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Much of the preseason talk at Rams Park has revolved around the addition of offensive weapons Jared Cook and Tavon Austin to the starting lineup.
But in Thursday’s 27-19 preseason loss to the Browns in Cleveland, neither player had much of an impact.
Cook, one of the team’s key free-agent acquisitions, was on the field for 12 of the first unit’s 14 plays, but the multi-talented tight end was never even targeted. Austin, a wide receiver selected eighth overall in the draft in late April, had one pass thrown in his direction. It fell incomplete.
Austin, who was on the field for nine offensive plays, also lined up once for a punt return. But the punt was short and rolled dead near midfield.
“Tavon had one opportunity, tough catch on a great throw, but he should’ve made that catch,” coach Jeff Fisher said during a Friday afternoon news conference at Rams Park in Earth City. “We want to get him involved more in the offense.”
And Cook?
“It just happens,” Fisher said. “When you’re going to play your starters however many, 12 to 15 to 18 plays, it’s hard to get everybody a couple targets and/or catches and still hand the ball off. It’s just wishful thinking.”
Fisher continued: “We have to try to get the ball in the hands of other people.”
PUNT RETURN fiasco
Early in the second quarter, the Browns stretched their lead to 17-0 when Travis Benjamin fielded a booming 66-yard punt from the Rams’ Johnny Hekker on the right side, took off to his left and turned the corner to go untouched down the left sideline for a 91-yard touchdown.
On the play, the only Rams to come close to Benjamin were defensive end Eugene Sims, who may have been held on the right end, and Hekker, who whiffed on a tackle attempt near midfield.
Said Fisher, “I think it’s important the young guys understand we have rules and responsibilities, we have coverage lanes, we have guys who have to contain and guys that have to go to their landmarks, and when you don’t, this is what happens.”
“In addition, we had a long punt with no hang time. John’s been hitting it very, very well, but he just cut one loose and that’s what happens when you bang one like that.
“You can’t have that ball in our opener against that returner,”
Fisher was referring to the Rams’ season opener against the visiting Arizona Cardinals and return star Patrick Peterson.
On Hekker’s next punt, a 50-yarder with a 5-second hang time, the Rams’ Rodney McLeod was there to make the tackle.
Benjamin, who had a 93-yard punt return touchdown last season against the Kansas City Chiefs, is looking to fill the return shoes of Josh Cribbs, who left Cleveland and signed as a free agent with the Oakland Raiders. Earlier in the week, Benjamin told Cleveland writers he was one of the five fastest players in the NFL and then backed it up with his dash Thursday night.
After just one preseason game, Fisher is stressing patience.
“Overall, we got in a lot of good work from the standpoint of two-minute drives on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We put our defense in some difficult situations on third downs. When you sit back and look at all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — there’s a lot of things to learn from, a lot of mistakes to correct.
“As coaches, you’d rather have it that way than the other way, where you play a perfect game and just move on to the next one.”
EVERYBODY PLAYS
(ALMOST)
With the exception of No. 4 quarterback Timothy Jenkins, the Rams got some playing time for all 81 healthy players Thursday.
“I thought from an operations standpoint, the substitution and play-calling, I thought we did a good job,” Fisher said. “And I’m talking about the entire staff and the players because you have to put the responsibility on them, too. We had one situation where we had 10 guys on the field on extra point after the punt return and a couple of guys had just been told they were done playing, we’ll take that responsibility.
“But it is, it is quite a challenge when you have that many players playing.”
GOING FOR TWO
The Rams went for two — and failed — following a 53-yard pass from Kellen Clemens to Raymond Radway with 2:04 to play and were planning to go for two again if they could’ve scored on their final drive.
“You play these games to try to win and two points puts you into overtime and you get to keep playing your young players,” Fisher said.
SMACK CAM ENDS?
Smack Cam, the training camp prank at Rams Park that involved defensive players “attacking” one another with whipped cream pies, has run its course, according to defensive end Chris Long.
“One day, we all walked in, it was Monday of this week, and everybody just kind of felt like it was over,” the sixth-year pro said after Thursday’s game. “It was like a cloud had cleared and everybody was ready (to move on). So I think it’s over.”
Or is it?
“He said it’s pretty much over?” coach Jeff Fisher asked when asked about the end of Smack Cam. “If I was Cortland (Finnegan), I’d have my head on a swivel.”
Finnegan, a veteran cornerback, originated the game as a way to keep things loose in camp.
“I was aware of it; I just wanted to make sure it stayed under control,” Fisher said.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE
The Rams get back to work today in Earth City with a practice scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. The workout is free and open to the public.
Much of the preseason talk at Rams Park has revolved around the addition of offensive weapons Jared Cook and Tavon Austin to the starting lineup.
But in Thursday’s 27-19 preseason loss to the Browns in Cleveland, neither player had much of an impact.
Cook, one of the team’s key free-agent acquisitions, was on the field for 12 of the first unit’s 14 plays, but the multi-talented tight end was never even targeted. Austin, a wide receiver selected eighth overall in the draft in late April, had one pass thrown in his direction. It fell incomplete.
Austin, who was on the field for nine offensive plays, also lined up once for a punt return. But the punt was short and rolled dead near midfield.
“Tavon had one opportunity, tough catch on a great throw, but he should’ve made that catch,” coach Jeff Fisher said during a Friday afternoon news conference at Rams Park in Earth City. “We want to get him involved more in the offense.”
And Cook?
“It just happens,” Fisher said. “When you’re going to play your starters however many, 12 to 15 to 18 plays, it’s hard to get everybody a couple targets and/or catches and still hand the ball off. It’s just wishful thinking.”
Fisher continued: “We have to try to get the ball in the hands of other people.”
PUNT RETURN fiasco
Early in the second quarter, the Browns stretched their lead to 17-0 when Travis Benjamin fielded a booming 66-yard punt from the Rams’ Johnny Hekker on the right side, took off to his left and turned the corner to go untouched down the left sideline for a 91-yard touchdown.
On the play, the only Rams to come close to Benjamin were defensive end Eugene Sims, who may have been held on the right end, and Hekker, who whiffed on a tackle attempt near midfield.
Said Fisher, “I think it’s important the young guys understand we have rules and responsibilities, we have coverage lanes, we have guys who have to contain and guys that have to go to their landmarks, and when you don’t, this is what happens.”
“In addition, we had a long punt with no hang time. John’s been hitting it very, very well, but he just cut one loose and that’s what happens when you bang one like that.
“You can’t have that ball in our opener against that returner,”
Fisher was referring to the Rams’ season opener against the visiting Arizona Cardinals and return star Patrick Peterson.
On Hekker’s next punt, a 50-yarder with a 5-second hang time, the Rams’ Rodney McLeod was there to make the tackle.
Benjamin, who had a 93-yard punt return touchdown last season against the Kansas City Chiefs, is looking to fill the return shoes of Josh Cribbs, who left Cleveland and signed as a free agent with the Oakland Raiders. Earlier in the week, Benjamin told Cleveland writers he was one of the five fastest players in the NFL and then backed it up with his dash Thursday night.
After just one preseason game, Fisher is stressing patience.
“Overall, we got in a lot of good work from the standpoint of two-minute drives on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We put our defense in some difficult situations on third downs. When you sit back and look at all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — there’s a lot of things to learn from, a lot of mistakes to correct.
“As coaches, you’d rather have it that way than the other way, where you play a perfect game and just move on to the next one.”
EVERYBODY PLAYS
(ALMOST)
With the exception of No. 4 quarterback Timothy Jenkins, the Rams got some playing time for all 81 healthy players Thursday.
“I thought from an operations standpoint, the substitution and play-calling, I thought we did a good job,” Fisher said. “And I’m talking about the entire staff and the players because you have to put the responsibility on them, too. We had one situation where we had 10 guys on the field on extra point after the punt return and a couple of guys had just been told they were done playing, we’ll take that responsibility.
“But it is, it is quite a challenge when you have that many players playing.”
GOING FOR TWO
The Rams went for two — and failed — following a 53-yard pass from Kellen Clemens to Raymond Radway with 2:04 to play and were planning to go for two again if they could’ve scored on their final drive.
“You play these games to try to win and two points puts you into overtime and you get to keep playing your young players,” Fisher said.
SMACK CAM ENDS?
Smack Cam, the training camp prank at Rams Park that involved defensive players “attacking” one another with whipped cream pies, has run its course, according to defensive end Chris Long.
“One day, we all walked in, it was Monday of this week, and everybody just kind of felt like it was over,” the sixth-year pro said after Thursday’s game. “It was like a cloud had cleared and everybody was ready (to move on). So I think it’s over.”
Or is it?
“He said it’s pretty much over?” coach Jeff Fisher asked when asked about the end of Smack Cam. “If I was Cortland (Finnegan), I’d have my head on a swivel.”
Finnegan, a veteran cornerback, originated the game as a way to keep things loose in camp.
“I was aware of it; I just wanted to make sure it stayed under control,” Fisher said.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE
The Rams get back to work today in Earth City with a practice scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. The workout is free and open to the public.
