Reflecting on Pre-Season Game 1

[DR RAM]

Back to the discussion.

I re-watched the first half offensive line play, mostly in slow mo and frame by 2. For the positive only. Saffold, Watkins, Turner, and Dahl played pretty well. Moose had a couple of moments. Saffold is using some new techniques compared to last year and the year before. Before I say what, did anyone else notice one of his changes???

 

[PhxRam]

Otherwise I'll just assume it's time to pop it and lock it. :ww:

In the immortal words of Doc Holiday...

"I have two guns. One for each of ya."

Like he said. It's just miscommunication. I ain't mad.

Lol. Saved into my gif folder

 

[bluecoconuts]

I watched a low res choppy stream, I could hardly tell if a receiver made a clean break on his route let alone details on the line. I did think that Saffold looked more like his rookie year than last. I also felt that Smith made errors that were fixable with another few weeks of coaching rather than just lack of ability. I think he wins that starting job by game 3.

 

[-X-]

Back to the discussion.

I re-watched the first half offensive line play, mostly in slow mo and frame by 2. For the positive only. Saffold, Watkins, Turner, and Dahl played pretty well. Moose had a couple of moments. Saffold is using some new techniques compared to last year and the year before. Before I say what, did anyone else notice one of his changes???

Yeah, I liked the first series. They were getting to the line quick and getting set quick. I agree that Turner might fill another spot nicely once Wells gets back and gets acclimated. Moose looked good to me too, but they will have to polish up the blitz pickups, and that extends beyond the line.

I didn't study it like you did, so you'll have to enlighten me about Saffold.

 

[PhxRam]

Back to the discussion.

I re-watched the first half offensive line play, mostly in slow mo and frame by 2. For the positive only. Saffold, Watkins, Turner, and Dahl played pretty well. Moose had a couple of moments. Saffold is using some new techniques compared to last year and the year before. Before I say what, did anyone else notice one of his changes???

Probably imagining things but he looks to be more square to the line.

 

[Anonymous]

Although (barely) on topic, things started to get a little personal, don't forget the rules guys. It applies to everyone. We're all Rams fans here, and we're all entitled to our own feelings. So that being said lets just talk about the game, if we want to discuss the O-line more in depth (with respect of course) we can go into another thread so that people can discuss the game as a whole here.

Otherwise I'll just assume it's time to pop it and lock it. :ww:

We cleared it up though. Someone thought I was doing something I wasn't. That indeed sounded personal to me. In fact I had no clue where it came from. Turns out it's just one of those misunderstandings. One guy means one thing by a phrase, another guy means another. Easy enough to clear up. Shrug. :mrgreen:

 

[Anonymous]

I watched a low res choppy stream, I could hardly tell if a receiver made a clean break on his route let alone details on the line. I did think that Saffold looked more like his rookie year than last. I also felt that Smith made errors that were fixable with another few weeks of coaching rather than just lack of ability. I think he wins that starting job by game 3.

I agree. I didn't replay it and I didn't study it. But, watching, and then reading around after, it adds up to this--all I really saw were mental errors. Not a line that got beaten--or for that matter TEs and RBs who got beaten (cause it wasn't just the OL)--but guys who don't know the offense yet. The guy who I suspect may not overcome those kinds of errors, though, is Ojinakka. I think with everyone else, it's just time and coaching with a new system. I don't expect a dominant line, but I do think they smooth things out and will be fine.

 

[DR RAM]

Back to the discussion.

I re-watched the first half offensive line play, mostly in slow mo and frame by 2. For the positive only. Saffold, Watkins, Turner, and Dahl played pretty well. Moose had a couple of moments. Saffold is using some new techniques compared to last year and the year before. Before I say what, did anyone else notice one of his changes???

Yeah, I liked the first series. They were getting to the line quick and getting set quick. I agree that Turner might fill another spot nicely once Wells gets back and gets acclimated. Moose looked good to me too, but they will have to polish up the blitz pickups, and that extends beyond the line.

I didn't study it like you did, so you'll have to enlighten me about Saffold.

I will, but I'd like to see if anyone else picked up on it.

Moose badly missed one pull block, but he missed it full speed, and chose to double team another player. I'm OK with that. There were a couple other little things. Our boy, Brit Miller was the reason that Sam got hit on the long throw, and it was close, I couldn't even tell, but he may have been hit on the release. That's frame by frame on a 10 foot screen, and I couldn't tell, but regardless, Smith was well covered, even being held at the time of the throw. Sam may have thrown the ball out of bounds on purpose. That's what I think he did.

I was very pleasantly surprised with Watkins and Turner, although I don't know if it was Turner who missed some line calls.

Both right tackles got beaten, and both made really bad decisions on who to block at times in pass pro. Valdez, drops his head in pass pro, and he's not quick enough. Long didn't look very good at times, but would like to see more of him. Our defense cost our offense reps. Hughes had a coupe nice blocks, one in particular, but quard is extremely new to him. I still think it's his best spot in the long run, but the Rams did him a disservice last year and this only playing him at LT.

Mattison didn't play very well, IMO.

 

[DR RAM]

Back to the discussion.

I re-watched the first half offensive line play, mostly in slow mo and frame by 2. For the positive only. Saffold, Watkins, Turner, and Dahl played pretty well. Moose had a couple of moments. Saffold is using some new techniques compared to last year and the year before. Before I say what, did anyone else notice one of his changes???

Probably imagining things but he looks to be more square to the line.

That's one.

 

[-X-]

I couldn't even tell, but he may have been hit on the release. That's frame by frame on a 10 foot screen, and I couldn't tell, but regardless, Smith was well covered, even being held at the time of the throw. Sam may have thrown the ball out of bounds on purpose. That's what I think he did.

Did you get the all 22 from NFL.com (comes with the replay package)?

I can't wait to try that out, but it won't be available until after the first regular season game is over.

I blew through this one on my DVR, but I'll go back and watch it more closely.

 

[DR RAM]

I couldn't even tell, but he may have been hit on the release. That's frame by frame on a 10 foot screen, and I couldn't tell, but regardless, Smith was well covered, even being held at the time of the throw. Sam may have thrown the ball out of bounds on purpose. That's what I think he did.

Did you get the all 22 from NFL.com (comes with the replay package)?

I can't wait to try that out, but it won't be available until after the first regular season game is over.

I blew through this one on my DVR, but I'll go back and watch it more closely.

I will get it, but not yet, because I can't use it yet. I can't wait to see the coaches tape :ww: It will sure help what I like to do. Watching line splits to me will be like others watching porn :twisted:

 

[-X-]

I couldn't even tell, but he may have been hit on the release. That's frame by frame on a 10 foot screen, and I couldn't tell, but regardless, Smith was well covered, even being held at the time of the throw. Sam may have thrown the ball out of bounds on purpose. That's what I think he did.

Did you get the all 22 from NFL.com (comes with the replay package)?

I can't wait to try that out, but it won't be available until after the first regular season game is over.

I blew through this one on my DVR, but I'll go back and watch it more closely.

I will get it, but not yet, because I can't use it yet. I can't wait to see the coaches tape :ww: It will sure help what I like to do. Watching line splits to me will be like others watching porn :twisted:

lol. I'm not even sure what to say to that.

So I won't try.

It'll be awesome when YOU get it, because you can use your jumbotron as a second monitor to your computer and REALLY break stuff down. Of course head coaches don't want anyone to have access to that because it's going to put them under a ginormous microscope. And in some cases, that'll be a legit (ahem) concern because we don't know every minute detail that is *supposed to* take place on any given play.

 

[DR RAM]

I couldn't even tell, but he may have been hit on the release. That's frame by frame on a 10 foot screen, and I couldn't tell, but regardless, Smith was well covered, even being held at the time of the throw. Sam may have thrown the ball out of bounds on purpose. That's what I think he did.

Did you get the all 22 from NFL.com (comes with the replay package)?

I can't wait to try that out, but it won't be available until after the first regular season game is over.

I blew through this one on my DVR, but I'll go back and watch it more closely.

I will get it, but not yet, because I can't use it yet. I can't wait to see the coaches tape :ww: It will sure help what I like to do. Watching line splits to me will be like others watching porn :twisted:

lol. I'm not even sure what to say to that.

So I won't try.

It'll be awesome when YOU get it, because you can use your jumbotron as a second monitor to your computer and REALLY break stuff down. Of course head coaches don't want anyone to have access to that because it's going to put them under a ginormous microscope. And in some cases, that'll be a legit (ahem) concern because we don't know every minute detail that is *supposed to* take place on any given play.

You had to fucking use that word. :hehe:

We don't ever really know, it's all for fun, but when you watch enough, you know what play and what scheme would be normal for that circumstance, and there is always the golden rules to blocking which trump everything else.

 

[PhxRam]

What the hell are you two still up for?

 

[-X-]

What the hell are you two still up for?

I dunno. I think I was waiting for Doc to break out his O-line porn.

opcorn:

 

[DR RAM]

What the hell are you two still up for?

I dunno. I think I was waiting for Doc to break out his O-line porn.

opcorn:

:rofl: Serious, LOL.

I am usually up until 3 or 4 if not longer, but I don't usually stay online that long. I pretend to try to sleep. Major insomnia.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

for the basic run plays they ran i thought sjax looked fantastic. man this guy is gonna put up some big numbers this year.

pead looked a little too excited in his first game. hopefully he calms down by the time the real season begins. there was that nice draw play where the seas parted and i thought let's see what he's got but he fumbled the exchange. i'm sure we'll get to see it again sooner or later.

pettis looked pretty good. no way he gets cut if he can catch a ball as well as he does.

what has salas done to fall all the way down to scrub patrol? by all reports he was having a great camp.

man the d made luck look like a hofer. can't really comment on them until they game plan a bit. same for the offense. not gonna take too much notice of the first preseason game.

.

 

[JdashSTL]

I really hope Stewart wins the starting job over Dahl. Yes, he makes a lot of mistakes, inconsistent, but he still has a higher ceiling than Dahl. We know what Dahl can do, Stewart is still trying to improve.

Barry Richardson. Yikes. Alex Barron 2.0? Lets say Smith continues to struggle at RT (still a good run-blocker though), why not move him to RG, and Dahl to RT?

I really want to see Bradford take a few shots downfield to Givens sometime soon in preseason.

The talk about Luck on Twitter during the game was hilarious. It was like the media just now remembered Luck was the no.1 pick for good reason. Hes pretty good.

 

[Speeps]

I wanted to take a deep breath, watch the game again, and then give my reactions. With that said, I am happy I did

The first thing that jumped out at me, was the lack of scheming and game planning by the Rams. Jeff Fisher said that was by design. He's not interested in out game planning anyone in August. +1. He gets it. August is a time for evaluating players, and seeing what you have. Not making statements. Rams played basic coverages, and offensively we were the purest form of vanilla.

Giving what Fisher wanted to see, I am disappointed by the lack of effort that guys trying to make the squad showed. It's clear the Fisher has yet to unleash this team. He has a way of tempering his guys, and then turning up the notch when it's time. That cool. I get it. What I don't get is the lack of hunger from the guys who want to make the roster.

The offensive line is a work in progress, and I counted 3-5 different line combinations on the first two drives. It's hard to get a sense of cohesion through those circumstances. I was happy with the run blocking for the most part. Sam Bradford had a decent game. He missed two passes, one he got creamed on, and the other he threw away, because Danny was well covered. Sam Bradford is not as comfortable in the pocket as I would like to see, but that's not going to come in week 1 of the preseason, behind an unsettled line.

Austin Pettis, and Steve Smith flashed. Givens has big play ability, and once Quick gets it all together he's going to be a stud. Salas disappeared, Amendola was rarely targeted. Kendricks looks good. Defensively, this D-line will be dangerous. They did not play at full speed, but I loved the pressure.

Craig Dahl worries me.

Finally, this team does not have the Fisher stamp on it. They did not have the smash mouth, beat you up kind of mentality that we expected. I believe Fisher has yet to instill that. I fully expect that over the next couple of weeks, this Rams team will transform. I can't stress enough that the Rams we see this week, is the Rams we will see next week, or the week after that. We will see week to week improvement. We don't need to peak in week 1 of the preseason. That's not the goal.

I'm not worried about talent level. We have players. Although we took a spanking, as a coach, I have to realize a good spanking can be a very good thing. Especially this early on.

Fishers getting ready for a marathon, not a sprint. He's taking a wounded animal and repairing it limb by limb. He's not rushing it out of IR. And when that animal is nursed back up, I'll be there with my popcorn ready.

In Fisher I trust.

 

[ramsince62]

Definition of CONCERNED
1a : anxious, worried b : interested <concerned to prove the point>
2a : interestedly engaged

That's about right.

It's this.

Not this.

.

Right. But this is not really useful. When I said I wasn't concerned, first, I didn't mean about the first exhibition game--hardly a cause of concern (Rams OL has been shakey in openers before and gotten it together).

And when I disagreed with being concerned, I meant image #1, not #2. It's kind of a straw man to suggest anyone was saying it was #2. Which I already said in the original discussion.

#1 was precisely what I was disagreeing with. Wells will be back in time for the season. (Yes we all know all about the magnificent magic of reps.) There's time for Saffold to get into rhythm. Rams have looked shakey in exhibition openers before. The errors I saw today were all mental, not guys just flat getting beat. Etc.

From my perspective, if we want to be concerned, then, we should wait till game three. If they're shakey then, it could be an issue. If not, then, just like 2010, people are concerned about an exhibition opener than really is no indication of anything at all.

Just clarifying.

<sigh>

Listen. Honestly. This isn't about you. This is about me.

If I'm 'concerned' (no matter how anyone wants to try to qualify it), then I'm concerned. If you're not, that's great. But you can't disagree with me being concerned. That's like disagreeing that I'm 6'1. I just am and there's nothing you can do about it. Unless you make me stand in a hole. Standing in a hole isn't going to reduce my concern though.

I'm not basing it on this preseason game either. If you remember, I brought it up before the preseason game. Again, this is just my thing we're talking about. Others may share my concerns, and others may not. Either way, you can't disagree with someone else's concerns. You can only state that YOU don't have any. I'm not going to tell you that I disagree with your feelings. How could I?

"I'm scared. There's an enormous wolf in my house."
"I disagree. That wolf is probably a vegetarian, so I'd wait and see if it eats you first."

I'm concerned as well and like you, it began before yesterday. Regardless of whether this was only a preseason game, the execution was ragged, the O line was abysmal and the "D" not far behind.

Then again, what do I know (except it's not 2010 any longer)....after all, I've only been following this team for 50 years....oh well...