showed. The group did an OK job protecting quarterback Kyle Boller early on, but they didn’t clear running room against the Falcons defense.
On defense, their first unit offered token resistance as the Falcons marched for touchdowns. A LOT went wrong for that group.
“I do think our guys would tell you they would have liked to have tackled better,” Spanguolo said after the game. “That’s just defensive football. You have got to tackle.”
At his Saturday news conference, he added this: “You go against a good running football team, it’s a good challenge. I don’t think I did a good job getting them ready for that challenge and I’m going to take the hit on that. Atlanta had some nice little twists in there in some of their run game. And when they hit that second play of the game for the long run, you know it tends to get you on your heels and we can’t do that. You just got to get back to basics and play football.”
Here were some other impressions:
* Playing in place of injured quarterback Marc Bulger, Kyle Boller showed good mobility and made some nice throws. He also misfired at critical points of the first half. He looks like a decent fit as a back-up in this system, but no more.
* Rookie right tackle Jason Smith still has some work to do. With Alex Barron out because of a minor knee injury, he got to play with the first team with Adam Goldberg playing the left side. Would the Rams be better off having Smith play the left side?
* Receiver Laurent Robertson put on a show as Boller’s No. 1 target. His highlight was a 25-yard catch and run on third down. He would have had a big TD score, too, but Boller overthrew him after Robinson gained major separation streaking toward the end zone.
* Receiver Keenan Burton made a nice catch and tightrope run up the right sideline to advance the Rams into the red zone late in the first half. With rookie Brooks Foster possibly shelved for the season by ankle surgery, the Rams need Burton to stay healthy and produce.
* Running back Steven Jackson got out of the game after rushing three times for 10 yards. Fear not, though; he is healthy and the Rams know what to expect from Jackson when he is healthy.
* Running back Samkon Gado didn’t advance his case for the No. 2 role. His blocking wasn’t great and his running wasn’t great. That added up to five yards rushing on 12 carries. He salvaged the night with some decent kickoff returns.
Gado and Boller botched a red-zone exchange, costing their team at least three points. Might the Rams give veteran running back Ahman Green a call back during the next few days?
* Kickoff returner Kenneth Darby didn’t get anywhere on his first three attempts. His blocking wasn’t great and his running wasn’t great. Later, he salvaged his night with one big, timely run from scrimmage.
* Star-crossed cornerback Tye Hill turned the wrong way at the end of the 14-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Tony Gonzalez. Had he turned the right way, though, he would have needed a ladder to defend the destined Hall of Fame tight end.
* Outside linebacker Will Witherspoon read a D.J. Shockley pass in the second quarter, jumped the route . . . and dropped the pick. But at least he read the play.
* Rookie middle linebacker James Laurinaitis had a right-place, right-time interception right after that -- picking off a pass off the carom.
* Cornerback Ron Bartell stayed in coverage during a Shockley scramble, made a nice break on the pass and nearly got the pick.
* Some blitz recognition issues arose during the second quarter, forcing Boller to run for his life. Sometimes he didn’t make it.
* Tight end Daniel Fells got loose for a nice 16-yard reception from Brock Berlin, the second quarterback into the game. Berlin advanced his case in his battle with rookie Keith Null for the No. 3 quarterback spot.
* An unfortunate holding call on Ronald Curry took some big downfield yardage away from fellow receiver Derek Stanley. Curry didn’t show much as a receiver, but he is learning the offense on the fly.
* Stanley looked very dangerous catching quick short passes and taking off with the ball. And Derek really helped himself by catching a 20-yard TD pass from Berlin. He ran a nice route and made a nice catch.
Later, Stanley hurt himself by dropping a wide-open pass in a classic case of running before he had the ball. But his overall performance eased the sting of the Foster injury.
* Outside linebacker Larry Grant helped himself by forcing a fumble with a blitz sack. (Big Hollis Thomas, getting in better shape by the day, hustled after the loose ball and got the recovery).
* Rookie defensive tackle Darell Scott helped himself with a nice third-quarterback sequence, following a sturdy run stuff with a quarterback sack. If he can stay healthy, he can earn his place on the team. He has lost critical practice time in this preseason.
* The Falcons made a lot of big plays on back-up safety Todd Johnson’s watch, but he bounced back to make a diving interception on a deflected pass. That was helpful, since he is battling David Roach for a roster spot.
* Roach didn’t help himself with his (lack of) open-field tackling.
* Running with the reserves, running back Antonio Pittman helped himself by actually getting through a few holes.
* Tight end Billy Bajema’s bulldozing catch and run for 16 yards reminded us that he is more than just a strong run blocker. Then he ran a couple of nice routes to catch passes from Null.
* Null, by the way, was most impressive in the fourth quarter. His battle with Berlin is spirited. His bid for a last-second touchdown pass went through the hands of Joe Klopfenstein (go figure), then he threw a game-ending interception.
So after a mostly positive Week 1 in the preseason, the Rams came back with a discouraging Week 2 performance. Spagnuolo doesn’t believe in live tackling drills in practice -- due to the injury risk -- but the Rams can expect a renewed since of urgency around Rams Park.
They cannot allow Friday night’s struggle to become indicative of where this team is headed in ’09. They must get off their heels and get back on the attack.
By Jeff Gordon
STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
08/24/2009
The Rams are back at work, preparing for their third preseason game of the season.
Here is what they must focus on:
1. Blocking.
2. Tackling.
The Rams challenge is that fundamental. Their first-unit players neither blocked or tackled well during Friday night’s preseason loss to Atlanta.
As a result, the Falcons starters shoved them around.
What happened after that was more encouraging. Several of the depth players made a positive impression as coach Steve Spagnuolo continued his sorting process.
But their first quarter was alarming. The Rams fell behind 14-0 immediately.
Their offensive line was missing starters Jacob Bell and Alex Barron and it showed. The group did an OK job protecting quarterback Kyle Boller early on, but they didn’t clear running room against the Falcons defense.
On defense, their first unit offered token resistance as the Falcons marched for touchdowns. A LOT went wrong for that group.
“I do think our guys would tell you they would have liked to have tackled better,” Spanguolo said after the game. “That’s just defensive football. You have got to tackle.”
At his Saturday news conference, he added this: “You go against a good running football team, it’s a good challenge. I don’t think I did a good job getting them ready for that challenge and I’m going to take the hit on that. Atlanta had some nice little twists in there in some of their run game. And when they hit that second play of the game for the long run, you know it tends to get you on your heels and we can’t do that. You just got to get back to basics and play football.”
Here were some other impressions:
* Playing in place of injured quarterback Marc Bulger, Kyle Boller showed good mobility and made some nice throws. He also misfired at critical points of the first half. He looks like a decent fit as a back-up in this system, but no more.
* Rookie right tackle Jason Smith still has some work to do. With Alex Barron out because of a minor knee injury, he got to play with the first team with Adam Goldberg playing the left side. Would the Rams be better off having Smith play the left side?
* Receiver Laurent Robertson put on a show as Boller’s No. 1 target. His highlight was a 25-yard catch and run on third down. He would have had a big TD score, too, but Boller overthrew him after Robinson gained major separation streaking toward the end zone.
* Receiver Keenan Burton made a nice catch and tightrope run up the right sideline to advance the Rams into the red zone late in the first half. With rookie Brooks Foster possibly shelved for the season by ankle surgery, the Rams need Burton to stay healthy and produce.
* Running back Steven Jackson got out of the game after rushing three times for 10 yards. Fear not, though; he is healthy and the Rams know what to expect from Jackson when he is healthy.
* Running back Samkon Gado didn’t advance his case for the No. 2 role. His blocking wasn’t great and his running wasn’t great. That added up to five yards rushing on 12 carries. He salvaged the night with some decent kickoff returns.
Gado and Boller botched a red-zone exchange, costing their team at least three points. Might the Rams give veteran running back Ahman Green a call back during the next few days?
* Kickoff returner Kenneth Darby didn’t get anywhere on his first three attempts. His blocking wasn’t great and his running wasn’t great. Later, he salvaged his night with one big, timely run from scrimmage.
* Star-crossed cornerback Tye Hill turned the wrong way at the end of the 14-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Tony Gonzalez. Had he turned the right way, though, he would have needed a ladder to defend the destined Hall of Fame tight end.
* Outside linebacker Will Witherspoon read a D.J. Shockley pass in the second quarter, jumped the route . . . and dropped the pick. But at least he read the play.
* Rookie middle linebacker James Laurinaitis had a right-place, right-time interception right after that -- picking off a pass off the carom.
* Cornerback Ron Bartell stayed in coverage during a Shockley scramble, made a nice break on the pass and nearly got the pick.
* Some blitz recognition issues arose during the second quarter, forcing Boller to run for his life. Sometimes he didn’t make it.
* Tight end Daniel Fells got loose for a nice 16-yard reception from Brock Berlin, the second quarterback into the game. Berlin advanced his case in his battle with rookie Keith Null for the No. 3 quarterback spot.
* An unfortunate holding call on Ronald Curry took some big downfield yardage away from fellow receiver Derek Stanley. Curry didn’t show much as a receiver, but he is learning the offense on the fly.
* Stanley looked very dangerous catching quick short passes and taking off with the ball. And Derek really helped himself by catching a 20-yard TD pass from Berlin. He ran a nice route and made a nice catch.
Later, Stanley hurt himself by dropping a wide-open pass in a classic case of running before he had the ball. But his overall performance eased the sting of the Foster injury.
* Outside linebacker Larry Grant helped himself by forcing a fumble with a blitz sack. (Big Hollis Thomas, getting in better shape by the day, hustled after the loose ball and got the recovery).
* Rookie defensive tackle Darell Scott helped himself with a nice third-quarterback sequence, following a sturdy run stuff with a quarterback sack. If he can stay healthy, he can earn his place on the team. He has lost critical practice time in this preseason.
* The Falcons made a lot of big plays on back-up safety Todd Johnson’s watch, but he bounced back to make a diving interception on a deflected pass. That was helpful, since he is battling David Roach for a roster spot.
* Roach didn’t help himself with his (lack of) open-field tackling.
* Running with the reserves, running back Antonio Pittman helped himself by actually getting through a few holes.
* Tight end Billy Bajema’s bulldozing catch and run for 16 yards reminded us that he is more than just a strong run blocker. Then he ran a couple of nice routes to catch passes from Null.
* Null, by the way, was most impressive in the fourth quarter. His battle with Berlin is spirited. His bid for a last-second touchdown pass went through the hands of Joe Klopfenstein (go figure), then he threw a game-ending interception.
So after a mostly positive Week 1 in the preseason, the Rams came back with a discouraging Week 2 performance. Spagnuolo doesn’t believe in live tackling drills in practice -- due to the injury risk -- but the Rams can expect a renewed since of urgency around Rams Park.
They cannot allow Friday night’s struggle to become indicative of where this team is headed in ’09. They must get off their heels and get back on the attack.
RAMMER
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