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Gordon: On-field concerns keep mounting for Rams
• By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_8c685611-f0cc-5733-b294-564ed0de5a18.html
Los Angeles Rams fans got an up-close look at their coveted team during its brief interlude in Oxnard, Calif. They came in force, wearing colors and bearing signs.
Coach Jeff Fisher is an Oxnard guy, so he got to enjoy some home cooking during a family visit.
“I grew up here and went to school here and it’s a great area. I actually was here, I came back in 1991 with the Rams,” Fisher said. “They miss their pro team. It’s understandable. That’s why there’s so much talk about the potential of bringing a franchise out here.”
Those West Coast loyalists saw what St. Louis-area fans have seen the past two seasons. The Rams are loaded with explosive athletes on defense, but heavily populated with still-developing players on offense.
That lack of polish led to a rough exhibition opener, an ugly 18-3 loss to the Oakland Raiders. The Rams hit a couple of big plays right off the bat with new quarterback Nick Foles at the helm, then fizzled.
The over-the-top strike to Lance Kendricks reminded everybody how much big-play potential the Rams possess at tight end. Foles’ long arm combined with the play-action potential of the offense and the speed of Kendricks and Jared Cook could be the most dynamic aspect of this attack.
Tavon Austin turned a screen pass into a 35-yard burst, reminding fans that he has some of the quickest feet in the game. But otherwise his downfield route-running still offered much room for improvement.
The overriding Rams’ theme in Oakland was sloppiness. This is typical in exhibition openers with starters playing sparingly and many roster long shots seeing significant time after limited work time in camp.
On the other hand, excessive penalties have marred the Rams in their real games under Fisher. Yes, these were mostly scrubs screwing up.
But teams build precision day by day in practice. At some point it needs to show on the field.
Year after year this coaching staff vows to clean things up, and year after year this team gets flagged for self-destructive penalties.
Friday night’s penalty party was not an encouraging start, particularly on the heels of a sloppy intrasquad scrimmage at Lindenwood University. Fisher explained away some of the Friday’s flags, but they tend to follow his team like flies chasing a garbage truck.
Starting left guard Rodger Saffold suffered his regularly scheduled shoulder injury Friday, this time a minor tweak to his so-called “good” shoulder. That ushered Brandon Washington into the fray as a fill-in ... and he quickly got pyloned for a sack.
Rookies Rob Havenstein, the starting right tackle, and Jamon Brown, the No. 1 right guard, predictably were better as run blockers than as pass blockers. Given the team’s dearth of proven depth, the progress (or lack thereof) could be pivotal.
Keep a close watch on Havenstein. Like Greg Robinson last year, Havenstein is making the challenging adaptation from a run-oriented collegiate scheme to blocking on the island in the NFL.
He has three games to improve his pass blocking technique to prepare for the assault. And once the real games start, he will have to adjust to more aggressive defensive schemes designed to exploit his inexperience.
(The Rams’ decision to go with such a youthful offensive line is baffling. Sure, many of their pricey free agent linemen ultimately failed here, but going the other extreme in Year 4 of a rebuild made little sense.)
As usual, the Rams suffered a huge injury hit before the preseason schedule even started. Starting cornerback E.J. Gaines suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury. Last season he was the team’s best cover cornerback as a sixth-round pick out of the University of Missouri.
Cornerback injuries are one of those things the Rams do really, really well. Last year Trumaine Johnson suffered a serious preseason knee injury that thrust Gaines into prominence.
Now Johnson is back and showing signs he is ready to replace Gaines as the starter opposite Janoris Jenkins. His performance in Oakland was encouraging. Brandon McGee also could bid for regular work, but he missed most of last season because of a nagging foot ailment that still is hobbling him.
Running back injuries also have been a familiar theme over the years. This season the Rams got a head start on the issue drafting a feature back, Todd Gurley, who is rehabilitating his surgically repaired knee. He may not get back to full speed until well into the season.
In the interim, incumbent running backs Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham, Isaiah Pead, Chase Reynolds, Trey Watts (who will serve a four-game suspension if he makes the team) and undrafted free agent Malcolm Brown are holding the fort.
As former Rams running back Zac Stacy would say, “Yikes!”
Cunningham, an undrafted free agent, has been the achiever in this group while Pead, a second-round pick in 2012, remains one of the major draft busts of the Les Snead era.
So, yes, the Rams have plenty of work to do during the next three exhibition games.
“I think we just made too many mistakes, penalties, maybe missed opportunities with reads, but that happens this time of year,” Foles told reporters in Oxnard. “You’re getting back on the field, you’re getting things going, game plan-wise you’re only out there for a couple of series.
“With the film, watching the film you see so many things that you come out here and correct. I thought the guys came out here today and we’ve improved. We still have a ways to go, but I see us moving in the right direction.”
• By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_8c685611-f0cc-5733-b294-564ed0de5a18.html
Los Angeles Rams fans got an up-close look at their coveted team during its brief interlude in Oxnard, Calif. They came in force, wearing colors and bearing signs.
Coach Jeff Fisher is an Oxnard guy, so he got to enjoy some home cooking during a family visit.
“I grew up here and went to school here and it’s a great area. I actually was here, I came back in 1991 with the Rams,” Fisher said. “They miss their pro team. It’s understandable. That’s why there’s so much talk about the potential of bringing a franchise out here.”
Those West Coast loyalists saw what St. Louis-area fans have seen the past two seasons. The Rams are loaded with explosive athletes on defense, but heavily populated with still-developing players on offense.
That lack of polish led to a rough exhibition opener, an ugly 18-3 loss to the Oakland Raiders. The Rams hit a couple of big plays right off the bat with new quarterback Nick Foles at the helm, then fizzled.
The over-the-top strike to Lance Kendricks reminded everybody how much big-play potential the Rams possess at tight end. Foles’ long arm combined with the play-action potential of the offense and the speed of Kendricks and Jared Cook could be the most dynamic aspect of this attack.
Tavon Austin turned a screen pass into a 35-yard burst, reminding fans that he has some of the quickest feet in the game. But otherwise his downfield route-running still offered much room for improvement.
The overriding Rams’ theme in Oakland was sloppiness. This is typical in exhibition openers with starters playing sparingly and many roster long shots seeing significant time after limited work time in camp.
On the other hand, excessive penalties have marred the Rams in their real games under Fisher. Yes, these were mostly scrubs screwing up.
But teams build precision day by day in practice. At some point it needs to show on the field.
Year after year this coaching staff vows to clean things up, and year after year this team gets flagged for self-destructive penalties.
Friday night’s penalty party was not an encouraging start, particularly on the heels of a sloppy intrasquad scrimmage at Lindenwood University. Fisher explained away some of the Friday’s flags, but they tend to follow his team like flies chasing a garbage truck.
Starting left guard Rodger Saffold suffered his regularly scheduled shoulder injury Friday, this time a minor tweak to his so-called “good” shoulder. That ushered Brandon Washington into the fray as a fill-in ... and he quickly got pyloned for a sack.
Rookies Rob Havenstein, the starting right tackle, and Jamon Brown, the No. 1 right guard, predictably were better as run blockers than as pass blockers. Given the team’s dearth of proven depth, the progress (or lack thereof) could be pivotal.
Keep a close watch on Havenstein. Like Greg Robinson last year, Havenstein is making the challenging adaptation from a run-oriented collegiate scheme to blocking on the island in the NFL.
He has three games to improve his pass blocking technique to prepare for the assault. And once the real games start, he will have to adjust to more aggressive defensive schemes designed to exploit his inexperience.
(The Rams’ decision to go with such a youthful offensive line is baffling. Sure, many of their pricey free agent linemen ultimately failed here, but going the other extreme in Year 4 of a rebuild made little sense.)
As usual, the Rams suffered a huge injury hit before the preseason schedule even started. Starting cornerback E.J. Gaines suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury. Last season he was the team’s best cover cornerback as a sixth-round pick out of the University of Missouri.
Cornerback injuries are one of those things the Rams do really, really well. Last year Trumaine Johnson suffered a serious preseason knee injury that thrust Gaines into prominence.
Now Johnson is back and showing signs he is ready to replace Gaines as the starter opposite Janoris Jenkins. His performance in Oakland was encouraging. Brandon McGee also could bid for regular work, but he missed most of last season because of a nagging foot ailment that still is hobbling him.
Running back injuries also have been a familiar theme over the years. This season the Rams got a head start on the issue drafting a feature back, Todd Gurley, who is rehabilitating his surgically repaired knee. He may not get back to full speed until well into the season.
In the interim, incumbent running backs Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham, Isaiah Pead, Chase Reynolds, Trey Watts (who will serve a four-game suspension if he makes the team) and undrafted free agent Malcolm Brown are holding the fort.
As former Rams running back Zac Stacy would say, “Yikes!”
Cunningham, an undrafted free agent, has been the achiever in this group while Pead, a second-round pick in 2012, remains one of the major draft busts of the Les Snead era.
So, yes, the Rams have plenty of work to do during the next three exhibition games.
“I think we just made too many mistakes, penalties, maybe missed opportunities with reads, but that happens this time of year,” Foles told reporters in Oxnard. “You’re getting back on the field, you’re getting things going, game plan-wise you’re only out there for a couple of series.
“With the film, watching the film you see so many things that you come out here and correct. I thought the guys came out here today and we’ve improved. We still have a ways to go, but I see us moving in the right direction.”
