Rams quarterback laments mistakes

Rams Quarterback Laments Mistakes

by r8rh8rmike

Rams quarterback laments mistakes
BY BILL COATS
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/05/2009

SAN FRANCISCO � A former California high school player of the year who went on to a record-breaking college career at nearby Cal-Berkeley, Rams quarterback Kyle Boller was happy to be home again.

"It's always fun to be back in California and San Francisco," Boller said late Sunday afternoon at Candlestick Park. "But I don't care where you are, losing is no fun."

The Rams are having no fun these days.

An error-filled 35-0 spanking at the hands of the San Francisco ***** dropped the Rams to 0-4 for the season and extended their franchise-record losing streak to 14 games.

Boller was given the opportunity to help stanch the bleeding, as he started in place of Marc Bulger. A bruised rotator cuff in his right shoulder relegated Bulger to emergency duty as the No. 3 quarterback.

New quarterback. Same result.

"It's very frustrating," said Boller, a seven-year pro making his first start since 2007 with Baltimore. "I felt like in the beginning, we were moving the ball a little bit, and then we'd have something that'd ... kill our drives."

The Rams mustered just 177 total yards, a low-water mark in this rapidly sinking season. The turndown came just a week after the offense produced season highs of 336 yards and 17 points against Green Bay. Boller took over when Bulger was injured late in the first quarter of that game.

Inopportune penalties stifled the Rams' progress vs. the *****. "Sometimes when we got some plays, there was either a flag or we did something to move it back," Boller said. "We could just never get in any rhythm."

Nine of the Rams' 13 possessions lasted three plays or fewer. A nine-play, 62-yard drive moved them to the San Francisco 33-yard line in the first quarter. But their chance to grab the lead fizzled when Josh Brown's 51-yard field goal attempt fell short.

The Rams would cross the 50 just twice more, poor field position plaguing them most of the day.

Boller completed 13 of 24 passes for 108 yards; his passer rating was a meager 48.6. He was intercepted once, and it stung: Linebacker Patrick Willis cut in front of wide receiver Keenan Burton and raced 23 yards for a touchdown that made it 21-0 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

"I was trying to make a play, but ... I've been in this league long enough to know you never want to throw the ball across your body like that," Boller said. "I can't give them an easy score like that."

Boller also was charged with a lost fumble on a handoff that wideout Danny Amendola was unable to corral on a reverse play. Niners defensive tackle Ray McDonald grabbed the loose ball and scampered 11 yards...
- Channel: RAMS NATION TALK
-10-05-2009, 07:25 PM
Boller is showing the Rams his mettle ..

by MauiRam

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...
- Channel: RAMS NATION TALK
-08-29-2009, 01:32 AM
Boller Back To Familiar Role

by r8rh8rmike

Boller Back to Familiar Role
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

In the past five weeks, Kyle Boller has taken on some ambitious roles on the Rams� practice field.

One week, Boller took on the task of impersonating Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, performing the many gesticulations and barking signals as the team�s scout team quarterback.

Last week, Boller put on the wrist band and gloves to mimic Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner. He�s also been Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford and David Garrard not to mention the first two games of the season when he handled Matt Hasselbeck and Jason Campbell duties.

With the news coming late Monday afternoon that starting quarterback Marc Bulger would miss three to six weeks with a fractured tibia in his leg, Boller returned to practice Wednesday in the role he knows the best.

�I am Kyle Boller this week,� Boller said. �I will be myself.�

As the backup to Bulger, repetitions with the first team offense have been few and far between for Boller. Instead, it�s been Boller�s job to lead the scout team offense in an effort to give the first team defense the closest approximation possible to the various opposing quarterbacks they will face that week.

But just because Boller has been out of action for the past month-plus doesn�t mean he isn�t prepared to step in and lead the Rams� offense.

In fact, Boller has had plenty of experience doing that in this, his first year with the team.

�I think that helps,� coach Steve Spagnuolo said. �I do. If you went a three, four month stretch with one quarterback and you hear the same voice the whole time, there�s kind of a natural learning curve there. I think they are used to Kyle. It was two weeks or so ago somebody asked me if we got Kyle some reps and that�s why we do it, to keep guys oiled up. He�ll be ready to step in there.�

Actually, Boller is going on his third stint this year as the team�s starting quarterback. When Bulger suffered a broken pinkie in a training camp practice, Boller stepped in and started the bulk of the exhibition contests.

Bulger returned in time for the season opener against Seattle and played the first two contests plus the opening quarter or so against Green Bay on Sept. 27.

But when Bulger took a shot that caused him to land on his right shoulder, Boller entered that contest against the Packers and proceeded to immediately lead the Rams on three scoring drives, including two touchdown tosses to tight end Daniel Fells.

Bulger missed the next two games and Boller started those in his place, leaving Boller plenty comfortable with his knowledge of the offense and the players in place.

In his three games with two starts this season, Boller has thrown for 481 yards with two touchdowns...
- Channel: RAMS NATION TALK
-11-25-2009, 05:15 PM
QB Decision May Be Needed

by r8rh8rmike

QB decision may be needed

BY BILL COATS
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/12/2009

Concerning the quarterbacks, it could be an interesting week at Rams Park.

Between Marc Bulger and Kyle Boller, which � if either � will emerge as the healthiest? And which � if either � will be running the No. 1 unit when practice resumes Wednesday?

The odds probably are with Bulger. Yet throughout the bulk of Sunday's 38-10 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Boller appeared to be pushing hard to hold on to the starting job he's had the past two weeks while Bulger recovers from an injured shoulder.

That changed on the second play of the fourth quarter. Boller was clobbered by defensive end Ray Edwards just as he released a pass into the end zone. The ball was intercepted and Boller was shaken up.

"I took a pretty good shot and I was a little fuzzy, a little dizzy," Boller said. "I don't think I was out completely ... (or) a hundred percent concussed."

Still, he was dazed enough that coach Steve Spagnuolo turned to Bulger, who served as Boller's backup after suiting up as the No. 3 quarterback last week.

"I don't think (playing) was the plan," said Bulger, who suffered a bruised rotator cuff Sept. 27 vs. Green Bay. "But when it happened to Kyle, we had to do it."

Although he was going against Minnesota's defensive reserves with the Vikings cruising 24-3, Bulger came back with a bang: He hit on all seven of his passes for 88 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Donnie Avery, and compiled a "perfect" passer rating of 158.3.

"I'm just glad we could go in and get some points and escape without hurting the shoulder again," said Bulger, who added that he believes he'll be sound enough to return to the lineup Sunday at Jacksonville.

"It's getting close," he said. "I still need a little more velocity throwing the ball. You never know till you get hit, so we'll see. But ... I think I'll be ready to play the game next week."

If asked, that is. Should Boller bounce back quickly, Spagnuolo might have a decision to make.

Boller was at the helm most of the way as the Rams cobbled together their most productive offensive showing of the year. They rolled up 400 yards, including a season-high 278 through the air, against the NFL's 11th-ranked defense. Four turnovers, three inside the Vikings' 10-yard line, snuffed scoring chances.

"Both quarterbacks looked really sharp," running back Steven Jackson said. "We were able to move the ball. We actually were able to stretch the field, and our receivers made plays."

Boller wound up completing 20 of 31 passes for 209 yards, with the interception; his passer rating was 70.5. He also lost...
- Channel: RAMS NATION TALK
-10-12-2009, 04:20 PM
St. Louis Rams' Marc Bulger Is Out, Kyle Boller Steps In

by r8rh8rmike

St. Louis Rams' Marc Bulger is out, Kyle Boller steps in

BY JIM THOMAS
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
08/18/2009

Life as a backup quarterback means you're always one play away from the spotlight. For Kyle Boller, that play took place Monday at Rams Park.

With the Rams working indoors because of rain, a center snap from Jason Brown doinked off the hands of quarterback Marc Bulger midway through practice. X-rays subsequently showed that Bulger had suffered a fractured pinky finger on his throwing hand. The two-time Pro Bowler will be sidelined at least two weeks.

"It kind of � not really popped � but I could tell he was hurting a little bit," Boller said. "He kind of stuck in there and went for a couple more (plays)."

But then Bulger headed off the practice field, and the next thing Boller knew, coach Steve Spagnuolo was in his ear.

"He said, 'You've got to go in right now,'" Boller said.

Boller took the rest of the practice reps with the starters in the morning, and took the full load with the first team in the afternoon.

During a situational goal-line period in the morning, Spagnuolo said Boller "pretty much did all the right things." And in the 7-on-7 passing period, "he stuck out," the coach said.

Nervous?

"Nah. You can't be nervous," Boller said. "That's part of the deal of being a backup. You've got to just be prepared to jump in there no matter the situation.

"It's not my first rodeo. I've been a starter. I've been out there. So I'm just going to go out there and be myself. Be a leader, and lead this team to hopefully a lot of scoring drives."

The No. 19 overall pick by Baltimore in 2003, Boller appeared in 53 games with 42 starts for the Ravens. He's that franchise's career leader in passing yards (7,846) but threw 44 interceptions to go with his 46 touchdown passes.

Last year in the Ravens' second exhibition game, a season-ending shoulder injury to Boller opened the door for rookie Joe Flacco at quarterback. Flacco nearly got the Ravens into the Super Bowl; Boller became expendable as an unrestricted free agent.

He signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with St. Louis, but only after the Rams got tired of waiting on Gus Frerotte. So Boller, 28, will start Friday against Atlanta, as well as the Rams' Aug. 27 contest at Cincinnati. But that should be it, unless Bulger's injury takes longer to heal than expected.

"There's what I'm going to call a small fracture in the pinky finger," Spagnuolo said. "It's not displaced, which is a good thing. ... You can't cast it. You don't do anything to it. He'll just tape it. We'll keep it immobilized for a couple of weeks, and we'll see where we are after that. He won't do very much for two...
- Channel: RAMS NATION TALK
-08-17-2009, 09:33 PM

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