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Things we noticed: Game 1
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_80b3d075-5edd-52e3-8b1e-d4742a73b03d.html
DOWNFIELD PASSES
There were about a billion reasons why the Rams were embarrassed by the Vikings, but the lack of a deep passing game wasn't one of them. The Rams completed five passes of 20 yards or more in the game, a total which exceeded any game over the entire 2013 season. And it was twice the Rams' season average of 2.5 pass completions of 20 yards-plus in 2013.
There were at least two other deep throws in the game. One came on the botched no-call _ the play in which a penalty flag was picked up when Brian Quick was shoved off his route. The other was a deep ball to Kenny Britt late in the game. Britt has a step or two on the defender but Austin Davis' pass was underthrown and the result was a pass breakup.
OFFICIATING
One of the most maddening things about NFL officiating is the inconsistency in deciding what's a penalty and what's not. There is way too much subjectivity.
When it comes to over-interpretation of the law, Ed Hochuli's crew takes the prize. (Maybe it's because Hochuli's day job is as an attorney.) Anyway, on the second-quarter play when Quick was shoved off his route by Xavier Rhodes, a flag was thrown.
According to Jeff Fisher, the explanation he got was that the flag was thrown for illegal contact. But since the ball was in the air when the throw was made the call had to be pass interference.
Again according to Fisher, he was told that officials thought the shove wasn't severe enough to be pass interference. So the flag was picked up. So according to Hochuli, it's illegal to gain an advantage by having contact with a wide receiver more than five yards down field; but it's OK to do so if the ball's in the air. Huh?
GREGG WILLIAMS' PLAYBOOK
We saw a three-man front on a few occasions. Some blitzes. But overall, this wasn't a game where the Rams' new defensive coordinator could dig deeply into his bag of tricks. After all, when you miss more than a dozen tackles and have trouble consistently shedding blocks, there's only so much you can do scheme-wise.
But give a game ball to Williams' counterpart on the other side of the line of scrimmage, Minnesota offensive coordinator Norv Turner for devising a game plan that neutralized the Rams' pass rush.
The Vikings didn't throw downfield often. They didn't have to because of their success with the running game, the short-passing game, and plays designed to test the Rams' perimeter.
What about those big cushions of days gone by at cornerback? Janoris Jenkins played close the line of scrimmage a lot. At the other corner, E.J. Gaines, a rookie making his first NFL start, was in off coverage more often. And on a couple of occasions, the Vikings took advantage by making quick throws in front of him.
JAKE LONG
On a disastrous day largely devoid of silver linings, left tackle Jake Long and his surgically repaired right knee made it through the opener unscathed.
"I felt fine," Long said afterwards. "I felt strong, quick out there. Everything was good _ just going out and going through a whole game physically. Being around piles, getting rolled up and all that stuff, it's definitely a confidence builder. But the loss overshadows that a lot."
Long played only 27 snaps in the entire preseason, all in Game No. 3 in Cleveland. He played all 67 Rams offensive plays against the Vikings.
"I talked to Jake after the ballgame," Fisher said. "He said he felt good; he was happy to be back. The number of plays wasn't an issue. You look at his production and the game itself, he did a nice job. So I think that's behind him."
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_80b3d075-5edd-52e3-8b1e-d4742a73b03d.html
DOWNFIELD PASSES
There were about a billion reasons why the Rams were embarrassed by the Vikings, but the lack of a deep passing game wasn't one of them. The Rams completed five passes of 20 yards or more in the game, a total which exceeded any game over the entire 2013 season. And it was twice the Rams' season average of 2.5 pass completions of 20 yards-plus in 2013.
There were at least two other deep throws in the game. One came on the botched no-call _ the play in which a penalty flag was picked up when Brian Quick was shoved off his route. The other was a deep ball to Kenny Britt late in the game. Britt has a step or two on the defender but Austin Davis' pass was underthrown and the result was a pass breakup.
OFFICIATING
One of the most maddening things about NFL officiating is the inconsistency in deciding what's a penalty and what's not. There is way too much subjectivity.
When it comes to over-interpretation of the law, Ed Hochuli's crew takes the prize. (Maybe it's because Hochuli's day job is as an attorney.) Anyway, on the second-quarter play when Quick was shoved off his route by Xavier Rhodes, a flag was thrown.
According to Jeff Fisher, the explanation he got was that the flag was thrown for illegal contact. But since the ball was in the air when the throw was made the call had to be pass interference.
Again according to Fisher, he was told that officials thought the shove wasn't severe enough to be pass interference. So the flag was picked up. So according to Hochuli, it's illegal to gain an advantage by having contact with a wide receiver more than five yards down field; but it's OK to do so if the ball's in the air. Huh?
GREGG WILLIAMS' PLAYBOOK
We saw a three-man front on a few occasions. Some blitzes. But overall, this wasn't a game where the Rams' new defensive coordinator could dig deeply into his bag of tricks. After all, when you miss more than a dozen tackles and have trouble consistently shedding blocks, there's only so much you can do scheme-wise.
But give a game ball to Williams' counterpart on the other side of the line of scrimmage, Minnesota offensive coordinator Norv Turner for devising a game plan that neutralized the Rams' pass rush.
The Vikings didn't throw downfield often. They didn't have to because of their success with the running game, the short-passing game, and plays designed to test the Rams' perimeter.
What about those big cushions of days gone by at cornerback? Janoris Jenkins played close the line of scrimmage a lot. At the other corner, E.J. Gaines, a rookie making his first NFL start, was in off coverage more often. And on a couple of occasions, the Vikings took advantage by making quick throws in front of him.
JAKE LONG
On a disastrous day largely devoid of silver linings, left tackle Jake Long and his surgically repaired right knee made it through the opener unscathed.
"I felt fine," Long said afterwards. "I felt strong, quick out there. Everything was good _ just going out and going through a whole game physically. Being around piles, getting rolled up and all that stuff, it's definitely a confidence builder. But the loss overshadows that a lot."
Long played only 27 snaps in the entire preseason, all in Game No. 3 in Cleveland. He played all 67 Rams offensive plays against the Vikings.
"I talked to Jake after the ballgame," Fisher said. "He said he felt good; he was happy to be back. The number of plays wasn't an issue. You look at his production and the game itself, he did a nice job. So I think that's behind him."
