Tweet
By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/29/2009
Perhaps enticed by the sight of the end zone barely 40 feet away, quarterback Kyle Boller was a little late on his slide. Cincinnati linebacker Keith Rivers made him pay with a hit so jarring it knocked Boller's helmet off his head.
Rams running back Samkon Gado was immediately on the scene, telling Boller to stay down and take a minute to recover his thoughts. Boller would have none of it.
"Oh, he's a tough kid," right guard Richie Incognito said. "He popped right up. He got right back in the huddle and he kept going. It didn't even faze him. I would've taken a second to shake that bad boy off; he took it right on the chin."
Boller later conceded things might have been a little bit fuzzy for a few seconds. But you wouldn't have known it by the way he acted in the huddle.
"He said, 'We're going to take this ball in the end zone right now,'" center Jason Brown said. "And that's exactly what we did."
It took three plays to score, but you get the point. Boller showed the kind of bravado the big grunts up front love to see from their quarterback.
"Of course," Brown said. "Not only do we like to set the tempo, but when we see that the skill position guys have just as much enthusiasm as we do, that is very encouraging."
Boller's 8-yard scramble advanced the ball to the Cincinnati 12. After reuniting his helmet with his head, Boller completed a short pass to Laurent Robinson, then handed off to Gado for a short gain. Next came pay dirt: Boller tossed a shovel pass to Gado, totally fooling the Bengals' defense, with Gado scoring untouched from 2 yards out.
The Rams had a 14-7 lead with 4 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first quarter and never looked backed in what became a 24-21 triumph at Paul Brown Stadium.
A few months from now, none of this may mean a thing. But that sequence, and Boller's play in general Thursday, showed his teammates that he can get it done.
"I gained a lot of respect for him; a lot of respect for him," Gado said. "It was a pretty hard hit because I was right there. I saw it firsthand."
The performance didn't go unnoticed by the Rams' coaching staff. Coach Steve Spagnuolo agreed with the suggestion that, if anything, the team now has more confidence in Boller's ability to lead the offense for a game or two — or more — should something happen to Marc Bulger in the regular season.
"Yeah, I think he's kind of proven that," Spagnuolo said Friday. "I think the guys do rally around him. You know, he said it best. How did he say it? It's not his first rodeo. So he's been through it. That's important. I think that's a good thing to have."
Boller has started 42 NFL games since being drafted No. 19 overall by Baltimore in 2003. But after missing the entire 2008 season with the Ravens following a preseason shoulder injury, he had some rust to knock off with the Rams, who signed him as a free agent in early April.
Although well short of spectacular, Boller was efficient against the Bengals, completing 70 percent of his passes (14 of 20) for 96 yards, one TD and a 97.1 passer rating.
"I'll take 70 percent every day of the week," Boller said.
More important than the stats were the points. The first-team offense had not scored a touchdown this preseason until it got two TDs — both by Gado — Thursday night in the first quarter.
"I think it gives us a lot of confidence to be able to put those drives together," Boller said. "We just need to make sure that we continue to do that. This is just the beginning. We still have a long ways to go. ..."
In what looks to be a characteristic of the Rams' new West Coast scheme, most of Boller's passes were of the short and intermediate variety. Of his 14 completions, only three gained more than 8 yards, with a long one of 15 yards to tight end Randy McMichael. Boller spread the ball around, completing passes to nine difference receivers.
"In this offense, definitely, everybody's going to play a role in it," Boller said. "And to be able to mix the ball around to the tight ends, running backs, receivers really kind of keeps the defense on edge."
Before Thursday, the Rams had converted only one of five red zone trips into touchdowns. But they went two for two with Boller at QB against Cincinnati. Another problem had been third down conversions — the Rams had a 24 percent conversion rate (six for 25) in their first two preseason contests. But they were 50 percent (four for eight) on third down when Boller and the first unit were on the field Thursday.
Spagnuolo also liked Boller's decision-making — well, most of it — when it came to his two scrambles for 16 yards. Sliding earlier is advisable.
"Yeah, that might be a wise thing," Spagnuolo said, smiling.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/29/2009
Perhaps enticed by the sight of the end zone barely 40 feet away, quarterback Kyle Boller was a little late on his slide. Cincinnati linebacker Keith Rivers made him pay with a hit so jarring it knocked Boller's helmet off his head.
Rams running back Samkon Gado was immediately on the scene, telling Boller to stay down and take a minute to recover his thoughts. Boller would have none of it.
"Oh, he's a tough kid," right guard Richie Incognito said. "He popped right up. He got right back in the huddle and he kept going. It didn't even faze him. I would've taken a second to shake that bad boy off; he took it right on the chin."
Boller later conceded things might have been a little bit fuzzy for a few seconds. But you wouldn't have known it by the way he acted in the huddle.
"He said, 'We're going to take this ball in the end zone right now,'" center Jason Brown said. "And that's exactly what we did."
It took three plays to score, but you get the point. Boller showed the kind of bravado the big grunts up front love to see from their quarterback.
"Of course," Brown said. "Not only do we like to set the tempo, but when we see that the skill position guys have just as much enthusiasm as we do, that is very encouraging."
Boller's 8-yard scramble advanced the ball to the Cincinnati 12. After reuniting his helmet with his head, Boller completed a short pass to Laurent Robinson, then handed off to Gado for a short gain. Next came pay dirt: Boller tossed a shovel pass to Gado, totally fooling the Bengals' defense, with Gado scoring untouched from 2 yards out.
The Rams had a 14-7 lead with 4 minutes, 51 seconds left in the first quarter and never looked backed in what became a 24-21 triumph at Paul Brown Stadium.
A few months from now, none of this may mean a thing. But that sequence, and Boller's play in general Thursday, showed his teammates that he can get it done.
"I gained a lot of respect for him; a lot of respect for him," Gado said. "It was a pretty hard hit because I was right there. I saw it firsthand."
The performance didn't go unnoticed by the Rams' coaching staff. Coach Steve Spagnuolo agreed with the suggestion that, if anything, the team now has more confidence in Boller's ability to lead the offense for a game or two — or more — should something happen to Marc Bulger in the regular season.
"Yeah, I think he's kind of proven that," Spagnuolo said Friday. "I think the guys do rally around him. You know, he said it best. How did he say it? It's not his first rodeo. So he's been through it. That's important. I think that's a good thing to have."
Boller has started 42 NFL games since being drafted No. 19 overall by Baltimore in 2003. But after missing the entire 2008 season with the Ravens following a preseason shoulder injury, he had some rust to knock off with the Rams, who signed him as a free agent in early April.
Although well short of spectacular, Boller was efficient against the Bengals, completing 70 percent of his passes (14 of 20) for 96 yards, one TD and a 97.1 passer rating.
"I'll take 70 percent every day of the week," Boller said.
More important than the stats were the points. The first-team offense had not scored a touchdown this preseason until it got two TDs — both by Gado — Thursday night in the first quarter.
"I think it gives us a lot of confidence to be able to put those drives together," Boller said. "We just need to make sure that we continue to do that. This is just the beginning. We still have a long ways to go. ..."
In what looks to be a characteristic of the Rams' new West Coast scheme, most of Boller's passes were of the short and intermediate variety. Of his 14 completions, only three gained more than 8 yards, with a long one of 15 yards to tight end Randy McMichael. Boller spread the ball around, completing passes to nine difference receivers.
"In this offense, definitely, everybody's going to play a role in it," Boller said. "And to be able to mix the ball around to the tight ends, running backs, receivers really kind of keeps the defense on edge."
Before Thursday, the Rams had converted only one of five red zone trips into touchdowns. But they went two for two with Boller at QB against Cincinnati. Another problem had been third down conversions — the Rams had a 24 percent conversion rate (six for 25) in their first two preseason contests. But they were 50 percent (four for eight) on third down when Boller and the first unit were on the field Thursday.
Spagnuolo also liked Boller's decision-making — well, most of it — when it came to his two scrambles for 16 yards. Sliding earlier is advisable.
"Yeah, that might be a wise thing," Spagnuolo said, smiling.
Comment