Game Notes: Pre Season Game 1

[StealYoGurley]

1. Big game corners?- Sensabaugh and Joyner had decent coverage at times, but simply couldn't handle big receivers going over the top. Tru shadowed bigger WRs at times last year and he will have to do it again this year based on tonights showing. Or Gaines needs to get healthy.

2. Switching it up- Coples played DT and Westbrooks played DE. Hasn't been this way most of camp, but makes sense because Coples is bigger and Westbrooks plays his best at LE.

3. A debut to forget- a couple bad drops and a poor decision on a kickoff return. In serious need of some bounce back games if he wants to make the team

4. Captain Checkdowns v. Goff- Goff looked downfield, but occasionally held it too long. Keenum and Mannion were more efficient, but rarely looked down field, which won't work all the time when we face tighter coverage in the regular.

5. Spread it out- The new offense looks like a great hybrid of Boras' clever run schemes with more spread formations, shotgun, TEs flexed, and RBs heavily targeted out of the backfield.

6. Cooper's gotta to adjust to LA traffic- had a great punt return and a kick return, but left something to be desired as a WR. Was the first team WR in the slot over Marquez, but couldn't come up with two contested catches over the middle like you expect your slot WR to do.

7. Spruuuuuce- got open caught the ball more than we can say about alot of guys tonight. Hopefully the injury isn't too bad because he outplayed the two guys who played ahead of him in the slot.

8. Pleasantly anonymous O-Line- Cowboys D-line isn't anything special, but this group didn't stand out including G-Rob, which is a good thing. No penalties and keenum had plenty of time to throw.

9. That time Case thought he was Cam- Keenum was very efficient dinking and dunking outside of this play and Tavon's third down drop. He had plenty of time after cowboys bluffed the blitz and line gave him protection and for some strange reason he decided to try and run for it on 3rd and long WTF! Concerns me about what he can do outside of the quick passing game because he definitely doesn't have the arm strength to fit the ball in tight downfield windows.

10. Tre Who?- Cunnigham, Green, and Brown all ran hard, broke tackles and won their receiving matchups out of the backfield. Hell even Chase Reynolds scored a TD

 

[bubbaramfan]

Pokes kickoff return should have been called back. At least 3 blocks in the back on the return, the most glaring against Bradley Marquez.

McDonald played FS and Alexander SS. No ones going to miss McCloud.

1st team OL played OK. GRob LT, Wichmann LG, Barnes C, Brown RG, Saffold RT. GRob played well, opened holes, did his job in pass pro. Eveyrone else held up OK. OL play by the ones was not great but they didn't embarrass themselves either. OL shouldn't worry anyone as long as no one gets injured.

Too many dropped balls. Tavon dropped balls, Britt dropped balls, Quick dropped balls, Cooper dropped balls, Thomas dropped balls. And then, Oh, Shit! Someone goes over the middle and makes an acrobatic one handed catch! And then another one and finds the first down marker! and, no wait, now a touchdown! Awe, damn, its just that slowpoke Nelson Spruce. He's too slow to make the team. Oh, well we still have Bradley Marquez, he didn't drop a ball. Oh yeah he never had one thrown to him, but he plays ST just like Chase Reynolds, (who did catcha ball)

Ian Seau is a fooball player.

Sean Mannion is a football player and is going to play in the NFL for a long time. I hope its for the Rams. What I foresee happening is rams go with 3 this year, Keenum, Goff, and Mannion. Next year Goff takes over and Mannion is #2 and Keenum is looking for a job.

Andrew Donnal took the offseason to bulk up. He played very well at RT. Kush is gong to push Barnes for starting C.

Rams played disciplined ball. No stupid penalties. Only one offsides.

All in all not a bad game played by rams and came out ready to play. Tackling was good.

Rams have some serious talent throughout their roster. Come cut time there are going to be some hard decisions by the staff, and those cuts will be snapped up by other teams. When was the last time that happened. Just a few years ago if you got cut by the Rams, you were out of football.

I'm jazzed, Rams won and 89,000 plus at Colesium, nice crowd!

Rams are better than last year.

On to next pre season game....................

 

[PressureD41]

Didn't see the game... What was Ian Seau doing to make you give him props etc.

 

[bubbaramfan]

Ian played DE, got a sack, was pressuring Pokes Qb almost every play.

 

[VeteranRamFan]

Appreciate this assessment. Please see further questions below.

Pokes kickoff return should have been called back. At least 3 blocks in the back on the return, the most glaring against Bradley Marquez.
Pee pee'd me off big time!

McDonald played FS and Alexander SS. No ones going to miss McCloud.

1st team OL played OK. GRob LT, Wichmann LG, Barnes C, Brown RG, Saffold RT. GRob played well, opened holes, did his job in pass pro. Eveyrone else held up OK. OL play by the ones was not great but they didn't embarrass themselves either. OL shouldn't worry anyone as long as no one gets injured.

Too many dropped balls. Tavon dropped balls, Britt dropped balls, Quick dropped balls, Cooper dropped balls, Thomas dropped balls. And then, Oh, crap! Someone goes over the middle and makes an acrobatic one handed catch! And then another one and finds the first down marker! and, no wait, now a touchdown! Awe, damn, its just that slowpoke Nelson Spruce. He's too slow to make the team. Oh, well we still have Bradley Marquez, he didn't drop a ball. Oh yeah he never had one thrown to him, but he plays ST just like Chase Reynolds, (who did catcha ball)
That's my boy, Spruce. Been pulling for him and Higbee since I first saw them at camp. But don't discount Marquez. Scrappy player, has a place on the team.

Ian Seau is a fooball player.
He's good but I'm not sure he can make the 53. Give him a year on the PS.

Sean Mannion is a football player and is going to play in the NFL for a long time. I hope its for the Rams. What I foresee happening is rams go with 3 this year, Keenum, Goff, and Mannion. Next year Goff takes over and Mannion is #2 and Keenum is looking for a job.
Agreed, 100%.

Andrew Donnal took the offseason to bulk up. He played very well at RT. Kush is gong to push Barnes for starting C.
I was watching him during the game, solid blocker. Will watch the DVR and pay closer attention but I think you may be right.

Rams played disciplined ball. No stupid penalties. Only one offsides.

All in all not a bad game played by rams and came out ready to play. Tackling was good.

Rams have some serious talent throughout their roster. Come cut time there are going to be some hard decisions by the staff, and those cuts will be snapped up by other teams. When was the last time that happened. Just a few years ago if you got cut by the Rams, you were out of football.

I'm jazzed, Rams won and are back where they belong.

89,000 plus at Colesium, nice crowd!

Rams are better than last year.

On to next pre season game....................

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Easley has some good jump off the snap. At first I thought it was Donald. Then I rewound and got closer only to see 91. He and Coples were excellent signings IMO.

Mannion is slow and stiff legged. Teams would exploit that just like with Foles.

 

[TheDYVKX]

Didn't see the game... What was Ian Seau doing to make you give him props etc.

He got lots of pressure, Pressure. Very good game for him, he made his mark. Reminded me of Longacre last year or Westbrooks the year before. That DE we add that just stands out as a playmaker.

 

[Dxmissile]

Easley has some good jump off the snap. At first I thought it was Donald. Then I rewound and got closer only to see 91. He and Coples were excellent signings IMO.

Mannion is slow and stiff legged. Teams would exploit that just like with Foles.

Mannion is a traditional pocket passer who knows where to go with the ball. GRUDEN was praising him all day about his blitz recognition. Goff has elite footwork but where did that get him.. Stop downing Mannion to prop up Goff, Goff doesnt need it.

 

[Mojo Ram]

My only real concern tonight was the defense looking slow and a bit uninterested at times(mainly the starters but not exclusive to those guys). Not finishing plays, not running the play out away from the ball. Not typical Rams defense when the games count, but i've seen this before. GW will get them ready.

 

[shovelpass]

From what I've read, only 2 penalties. Which is great, even in preseason.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Mannion is a traditional pocket passer who knows where to go with the ball. GRUDEN was praising him all day about his blitz recognition. Goff has elite footwork but where did that get him.. Stop downing Mannion to prop up Goff, Goff doesnt need it.

LOL I am not propping up anyone. I just thought Mannion reminded me of Foles from the waste down, especially when he tried to run.

 

[…..]

I didn't see Mannion as slow with poor foot work or stiff legs.

I saw him as controlled and deliberate and playing like he only had one chance to get it right. I was pretty impressed.

Interesting how we see things differently.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

Now that the 1st game is over i think the wrs will bounce back next week. Thomas did the same thing on the 1st day of camp then came out the next day and made plays. Just nervous i think. The 1s generally seemed unfocused. They'll get better.

.

 

[Legatron4]

I'm not really concerned about the D. We always look like garbage in the pre season and then turn into a different team week 1(most of the time). CBs had good coverage and just have to work on playing the ball instead of the receiver.

Speaking of receivers, Thomas and Cooper will come into their own. They're both very talented and I don't see them being cut. Quick didn't look too bad but I wouldn't be upset if he was sent packing. We're set at RB for the next 10 years at least.

I liked what I saw in Goff. I haven't seen a Rams QB with that kind of arm strength since Bradford. Foles could launch it but not quite with that type of velocity. Keenum can win games with a Denver Broncos like atmosphere. They should have traded to get him instead of Sanchez. They'd be going back to the super bowl this year. Mannion was cool under pressure and made ok decisions. Definitely an improvement over last year and showed he has a place in this league.

Other then that, I'm pumped for next week.

 

[BonifayRam]

Didn't see the game... What was Ian Seau doing to make you give him props etc.

He made RDE Eugene Sims who Ian Seau backed up look like a first cut bait material. Sims had a real bad outing he was slow & the Cowboys OL moved him around like he was a small DB. Matt Longacre & Seau looked good @ RDE. Seau is a little light but he has power too.

So much for TJ McDonald being listed as the 3rd team Strong Safety on the new depth chart....but he very well could be .....but he was 1st team Deep/Free Safety yesterday.

 

[StealYoGurley]

McDonald played FS and Alexander SS. No ones going to miss McCloud.

Both safeties tackled really well didn't really sees them tested in coverage, so that will be something to observe as we move forward.

1st team OL played OK. GRob LT, Wichmann LG, Barnes C, Brown RG, Saffold RT. GRob played well, opened holes, did his job in pass pro. Eveyrone else held up OK. OL play by the ones was not great but they didn't embarrass themselves either. OL shouldn't worry anyone as long as no one gets injured.

Yup like i said pleasantly anonymous. I want to see GRob when he starts seeing stunts and more blitzes because he has really struggled with those kind of things in the past. However, this game he played well and so did the rest of the line gave Keenum plenty of time even if he was just going to throw short with all that time.

Too many dropped balls. Tavon dropped balls, Britt dropped balls, Quick dropped balls, Cooper dropped balls, Thomas dropped balls.

I didn't see Quick or Britt drop balls, but Tavon and Cooper have to hang on to those balls in critical situations. I didn't think Spruce would be able to beat out Thomas, but now I have serious doubts about that, his drops were the most egregious.

 

[Dxmissile]

LOL I am not propping up anyone. I just thought Mannion reminded me of Foles from the waste down, especially when he tried to run.

Lol that was funny but he did get 4 yards.. I thought his delivery was quick and on time accurate and he showed he could read a basic defense and recognize the blitz.

 

[lockdnram21]

Pokes kickoff return should have been called back. At least 3 blocks in the back on the return, the most glaring against Bradley Marquez.

McDonald played FS and Alexander SS. No ones going to miss McCloud.

1st team OL played OK. GRob LT, Wichmann LG, Barnes C, Brown RG, Saffold RT. GRob played well, opened holes, did his job in pass pro. Eveyrone else held up OK. OL play by the ones was not great but they didn't embarrass themselves either. OL shouldn't worry anyone as long as no one gets injured.

Too many dropped balls. Tavon dropped balls, Britt dropped balls, Quick dropped balls, Cooper dropped balls, Thomas dropped balls. And then, Oh, crap! Someone goes over the middle and makes an acrobatic one handed catch! And then another one and finds the first down marker! and, no wait, now a touchdown! Awe, damn, its just that slowpoke Nelson Spruce. He's too slow to make the team. Oh, well we still have Bradley Marquez, he didn't drop a ball. Oh yeah he never had one thrown to him, but he plays ST just like Chase Reynolds, (who did catcha ball)

Ian Seau is a fooball player.

Sean Mannion is a football player and is going to play in the NFL for a long time. I hope its for the Rams. What I foresee happening is rams go with 3 this year, Keenum, Goff, and Mannion. Next year Goff takes over and Mannion is #2 and Keenum is looking for a job.

Andrew Donnal took the offseason to bulk up. He played very well at RT. Kush is gong to push Barnes for starting C.

Rams played disciplined ball. No stupid penalties. Only one offsides.

All in all not a bad game played by rams and came out ready to play. Tackling was good.

Rams have some serious talent throughout their roster. Come cut time there are going to be some hard decisions by the staff, and those cuts will be snapped up by other teams. When was the last time that happened. Just a few years ago if you got cut by the Rams, you were out of football.

I'm jazzed, Rams won and are back where they belong.

89,000 plus at Colesium, nice crowd!

Rams are better than last year.

On to next pre season game....................

When did Quick have a drop I only seen him get 1 target and he caught it.... I like Spruce but want to see him vs 1s.
As of right now I don't think Mike Thomas makes team

 

[Fatbot]

My little $0.02 report:

Stock up-

Nelson Spruce: not sure how much of the offense will be that Edelman stuff, but looks like he can deliver it consistently, something the WR corps has lacked.

Tyler Higbee: got open and made all the catches, but a little disappointing everything was so near the line of scrimmage. Have to wait to see how he can attack down the seam.

Starting OL: no huge let downs, no holding, no stupid penalties (except the b.s. Barnes thing). Keenum made them look worse by abandoning the pocket on that ill-advised 3rd down scramble. Barnes and Brown were a little shaky but mostly it was a good start. The choice to move Saffold and start Wichmann looks correct, Saffold was fine and Wichmann opened holes in the run game, got downfield on screen. Showed much better than Jamon Brown who looked lost at times.

Backup OTs not named Isaiah: Williams was pretty good, Donnal very good. No Battle sighting.

Backup G/C: Folkerts had a surprisingly good showing at LG, Kush followed up his Hard Knocks stardom by having crisp snaps and overall good play at C, a little shaky at G. Rhaney did well too, especially considering he had Arkin next to him.

Aaron Green: lived up to his hype, made plays in the open field. All the backup RBs looked just fine.

TE/FB blocking: when Harkey's 100% with no nagging injuries at the start of the year, he's great. Was also surprised by J.Cunningham finally living up to his billing actually getting some inline push. Laskey also had nice lead blocks.

Ian Seau: provided a nice spark that helped turn the game around, drew a holding flag, but also didn't finish off the sack for that broken big play. Made up for it with another sack.

Jeff Fisher: conspicuously absent were all the mental farts and stupid penalties that have plagued this team. Perhaps the 7-9 speech is more than lip service finally and mental discipline is here.

Stock down-

Starting DL: got stymied by the vaunted Cowboys OL but yes preseason and they'll be fine. Smart to sit Quinn, still wondering why AD was playing at all.

DT rotation: Coples had one amazing play, but it didn't outweigh his many more terrible snaps. He's a gap shooter with high risk, high reward. Easely is also a gap shooter but more consistent. Maybe combined they are one Nick Fairley but neither was consistently stout, the Cowboys ran up the gut at will.

DE rotation: Longacre had great run support. Westbrooks got a sack but otherwise looked a bit slow off the ball and was bad against the run. Nobody showing anything too special with Quinn on the bench except for Seau. Need to let him work against some better competition to see if it's real.

All CBs: Dak Prescott attacked downfield at will. Dak.. Prescott.. Not only did every CB get torched but the return of the 10-yard cushion was on display, the worst of all worlds. Hill might have been the only one that wasn't awful thanks to sure tackling.

Coty Sensabaugh: all CBs bad, but have to single him out for his annoying "incomplete" gesticulation act to the ref afterwards every time he got beat.

Mo Alexander: provided some run support but gave up a big gainer in coverage (in his defense, so did everybody). He didn't really do anything to allay the concern he's more a SS than a FS.

WRs: didn't do anything downfield, lots of horrible drops.

Alex Ogletree: had mixed results, got blown out of the middle at times but had a nice read & stuff play too. Didn't do much to allay the concerns about his potential weaknesses causing inconsistency in the middle.

Chase Reynolds: yes there were 3 penalties on that opening kick return, but he was the one guy that wasn't touched, and got completely juked and whiffed. Also blew the punt coverage touchback. Shouldn't happen if he's on the roster as the ST specialist.

Garrett Reynolds: got suckered out of position by the blitz that caused the Goff INT. The younger kids looked much better.

Mike Groh: yeesh, somehow I don't think Adam Gase taught him to call absolutely nothing downfield. With all due respect to Hope Solo, that was a cowardly display of pussy ball of a passing game. Hopefully it was just a preseason "vanilla" plan.

 

[OldSchool]

You can clearly see below the guy #41 on the cowboys pushing Cody Bryant in the back right in front of the play. Closer to the return man however is tackling Cody Bryant from behind and Bradley Marquez getting hit from behind (this ones close could be the shoulder). Absolutely should have been called back but it's preseason clearly the refs weren't in form yet either.