SB Nation - Gary Gibson

Rams assembling a good team, on IR

VanRam — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:22:19 -0000

The Rams are putting together a decent IR team.

The St. Louis Rams have added FS Oshiomogho Atogwe to their lengthy injured reserve list, ending his season.

It's a huge blow to the Rams, as they now lose their best playmaker on defense...their only playmaker on defense really. Togs hasn't had the INT totals we grew accustomed to - no surprise given the lack of pressure the Rams put on passers - he has been able to force fumbles, giving the offense valuable field position to squander away.

Once again, injuries have taken their toll on the Rams. Let's review the IR list.

Bradley Fletcher, this year's third round pick emerged as a solid starting CB, giving the Rams a nice press corner to play along side the more finesse oriented Ron Bartell. He suffered a very serious injury hyperextending his knee and putting his sophomore season in jeopardy.

Adam Carriker, a third year, former first round pick who needed to take the next step forward under new head coach Steve Spagnuolo. Carriker didn't even make it to the regular season.

Second-year receiver Keenan Burton was starting to gain some consistency as a possession guy in the Rams woeful passing game. Can Burton ever escape the injury-plagued label now?

Laurent Robinson was looking like the steal of the offseason after GM Billy Devaney acquired him for a late round pick swap. He made it through three games. Robinson also carries the injury-plagued label.

Signed as a free agent in April, Gary Gibson came on strong in the preseason, filling in for Adam Carriker. He gave the Rams a decent DT to play along side Clifton Ryan.

Defensive end C.J. Ah You was never going to be confused for a Pro Bowler, but he started to thrive as a situational guy under Spagnuolo.

The Rams have six starters on that list, and could very well add Marc Bulger in the near future. Rounding out IR are FS Eric Bassey, WR Brooks Foster, and LS Chris Massey.

Looking back at the specific injuries to these players there's no one cause that stands out, as easy as it might seem to blame turf. My theory on why the Rams lose so many key players: The team lacks talent so these guys step up and play harder, exposing themselves to great risk of injury.

Rams VP Kevin Demoff covers the cap, free agency, TST and more in his chat today.

VanRam — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:22:34 -0000

by Carlos Osorio - AP

The St. Louis Rams would like to see safety Oshiomogho Atowgwe in their future.

View full size photo »

St. Louis Rams VP of Football Operations and COO Kevin Demoff held a live chat with fans today. Some highlights, with comment:

If there is a salary cap in 2010, the Rams will be approximately 35m under the salary, which would be the third most room under the cap in the NFL. There has been some pain this year, but the salary cap should not be the driving force behind any personnel decisions moving forward. This year, we were forced to create a dollar of salary cap room for every dollar of salary cap room spent. That meant making difficult decisions with some talented players, but we made the decisions that we thought were best for the long-term future of this organization.

Though I don't believe there will be a cap, having $35 million worth of space under the cap is great news. It means that the Rams can really make some strides to fill the big holes on the roster, without having to choose between one position at the expense of the other in the draft. Of course, if it is an upcapped year that means...

However, if 2010 is uncapped, there will be a limited free agent pool consisting of players with 6 years or more of experience. That will make it harder to sign young, talented players in free agency, the type of player every team wants in free agency. As a result, in an uncapped year, the draft will be paramount, which is one of the reasons we are trying to stockpile picks in the 2010 draft.

I don't know what his definition of stockpiling is, but so far the Rams have added a 5th round pick from the Eagles in the Witherspoon trade and a 7th round pick from the Falcons in the Tye Hill trade. Those could be packaged to move up in other rounds, of course. I don't know that they'll have much in the way of compensatory picks, since they really didn't lose many free agents of note.

Which players are up for free agency this year? It depends on the cap situation. Here's the list from Demoff:

...eight players...[that] would normally be Unrestricted Free Agents in 2010 who will be Restricted Free Agents in 2010 if there is no salary cap. Those players are as follows: Victor Adeyanju, OJ Atogwe, Alex Barron, Samkon Gado, Gary Gibson, Richie Incognito, Ruvell Martin, Mark Setterstrom. We would have the right to "tender" all of those players as RFA's. There are 6 players who will be UFA's no matter what the cap situation is: Kyle Boller, James Hall, Paris Lenon, Leonard Little, Chris Massey, Randy McMichael.

We'll talk plenty more about these guys down the road. For now, I'd say you can count on the Rams making an effort to hang onto Atogwe, Gibson, Incognito, Setterstrom, and some combination of Hall and Little. Those last two guys will surely be considering retirement, though they could still be useful as part timers.

The highlight of the chat...a TST shout out from Demoff. Check it out:

I couldn't let the good guys at TurfShowTimes go unrewarded for their drive to send in questions for this chat.

Hell yeah! Anyway, he answered our question about re-signing Atogwe, and it sounds like the team plans to keep him in the picture for the future.

Alright, go read the whole thing. It's pretty informative.

Rams 20, Jacksonville 23, F/OT: New route, same result

VanRam — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:50:20 -0000

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

Jacksonville held Steven Jackson in check, and that was too much for the Rams struggling offense to overcome.

Browse more photos »

The St. Louis Rams had a much better effort today, but - stop me if you've heard this one before - it just wasn't enough as they lost in OT to the Jacksonville Jaguars. A quick recap:

The Offense

Again, the Rams offense just wasn't very good, but they really got hurt when Donnie Avery left the game. That took away a desperately needed dimension to the Rams offense. The Jacksonville run defense was tough; Steven Jackson got a measly 50 yards on 16 carries. The offensive line didn't have their best day opening holes for Jackson. One thing I noticed watching this game was that our blockers consistently had trouble getting to the second level. Jacksonville's safeties were in the box on almost every play, so it seemed, and they led the day in tackles. The blocking was much better; Bulger hit the dirt just one time...if only he had anyone to throw the ball to.

It's kind of funny, but the passing game continues to be a strength for the Rams, except on third down. Speaking of third down, the Rams were pathetic, converting just 4 of 12. And third down wasn't the only problem area. The offense sputtered enough that they only had 11 total first downs to Jacksonville's 33. That's right 11 Rams first down to Jacksonville's 33. Which gives you some idea of why the Jags had 492 yards of offense to our 262.

The Defense

Our defense has definitely improved from the product on the field that last three seasons. If our offense had any competency whatsoever the defense is good enough that the Rams could win some games. That's not to say our defense is good. They took some ill-advised penalties today too.

Gary Gibson is missed. DT has to be a priority for this team before next season. The Jones-Drew ground game eventually got to them, but they were on the field for more than 40 minutes, 42:12 to be exact. We just don't have the depth for that kind of exposure.

The line had more pressure from the ends, including a nice back to back sack series. They also did a good job getting pressure, that resulted in two INTs, including Leonard Little's that made it a game.

The secondary had it's moments, both good and bad. Is Bartell still aching? He got burned twice in the first half for big plays. You could argue, not convincingly, that Holt's 41-yard catch was just a nice play, but he got burned bad on Sims-Walker's 35-yard catch. Four pass interference penalties hurt, though the Jaguars didn't get points on any of those drives.

Ultimately, the defense suffered because they were on the field twice as long as the offense, and they're just not good enough to keep any team out of the end zone for 42 minutes.

Special Teams

Donnie Jones didn't have his leg today; Josh Brown did. Danny Amendola has been the find of the season, averaging 31 yards on 4 kick returns.

Ultimately, it was a disappointing effort for the Rams, who lost their 16th in a row. Maybe things would have been different with Avery. Still, at this point, it's hard not to wonder if they won't end up winless this season.

Random Ramsdom: Oct. 12, 2009

ram_rod — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:16:03 -0000

Sad that the Rams are 0-5? Distraught that the team has the longest active losing streak? There's better way to soothe your pain then with, the one, the only, the Random Ramsdom. Here are some stories for today:

Bryan Burwell thinks that the cloud is too big for any silver linings.
Charles Robinson loathes Kyle Boller. Two games, two costly fumbles. Sorry Kyle, time to step aside and let the big boys play now.
Sando has his wrap-up of the game here. Another stat he points out: since the game ended, the Rams have had no turnover's in the red zone.
Don Banks from SI.com has a piece about young recievers coming through. Couldn't we have drafted one of them? Just one?

I wouldn't be surprised if the Rams made a move trying to get a defensive lineman now that Gary Gibson is out for the season, espicially since they have been so active already. Time will tell.

Enjoy your Monday everyone.

Where's Admiral Ackbar When You Need Him?

Mitchell_M — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:32:08 -0000

Because you know he's got the warning for this week.

Hmm, maybe that didn't get the point across like I wanted it to.

Not quite. It's urgent enough, but just not enough repetition...

Ah, here. This is exactly how I want to say it.

Packers. Rams. Week 3. Other short statements. After the jump.

Green Bay put up an uneven performance in week 1 against Chicago. Then they followed that with a positively dismal performance (Charles Woodson excluded, of course) against Cincinnati. Now, they sit at 1-1, and I'm sure many eyes are looking forward to the October 5th showdown between Green Bay and division-leading Minnesota.

But the NFL season, much like the flow of time, is completely chronological and cannot be disturbed. Unless of course your home city suffers a major catastrophe and you're awarded a "home" game in New York. But lets hope that doesn't happen.

The point of this mini-diatribe is that Green Bay has to play the St. Louis Rams before even thinking about the Vikings. And yes, I know, St. Louis has been dreadful for years, but so was Cincinnati (excluding 2006). They started out the year by getting shut out 28-0 to Seattle, and last week lost in an ~~epic~~ ~~entertaining~~ ~~watchable~~ ~~tolerable~~ ~~mediocre~~ awful 9-7 game against Washington. This team has problems. But do you want a repeat of last week? Me neither. So without further delay, let's get to it.

STL rushing vs. GB defense: Steven Jackson, Steven Jackson, Steven Jackson. The first-round pick in fantasy drafts everywhere has struggled over the last few years, usually because of injuries to St. Louis' sorry excuse for an offensive line and virtual lack of any semblance of a passing game. It's hard to run the ball when you're going up against 10 in the box.

That said, Jackson is still one of the top RBs in the game in terms of athleticism, versatility, and talent. Over two games, Jackson has amassed 171 yards on 33 carries, resulting in an excellent 5.2 ypc. He's been kept out of the end zone and hasn't had his usual impact on the passing game, but the potential is always there. Jackson had several injuries hampering his production in 2008, and he seems to have bounced back and looks healthy.

Up front is where St. Louis has suffered so much in recent years. On the left side, Alex Barron is a man who, as some critics put it, looks like Tarzan and plays like Jane. He is a monster at 6'7", 300+ lbs, and has the strength, agility, and quickness to dominate in both run and pass blocking. Unfortunately, Barron's biggest deficiency is work ethic, which undermines his consistency and keeps him a marginal starter (at best). The rest of the line (from LG to RT) is manned by Jacob Bell (6'5", 300), Jason Brown (6'3", 328), the ever mysterious Richie Incognito (6'3", 324), and Adam Goldberg (6'7, 309). Goldberg is starting in place of the injured rookie Jason Smith.

Green Bay did an excellent job in keeping Matt Forte under wraps in week 1, but then imploded when faced with the powerful blocking of Cincinnati's special run-blocking sub package of offensive linemen. The clever coaching maneuver torched the Packers to the tune of 141 yards on 29 carries. Naturally, this was helped by Green Bay's inability to wrap up on tackles, taking good angles towards ball carriers, and converging on the running back whenever a hole opened up.

Advantage: Push. Does Green Bay have a dominant run defense that had a bad day against Cincy? Or do they have a poor run defense that had a good day against Chicago? That debate, along with the juxtaposition of Steven Jackson's talent against his offensive line's limitations makes this matchup a complete draw.

STL passing vs. GB defense: For Steven Jackson, the offensive line made life in the NFL a nightmare. However, nobody suffered more than Marc Bulger. You think Aaron Rodgers has happy feet after two games? Imagine getting pounded into mush week in and week out for at least 3 seasons. Marc Bulger was the conductor of the second phase of the Greatest Show on Turf, and was fairly effective until his protection vanished. He is still an above-average quarterback with decent accuracy, decent arm strength, average mobility, and the ability to read coverages and make the necessary throws (if he has time, of course).

Bulger has always found success whenever surrounded with skilled teammates. Unfortunately for him, that is no longer the case. Steven Jackson is an outstanding receiver, but the rest of the receiving corps includes the like of Donnie Avery, Laurent Robinson, TE Randy McMichael, and the recently-departed Ruvell Martin. Avery has a little bit of speed on vertical routes, and Martin and McMichael have excellent size, but that's all that is notable about this group. As far as pass blocking goes, the Rams' success depends on three things: good line calls from center Jason Brown (their best lineman, but currently dealing with a knee injury), a motivated Alex Barron, and a healthy Jason Smith. They've already lost one of those, so protection will really be at a premium if Green Bay decides to bring heavy pressure.

Of course, that's if Green Bay can afford to bring pressure. The situation at safety is certainly a red flag for the Packers' pass defense. With Atari Bigby out and Nick Collins' availability (currently "day-to-day") unknown, and Aaron Rouse cut in favor of Matt Giordano, Dom Capers' playcalling figures to be much more vanilla than some of us would like. Cullen Jenkins and Clay Matthews both showed off their pass rushing skills last week by recording sacks, and Charles Woodson (2 INT, 1 TD) continues his quest to single-handedly carry the team when the offense isn't working.

Advantage: Green Bay. This defense can get to the quarterback, and no team is more vulnerable than this St. Louis squad missing its top draft pick. If they get a chance to blitz, expect another dominating performance.

GB rushing vs. STL defense: Ryan Grant was a huge disappointment in 2008, but his new contract, attendance at training camp, and a healed hamstring make it look like he's ready to shine again. He hasn't found much help up front, limiting him to 107 yards on 30 carries, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that doesn't think he'd have better stats if he hadn't been limited to 3 carries in the second half of the Cincy game.

With Clifton out for the forseeable future with a sprained ankle, the offensive line is shuffled once again. The lineup, from left to right, will likely be Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz, Scott Wells, Josh Sitton, and Allen Barbre. According to Jason Wilde, there are several other options that the team is considering, including moving Barbre from RT to LT and promoting either Breno Giacomini or T.J. Lang to RT. This would keep the interior line of Colledge-Spitz-Sitton intact.

With so much uncertainty, Green Bay's chances of mounting an effective ground attack are up in the air. Fortunately, St. Louis is far from a stalwart run defense. As a team, they're giving up 146 yards per game. This is even more glaring when considering their first opponent (Seattle) is no longer a powerhouse rushing team. Still, despite giving up large chunks of yardage, the Rams' run defense did not allow Clinton Portis to score in Week 2. The addition of James Laurinaitis and return to health of Will Witherspoon more than makes up for the release of Pisa Tinoisamoa, and the tandem of Clifton Ryan and Jake Long are fairly strong against run blockers. However, Adam Carriker's trip to the I.R. promoted the undersized Gary Gibson to start alongside the aging Leonard Little, leaving the right side of their defensive line vulnerable to the run. Nobody in St. Louis' secondary can be described as a run-stopper.

Advantage: Green Bay, but only if they actually call run plays. If Grant sees less than five carries in a half, you'll know something went wrong. If there's a team vulnerable to a strong running game, it's the 2009 Rams.

GB passing vs. STL defense: Aaron Rodgers looked like a world-beater in the preseason...until teams started stepping up their pass rush and the offensive tackles forgot how to pass block. Allen Barbre made remarkable improvement from the first week to the second, but he will have his hands full with Leonard Little. The winner Barbre-Little matchup will likely determine the owner of the RT position for the rest of the season. On the other side, Jake Long is a capable pass rusher in the mold of Aaron Kampman before he got famous (unathletic but high motor, poor mechanics but determined, blah blah blah...) Whoever starts at LT (most likely Daryn Colledge) won't have as difficult of a matchup as the RT (Barbre), but still a matchup to pay attention to.

St. Louis' pass defense is ranked 25th in the league, giving up 258 yards per game. This is largely because of the average defensive backfield they employ. At CB, Ronald Bartell and Jonathan Wade are merely decent players with an average skill set. They're not lightning fast or amazing athletes or strong bump-and-run style corners; they're just guys who go out and try to execute whatever coverage is given to them.

Their situation at safety is better with James Butler and Oshiomogho Atogwe starting with our beloved Anthony Smith filling the backup role for both positions. Both Butler and Atogwe are young players with good experience starting in the NFL, they're both rangy athletes who can cover space, and Atogwe in particular has a knack for finding the ball. Neither one is particularly strong in run support, but they won't shy away from it either.

Aaron Rodgers' protection is priority #1 on offense, but catching passes is a close #2. In both games, the dependable cast of Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, James Jones, and Jordy Nelson have all had at least one dropped ball. Jermichael Finley and Ryan Grant also have drops, but Finley is still maturing and Grant has never been a good receiver. The return of Brandon Jackson to practice on Wednesday might give Rodgers another weapon on passing downs, but that shouldn't matter. The talent is there, and Rodgers has done an excellent job keeping control of the ball despite getting batted around like a ball of yarn in the first two weeks. If the receivers can shake off whatever is keeping them from catching passes, Rodgers' punishment at least won't be in vain.

Advantage: Green Bay by a slight margin. Again, the talent is there; they just need to execute.

Preliminary Verdict: Green Bay has an excellent chance of bouncing back from the Cincinnati debacle and playing a dominant game against the Rams. But be warned, if the players are thinking more about Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, and You Know Who than they are Steven Jackson, Jake Long, and Marc Bulger, expect another major disappointment (and even more Vikings fans coming to the site to let us know that the Packers failed.)

Let's put it this way: Neither team has very much momentum right now. Green Bay has higher aspirations for this season, so they could definitely use the boost. Hopefully, they don't overlook the Rams like some people feel they did the Bengals.

Poll

What outcome do you see for Week 3 vs. St. Louis?

Big GB win.

213 votes

Slim GB win.

149 votes

Too close to call.

32 votes

Slim STL win.

36 votes

Big STL win.

22 votes

452 votes | Poll has closed

Rams take Redskins down to the wire; come up short in a 7-9 loss

VanRam — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:43:14 -0000

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

The St. Louis Rams lost a close one to the Washington Redskins. A few sloppy plays and trouble along both lines were the main contributors in the loss.

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It wasn't a win, but it was tantalizingly close for the St Louis Rams as they made a strong showing against the Washington Redskins, a 10 point favorite. You can break down the game, slice it up anyway you want. There were a number of factors contributing to the final score, but, for me, it all came down to the last two minutes of the game. And when was the last time you could say that about the Rams?

Of course, fans of sloppy play still had plenty to appreciate.

After a sloppy effort last in their opener against the Seahawks, the Rams offense came out and immediately established a rhythm, which stalled out when Donnie Avery dropped a first down pass. It wasn't the last time Avery, last season's rookie hero, would be a ball-and-chain for the Rams as he dropped another first down pass on the Rams very last possession of a 9-7 game.

The defense kept it competitive, defining bend but don't break in the process. The Redskins had more than 360 yards in offense, two-thirds of that through the air, but managed just three field goals because of timely stops by the Rams. The stats deceive. Washington QB Jason Campbell got most of his passing yards because the Rams lacked an effective pass rush. The defensive line was a problem all day, except when it wasn't. And when it wasn't, it made timely plays, like sacking Campbell in the fourth quarter and very nearly getting a safety.

Steven Jackson finished the game with 104 yards on just 17 carries, 58 of those yards coming on a run that ended with a Donnie Avery illegal block. Pat Shurmur stuck with the run. In the early going, it looked like the run might be in for a long day. DT Albert Haynesworth made things difficult in the middle, to sat the least. However, a nice block by RIchie Incognito, no doubt fearing exile to the bench, to keep Fletcher off Jackson created the near-game changing moment on Jackson's 58-yard run. They kept grinding it out to keep the run in the arsenal. That decision saved the screen pass and generally helped to keep the field open for the offense.

The game was still well within reach at the start of the fourth quarter. Marc Bulger and the Rams grinding it out from their own 25 in a drive spanning the last two quarters of the game. Jackson ran through the left side for a first down to get the ball to the Redskins 15-yard-line. Should have had three at least, right? No, a third down conversion was fumbled by none other than Donnie Avery, to totally keep the Rams off the board. I'm going to go ahead and call that the play that sunk the Rams. You can probably find another play or two and argue the point, but the Rams played a much better football game, signaling that there might be more enjoyable football in St. Louis this year.

Random Thoughts:

I still like what I saw from James Laurinaitis. His missed tackle on Portis that allowed Washington to convert their first 4th down attempt late in the game reminded me he was a still a rookie.
The defensive line is weak; however, the run defense is, overall, better because of much better play from the linebackers. They did get some pressure, certainly at times when it mattered, but still let Campbell go about his work with too much ease.
Campbell's passing numbers conceal the strong play from the secondary (again, not perfect). Campbell had too much time too often to complete some solid passes that might not have happened with more pressure coming up front. They were better against the run.
Pickups LaJuan Ramsey and Gary Gibson are our two best defensive tackles. That allows teams to concentrate on Chris Long (who was solid today).
I liked the way the Rams finally stepped up and took Cooley out of the equation, mostly. He had 6 catches in the first half, but just one after that. That's a positive sign.
On the other side of the ball, Marc Bulger looks much better than he has the past two years. Not the Bulger of 2006, but he doesn't have those kind of receivers either.
Keenan Burton stepped up in the nick of time. He could have been written off with a poor outing today.
Nobody expected Donnie Avery to be the league's best WR, but this kind of play in simply inexcusable. He had costly ball control issues to go with a dumb couple of penalties. If he doesn't botch all those things, it's a different ball game.
At times I caught myself doing the Marge Simpson groan of disapproval at the offensive line, but Washington has a good defensive front. Containing an obviously fired up Albert Haynesworth is no small task. Bulger was pressured too much early in the game and sacked once late, but it could have been much, much worse. They still have some things to work on. They should be better than this.
Keep an eye on the Jason Smith situation.
We need someone who can return kicks. Desperately.

All in all, I'd say it was a positive outing for the Rams. At least it was interesting until the end. (If I'm a Redskins fan, I'm worried right now). Then again, as head coach Steve Spagnuolo said after the game:

"There are no moral victories in football."

That says it all.

Steve Spagnuolo the Wacky Blitzer and Three Plays Before Paydirt

John Morgan — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 23:33:22 -0000

Sometimes a wacky blitz is just that: wacky. Clancy Pendergast has his moments. Steve Spagnuolo fell in love with the corner blitz. It never once worked. He responded to Seattle's four wide outs and running back with a corner blitz from a 4-3. That sounds plain stupid.

Seattle was in a four wide formation, but the only positional wide receivers were T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Nate Burleson. On the left was Justin Griffith wide and John Carlson in the slot. Housh was almost aligned at left tight end, but was off the line and standing. Coaches match position for position and not position for formation, but I am not sure that is always the right choice. It wasn't the right choice to blitz the left corner, because Burleson quick-curled and Hasselbeck found him wide-open for 13. Leonard Little hit him late and another 15 was tacked on.

Corner blitz, drop the end in coverage, watch it fail, watch the end commit a personal foul, and move on. That's the life of a rookie coach. Seattle then ran a stretch right. Ray Willis couldn't control tackle Gary Gibson, and Gibson slowed Jones enough that when he broke Gibson's tackle, the defense had regrouped and plugged the middle. James Laurinaitis tackled Jones after four.

The next blitz worked. Seattle had the misfortune of running play-action. The line held at first, but play-action is slow, and by the time Hasselbeck had set, the sixth and final blitzer, David Vobora, was wending through the line and into the backfield. Vobora hit Hasselbeck as he threw and the ball sailed high over John Carlson. Julius Jones could have blocked Vobora but didn't see him. That is not an inexcusable error, but is an error. Jones was not blocking anyone.

Grading the Rams: Week 1 @ Seattle

3k — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:48:05 -0000

That was not pretty. That is all. Grades after the fold.

QB: C+

Bulger doesn't deserve the blame for the offensive woes. He forced very few throws, and the ones he did came after the game was "decided." Still, to throw less than 200 yds., less than a 50% clip and no TDs prevents me from giving him in the B range.

HB: C-

This is as much for the playcalling as it is a condemnation of Jackson's play or the O-line. Any game where Action Jackson doesn't get 20 carries signals a failure, especially when he fails to tally a single reception. We needed more from him today.

WR: D

Robinson and Avery made themselves available in the 2nd half, but by then it was too little too late. Too often did we see Bulger in the pocket waiting for one of his receivers to get open. Robinson proved he was more than a preseason flare and Avery ran some solid routes underneath late in the game, but Donnie didn't register a reception longer than 16 yards. Poor showing.

O-line: D/B/F

The three grades are essentially for run blocking/pass blocking/Incognito. When you have a talent like Steven Jackson, you have to give him opportunities to succeed. He had very few today. On the other hand, Marc Bulger had something he enjoyed very rarely in 2008: time to throw. The Seahawks registered just three sacks despite multiple examples of Bulger waiting in the pocket and accepting the sack as a last resort. The final game is self-explanatory for anyone who watched the game. Incognito registered the first offensive play of the game after an interception in our end zone pushed the momentum in our favor with a false start. It was an omen of the kind of game he would play. Two unnecessary roughness penalties and the occasional absent-minded tomfoolery later, Cogs would at last be pulled to the bench.

I'll say this. I've been a defender of Incognito's ability as a blocker and the fact that he brings more fire than anyone on offense and arguably the team. But if he can't control that fire within the confines of a play and effect his skills on a defensive line instead of the referees, then we'd better off without him.

D-line: B/F

Outside of Julius Jones' 62 yard scamper, he was held to just 55 yards on 18 carries. That's a testament to the tenaciousness of our D-line, especially Gary Gibson who should make Adam Carriker an afterthought. Unfortunately, the pressure we saw on run defense was absent in the pass. Chris Long, Leonard Little and James Hall combined for 10 tackles... and 0 sacks against a line that was without two starters.

LB: B

James Laurinaitis is an NFL MLB. He finished with 14 tackles, 10 of them on his own. You can point to his overpenetration on the first TD, you can look at plays when his lateral movement put him a second behind where he should have been, but the reality is that he played exceptionally well for his first NFL game. Witherspoon looked like a true WLB and Vobora was anything but irrelevant. A solid showing.

DB: C+

Hard to put these guys in the "C" range after coming out so strong, but the Seahawks ran the kind of offense we needed to run. To counter, the DBs should have played a tighter first ten yards until Hasselbeck showed a willingness to go deep. We saw flashes of ability from Bartell, Wade and King - that's a great sign. And the duo of James Butler and O.J. Atogwe is as good as advertised. They came out ready to play.

ST: C

I wanted to give this a C-, but Donnie Jones is the best punter in the NFL hands down. He does as much as you could possibly ask of a punter and more with every opportunity. Josh Brown, on the other hand, had one chance to help the Rams and failed. Against his former team, you would have hoped he could quiet the opposing crowd and give the Rams a 3-0 lead. Keep hoping. Donnie Avery's fumble on the opening kick gave a possession and momentum to Seattle at one of the worst times he could have done so. Luckily, our defense was more than capable of dealing with the turnover.

Coaching: D-

So many penalties, two burnt time outs early, some simple playcalling (both in terms of timing offensively and to sit off the blitz defensively when Seattle had committed to the quick pass) earns this grade. And putting 12 men on the field for the FG attempt at the end of the half turned a 7-7 game into a 14-0 nothing one. A 14 point swing just before the half is difficult to bring to the locker room. Were my expectations higher? Definitely. Will they remain so? Certainly. Am I worried? Without question.

The Rams leave this game knowing they beat themselves early on with penalties and soft offensive play. These are correctable faults, but they were at the end of the first drive, quarter and half, and we saw little change. This is a tough final score to stomach simply because we came out with a desire defensively, and a childish hyperactivity on offense. You can give "credit" to the crowd, but any NFL player who can't play in a hostile environment without containing their emotions and providing their skills to their teammates shouldn't be on the field in the NFL. Get to work, Coach Spagnuolo. You have a lot to do.

Adam Carriker injured

VanRam — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:04:22 -0000

St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Adam Carriker suffered a shoulder injury against the Chiefs last night, and by all accounts it seems like it could be serious. The team isn't saying much about the injury, but Spagnuolo conveyed his dismay that it could be a bad situation.

If you recall, Carriker was just coming back from an ankle injury, getting into his first taste of preseason work last night...with the second team. The former first round pick has battled injuries throughout his college (didn't stop Linehan and Haslett from drafting him at #14 overall though) and professional careers.

I know the extent of the injury isn't known, but this does not bode well for Carriker's future in the league. He has officially earned the label "injury risk" and calling him a "bust" isn't out of line either.

If Carriker's injury is as serious as it sounds, the Rams would probably opt to stick him on the PUP list, starting the season with Clifton Ryan, preseason surprise Gary Gibson, Darell Scott, and Hollis Thomas at DT. That's not a great DT lineup, but can be serviceable in this system. Obviously DL jumps to the top of the priority list next year.

The Next Cut

ram_rod — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:47:14 -0000

by Jeff Roberson - AP

4 months ago: St. Louis Rams cornerback Quincy Butler, right, deflects a pass intended for wide receiver Ronald Curry during NFL football training camp Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009, at the Rams' training facility in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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With today's cut in the book's, the next step on all the players on the roster is trying to make it past this Saturday, September 5th.With the KC game looming two days prior to that, anyone who wants a roster spot will need to play well this week to get one.

Lets look at some of the hopefuls, shall we?

Gary Gibson: He's been doing a good enough job to get Adam Carriker out of the starting line-up, but even then Jim Thomas had him "on the bubble". With James Hall, Victor Adeyanju, Leonard Little and Chris Long on the outside and Carriker and Clifton Ryan (presumably with rookie Darell Scott and/or Hollis Thomas) on the inside, there isn't much room left for another player . However, he has played well enough and a solid performance this Thursday should give him enough in the eye of the coaches to make it onto the team.

Quincy Butler: Butler had a good camp and followed that up with unimpressive play in the preseason (he did have an interception last week though). With Tye Hill gone, he has a better chance to make it, especially if he can up his game on Thursday. He will probably stick with the team at the 5th spot unless they can find someone better.

Keith Null: Whether you think he is going to be big later on or not, the 3rd QB spot is up for grabs. Boller and Bulger are safe, obviously, but with the Rams slowly jettisoning older players, Null has a good chance. With no one clearly in the lead, KC's game will decide who will be looking for a job.

Enjoy your Tuesday everyone.