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Three Rams who didn't help themselves
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10612/three-rams-who-didnt-help-themselves
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams dropped their second preseason game to the Green Bay Packers 21-7 on Saturday afternoon. Along the way, some players helped themselves, while others did not.
Earlier today, we looked at three who helped themselves. Now, here's three who struggled against the Packers.
1. The backups on the offensive line
Considering the lack of running room against Green Bay, it might be unfair to leave the starters off of this list. But there are many questions about the lack of depth on the offensive line, and those questions remain unanswered after two preseason games. Linemen Sean Hooey and Mitchell Van Dyk struggled the most as they worked with the third-team offense. In one sequence late in the game, Green Bay linebacker Jayrone Elliott blew past Hooey on three of four plays for sacks.
That's not to say all of the backup linemen struggled but finding a standout isn't easy at this point. Despite line coach Paul Boudreau's ability to coach up lesser talent, depth on the offensive line should remain a serious concern moving forward.
2. Tre Mason
The rookie running back finished with just 30 yards on 12 carries, an average of 2.5 yards per attempt. Considering he was running behind the aforementioned linemen, that shouldn't be cause for much concern. What was more of a red flag were his struggles with helping in pass protection. Mason whiffed on blitz pickup a couple of times, including once against safety Haha Clinton-Dix that led to a sack. Mason actually had a nice pickup against the Saints last week, but that memory was quickly erased with a rough outing against the Packers. It'll be hard for him to earn much playing time above guys like Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham until he gets that squared away.
3. Chris Givens
Once thought to be the one receiver on the roster who would play and play a lot this year, Givens has been surpassed by Kenny Britt, Brian Quick, Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. He's playing in the preseason with the second-and third-team offenses and isn't doing much to stand out when he does play. Against the Saints, Givens was targeted twice and was unable to come up with a catch for the second week in a row. He had a chance to make a play on one jump ball against a defender but couldn't come down with it. Givens isn't getting many opportunities, and when they come, they're with backup quarterbacks. That's going to make it tough for him to move up the depth chart.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10612/three-rams-who-didnt-help-themselves
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams dropped their second preseason game to the Green Bay Packers 21-7 on Saturday afternoon. Along the way, some players helped themselves, while others did not.
Earlier today, we looked at three who helped themselves. Now, here's three who struggled against the Packers.
1. The backups on the offensive line
Considering the lack of running room against Green Bay, it might be unfair to leave the starters off of this list. But there are many questions about the lack of depth on the offensive line, and those questions remain unanswered after two preseason games. Linemen Sean Hooey and Mitchell Van Dyk struggled the most as they worked with the third-team offense. In one sequence late in the game, Green Bay linebacker Jayrone Elliott blew past Hooey on three of four plays for sacks.
That's not to say all of the backup linemen struggled but finding a standout isn't easy at this point. Despite line coach Paul Boudreau's ability to coach up lesser talent, depth on the offensive line should remain a serious concern moving forward.
2. Tre Mason
The rookie running back finished with just 30 yards on 12 carries, an average of 2.5 yards per attempt. Considering he was running behind the aforementioned linemen, that shouldn't be cause for much concern. What was more of a red flag were his struggles with helping in pass protection. Mason whiffed on blitz pickup a couple of times, including once against safety Haha Clinton-Dix that led to a sack. Mason actually had a nice pickup against the Saints last week, but that memory was quickly erased with a rough outing against the Packers. It'll be hard for him to earn much playing time above guys like Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham until he gets that squared away.
3. Chris Givens
Once thought to be the one receiver on the roster who would play and play a lot this year, Givens has been surpassed by Kenny Britt, Brian Quick, Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. He's playing in the preseason with the second-and third-team offenses and isn't doing much to stand out when he does play. Against the Saints, Givens was targeted twice and was unable to come up with a catch for the second week in a row. He had a chance to make a play on one jump ball against a defender but couldn't come down with it. Givens isn't getting many opportunities, and when they come, they're with backup quarterbacks. That's going to make it tough for him to move up the depth chart.
