Rams-Browns, 19-27 Loss

[Retroram52]

Hey everyone: The much anticipated opening of the 2013 season fizzled from a combination of factors. Coaches prerogative to hide a goodly portion of the offense (the least likely compared to the rest of the league), team mistakes including interceptions and fumbles, giving up ST runbacks, a defense that took the night off, and a very bland first string offense that simply did not play well.

Old patterns emerged. We spent the first quarter offensively doing nothing and then spent the rest of the game trying to catch up with second and third stringers. Defense was basically taking the night off, and special teams looked flat an uninvolved except for Zuerlein who popped two 50+ yard field goals like they were money!!

Overall, with three different QB's, our total offense was 396 yards to Cleveland's 320. We had 304 yards in total passing to the Brown's 238 and we had 92 yards rushing with a plethora of backs most notably Daryl Richarson to Cleveland's 82.

The Positives-offense. Tonight's star was an unlikely dude. Raymond Radway had two big plays: one for 53 yards and a TD and one for 20 yards finishing the night with 3 catches for 88 yards. Followed by this was Chris Givens who looked very polished and had a deep score for 59 yards that set up an early TD. Daryl Richardson looked ready of the three RBs by committee.

The negatives. We have not fixed our offensive line woes and our RB issues with Pead trying everything in his power to get cut from this team. Even with the changes, Fat-ass Saffold got hurt early shifting the line around being filled in by Barksdale who is now our biggest O-lineman. After many of the starters went out, many of the second-teamers looked fairly decent in pocket protection although it was nothing to be excited over. We simply have to address these two issues especially next draft because Sammie was scrambling again like last year. This may be our Achilles heal this year again.

The positives-defense. First team defense-not much here although our run defense was pretty good and Finnegan is ready to nail somebody as was T.J. McDonald who is going to be the starting safety in a few weeks. Many second-teamers played early and often such as Conrath and he looked fairly stout as did Josh Hull. It looked as though the defense took the night off overall but Ernie Sims had a sack. Maybe C. Long was right in texting Gadell telling him pro players don't like pre-season games!

Special Teams-Except for Greg Zuerlein, ST's basically sucked giving up a runback that was the difference in the game. More work here.

I get that this is a pre-season game and nobody will remember them, but losing can be learned just as winning is learned and we continue to depend on a mentality offensively that does not score points readily by starting slow and then trying to catch and hold the other team with our defense. Sammie finished the night with a meager 5/8 for 102 yards and a TD and was outplayed by Clemons who went 6/12 for 116 a TD and an INT.

Granted, Clemons played longer than Sammie, but if you buy the notion that we were sandbagging the O then why all of the 4th down and 2-point conversion tries that failed? Moreover, if you compare Sammie's performance with other random QB's tonight, it dispels this notion.

For example: Drew Brees, 209 yards, 3TDs; Kevin Kolb, 204 yards, 1TD, 1 INT; Tom Brady, 309 yards, 1TD, 1 INT; Colin Kaepernick, 233 yards, 1 TD; Joe Flacco, 240 yards, 3 TD's; Kellen Clemons, 116 yards, 1TD, 1 INT a pattern of a more productive offense is nearly everywhere else except with teams such as the Rams, Jets, and the Buccaneers-teams that have been struggling to work out of very deep franchise holes.

This is our basic problem: We have to get more production from our offense or we are going to be staring at a similar record this year as last. This starts with the O-line and I have been screaming this for years and the Rams have yet to fix this glaring problem. We keep passing on good O-line players even in the middle rounds for project players and this has been a problem for some time. If we don't change this, the Niners and the SeaHags will be contending for the division title every year while we look forward to another draft!!

 

[RobBase]

Bad QB, poor O line and your best RB is in Atlanta. I like the Rams but I do not like your chances this year. Next year you guys get a new QB in the draft and start all over.

 

[fastforward]

Deep breath...analysis as I saw it:
There were 2 huge positives in the game and these probably outweigh the many smaller negatives. Bradford played as well as I have ever seen him play. He showed pocket awareness and moved aware from the pressure whilst not becoming preoccupied or concerned by it. He wasn't looking for the rushers and the 1000-yard stare wasn't there. He put the ball EXACTLY where it was supposed to be put. It wasn't half a yard ahead of or behind the receiver. Passes that were supposed to be low were low. Passes that needed to be high were high. He looked like a #1 pick. AT the end of last season I said that Givens was a top 50 WR. I was wrong. He's not top 50 or top 32. On that performance he's a $8M top 10 WR. His routes are sharp and he trusts his hands. Last year he looked like the game was a bit fast for him. Now he looks like he's at normal speed but everything else is so slow that he has time to read a book or tie his shoelaces whist the play is unfolding. The catch that stood out was the 1 on the sideline. He effortlessly snatched the ball out of the air and made a 90 degree cut up-field rather than run out-of-bounds. The TD catch was also nice for the footwork and positioning.
There were many downsides. Saffold's injury made him look good by default as all the replacements were found wanting. Nysekhe can't handle a speed rush. Barksdale got beat inside and out and probably played so badly that he'll be cut no matter how he performs before the season opener. Smith was adequate at LG, but only with Long and Wells next to him. With Barksdale at LT his level dropped way down. On 1 defensive stunt both failed to swap assignments and both were beaten. Since both were on the team last year that shouldn't be happening. How Hooey made the 90-man roster is anyone's guess. I hoped we'd release Dahl because of his salary. On this evidence we daren't cut him. Of the back-ups Washington was least bad.
Austin and Pettis both dropped perfect Bradford passes that should have been caught. This derailed our 2nd possession. Cook was not a factor, nor were the other TEs until Lutzenkirchen made 1 spectacular 4th quarter catch. Quick wasn't terrible but his playbook looks limited. He looks las if he's still at the 'run to the marker then fly or back-shoulder read' level. It's hard to judge where the blame lies when he's opposite Bailey and he has the indecisive Davis at QB. Clemens wasn't flawless but he probably solidified his grip on the #2 spot.
Richardson is the de facto #1 RB until someone sensational comes along. He was physical and has a great burst of speed. He's not an all down talent and he still has playbook issues. (On 2 play-action passes he wasn't where he should be for the fake hand-off). I'll ignore Pead's fumble and 8 yard run. both can happen to any RB based on the defense at the time. However, Pead still fails to show any reason, (other than his guaranteed salary and making the pick look bad), as to why he should make an NFL roster. He doesn't show blazing speed, great change of pace, the ability to make a cut that'll make a defender miss, the power to run through a tackle or make the defender bounce off him. I didn't see him pass-block or catch a pass so i'll wait for that. He's also clearly not a natural return man. Stacy's role was curious. Why he was asked to be an outside runner and pass catcher in the 3rd quarter is a mystery. He was also denied a 3rd & 2 opportunity. If it was to see if he can be a sub/replacement for Richardson the answer is clearly no. His 4th quarter pass-blocking was sound. He'll have a spot role but he's not a #2 RB in this system. If anything Cunningham looked like our #2 RB.
Radway was the other guy who stood out. I won't go overboard about his TD catch because it was a broken play with bad defense. His other 3 plays were notable. The 2 catches make him look like a big possession receiver with good hands and reasonable speed. The drop was against double coverage where he still managed to get open. If he can play at that level consistently and can contribute on special teams he should make the roster. I wouldn't now be shocked if he got the big possession receiver role ahead of Quick. That said it's 1 game and I haven't seen what's happened in camp.

The defense was more difficult to analyse. We're likely to play a lot of soft CB coverages that give up quick ins and slants. We're also likely to fool opposing QBs by occasionally changing schemes and jumping routes, (as we did against Detroit last year). Since we won't show those schemes in pre-season we just look soft. That's tough for some fans to accept. The positives are that we were disciplined and didn't blow coverages. Penalties appeared to be way down.
Ogletree and McDonald had tough nights. They weren't awful but they looked like college boys playing at college speed. McDonald missed a tackle early on. Ogletree got stuck on a block he needed to get free of and he took some bad angles as he was fooled by speed. This is to be expected. Both should improve...and they'll need to!
The back-up DL was solid but we have depth issues at LB and S.
I'll remember this game for Bradford and Givens. I still think our obvious OL & S issues should have been better addressed in the last 2 Drafts.

 

[SJ76]

We were blown out by Andrew Luck in the 1st preseason game last year. We will bounce back and everyone will improve. Hopefully the O-line gets better, but I am a little worried about our weapons on offense.

Didn't see much of the game, but I heard Bradford looked pretty good and our WR's dropped passes and our RB's were ok besides Pead.

Not too worried about the D. They will be good in 4 weeks.

 

[SJ76]

And don't be mad at me. I said all along that the 2013 draft was loaded at WR and I was all for getting a solid guy for the O-line and a OLB in the 1st round.


Why we reached for a slot WR is still to be determined. And remember Pead this year and think we could have drafted Lamar Miller who will be starting for the Dolphins this season.

 

[UnrealTerm04]

Thanks for the post game analysis Retroram and FastForward.

This is not how I envisioned the Rams first preseason game. Saffold can't keep healthy.. no matter what the Rams do, he gets injured. I don't think he'll last until the bye week but I hope I am wrong. Pass protection was terrible as Sam was getting hit every time he released the ball. I think he was rushed into a few throws but the long pass to Chris Givens was a perfect pass and Givens made a great grab and then a few plays later, Bradford and Givens connect on a TD. If Givens can keep producing like this, he will do wonders for us. Tavon Austin was held without a catch.. Bradford hit him in stride but he didn't real it in.

I'm not sold on Isaiah Pead. He is not a starting RB in the NFL and I'm not entirely sure he is a 2nd string. Richardson wasn't that great either.

Defense was iffy last night... They held the run pretty good but pass defense wasn't great. They held the Browns to a FG but after the Pead fumble, the Browns marched right down the field passing the ball against our weak pass defense.

Hope for a better product next week against the Packers.

 

[SJ76]

And I was the one barking for trading Saffold for another draft pick, even if it was a 3rd rounder.

 

[Retroram52]

SJ76. I too was barking to trade Saffold to pick up at least a Kyle Long or another 3rd and say a fifth. Long is the guy I wanted in the middle rounds and I believe he went in the third to Chicago. And you are going to be right on with that Lamar Miller selection. That is going to haunt us for some time to come.

What get mad at SJ76 when has that screwin'-the-sheep emoticon on his post page??? lolol. Not in a million years!!!

 

[RobBase]

SJ76. I too was barking to trade Saffold to pick up at least a Kyle Long or another 3rd and say a fifth. Long is the guy I wanted in the middle rounds and I believe he went in the third to Chicago.

Kyle Long was a first round pick by the Bears (pick 20). I agree he would have made a great pick for you guys in the first to go along w Austin.

 

[Retroram52]

Thanks RobBase for the correction. I must have been thinking of another lineman.

 

[shopson67]

I watched the game as well, enduring Bernie Kosar's horrible color commentary. I have a few different takes.

Bradford was MUCH better than either of the Rams backups. Davis made horrible decisions and any success Clemens had came against 3rd and 4th teamers.

Radway had a horrible drop or two, and again was playing against 3rd and 4th teamers. Not sure he would be as effective if he had played earlier in the game.

Quick had a few very nice grabs, but one unexplainable drop. Givens looked very good, as did Bailey in limited use. Pettis was iffy.

Of the RBs, none stood out. Richardson looked the most confident, and Cunningham played well against the scrubs. Dumping on Pead for a solid defensive play to strip the ball is questionable at best. He did also hesitate on a kick return, which could've disastrous if he waited about half a step longer.

Austin is under wraps right now. They're playing bland offense, which meant no creativity to work Austin and Cook into the game plan. Second guessing drafting Austin is an overreaction.

Rush defense was solid with the starters, but the Browns' short passing game wasn't stopped at all until later in the game. Whether that was on the bland defensive scheme or just poor coverage? Probably some of each. Ogletree did miss coverage on a big completion to the Browns' TE, but that is a teachable moment.

 

[ksudodger]

My impressions from last night

I agree 100% that we have no reason to overreact at all. Of course we only saw Austin thrown to once. Of course we only saw Cook once or twice. They are working on that timing in practice and will be unleashed on the NFL in week 1. I think we all know Fisher knows what he is doing and have no real need to get worried.

Other than Saffold, IMO the first and second team lines both looked good, not great but good.

I am also in agreement about all 3 RB's... that could REALLY be a problem. Might not be a bad idea to look at a guy like Cedric Benson to be a true (so to speak) bellcow back.

Defensively, I liked alot of the depth (Conrath,Hull,Johnson..even McLeod lol). Again, like was stated this is not the game we need to focus on. Let's watch week 3 and THEN making a judgement.

 

[piss-tons]

My main concern was the offensive line, Bradford was under pressure again. Not really concerned about the rest of the offense, Pead probably won't be really playing during the regular season. Not surprised that Saffold got injured... yet again...

 

[Red_Chaos]

And I was the one barking for trading Saffold for another draft pick, even if it was a 3rd rounder.

5 bucks said they tried but nobody wanted him

 

[bluepigpen]

Lets not forget 4 things about this game. One, it is game #1 of the preseason, enough said. Two, Fisher is not going to supply any amo to the Cardinals, 49ers or Seahawks about speed patterns in the preseason for Austin, Cook and Givens. Three, Browns have new HC, OC and DC, they were 4-12 last season, at home for the 1st preseason game, anyone with intelligence knows the pressure on them to win even this game is huge, their game plan said it. Four, progression is much better than to start hot and end cold in the preseason.

Saffold needs to go now!!!

Pead needs to go now!!!

Discover if Stacy or Cunningham is the true backup.

Discover if it is Pettis, Quick or Bailey opposite Givens. (Bailey is my pick)

To be fair, each of the last two have to be done in preseason game 2 and 3 with Bradford. We know Richardson is #1, Givens is #1, need to find out who is #2 when it doesn't count and with RT.

 

[Rambunctious]

Bradford looked comfortable in the pocket... the defense has me a little concerned but it's the first preseason game. I expect a big improvement in the next game. GO RAMS!

 

[Rambunctious]

Bright spots...

Sam Bradford…5 for 8... 102 yards... passer rating 145.8
Givens 3 grabs and one TD
Greg the leg SureLine (Zuerlein) 2-50 plus yard FG’s
Hekker 3 nice punts 55.7 avg

 

[DK7000]

Let's get one thing straight, Bradford was not outperformed by Clemens. If it wasn't for Pead fumbling, we had a very good chance of scoring 2 touchdowns in our first 3 drives. I'm not at all worried about our team after this-or any- pre-season game. To say we'll be drafting a quarterback and starting over next year...well, it was said by a Lions fan, so I won't take too much stock into that assessment