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COMMENTARY | On Thursday, August 30, the St. Louis Rams beat the Baltimore Ravens 31-17 to finish their preseason with a 2-2 record. Quarterback Sam Bradford was 11 of 16 for 175 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rams.
While Bradford and the starting offense looked great against Baltimore, the Ravens rested most of their starters. That means that the Rams have really only played excellent offensive football against one starting unit this preseason: the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s it. We simply don’t know how well this team is going to perform against the Detroit Lions next Sunday.
Question marks
The Rams have significant question marks heading into the regular season. The team’s initial 53-man roster has six 2012 undrafted free agents on it, including five non-special teams players. That’s a sign of how little depth the Rams have on the team. One major injury could sentence this club to another season with 11 or more losses.
For example, Sam Bradford’s backup quarterback is undrafted rookie Austin Davis. Would you really trust Davis to lead this team if Bradford got hurt? I understand that Davis looked great throughout the preseason while beating out veteran Kellen Clemens for the job, but we haven’t seen the rookie take on an NFL first team defense yet.
That said, the Rams may still sign a veteran backup for Bradford. There are quite a few decent quarterbacks out there for general manager Les Snead to look at, but that would require him to take from another position on the roster that’s short on talent. Injuries are inevitable, which means Snead will have to find depth on the fly this season for the Rams to survive a very difficult schedule.
Another question remains the offensive line. It proved able to protect Bradford against the Ravens’ second team defense, but it was mauled by both the Indianapolis Colts’ and the Dallas Cowboys’ starting defensive lines this preseason. We know that Bradford can move the Rams down the field if he’s given some protection. Yet we also know that he exhibited signs of “happy feet” last season when the offensive line failed to block for him. If the Rams have any chance of being successful in 2012, they must find a way to protect Sam Bradford. Their first major test will be next Sunday against a very talented Lions’ front seven.
Finally, there’s the defensive line. The Rams were one of the worst teams in the NFL last season against the run. The team rebuilt its interior line during the offseason, which included making defensive tackle Michael Brockers its first round pick in the 2012 draft. The problem is that Brockerssuffered a high-ankle sprain against the Ravens and could be out for a month. We don’t know how the defensive line will perform with him on the bench.
There are some positives
Despite all these uncertainties, there are some things about the Rams to be excited about. Steven Jackson has looked three or four years younger in limited action this summer. He’s going to have a career season in offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s offense if he can stay healthy.
Defensively, Robert Quinn has been on fire throughout the preseason. He earned a sack, forced a fumble, and deflected a punt against the Ravens on Thursday night. When you look at his progression throughout last season and his performances in the team’s four 2012 exhibition games, it’s clear that Quinn is about to have a breakout season.
Meanwhile, rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins has had an outstanding training camp. It’s clear that the Rams found themselves a playmaker when they selected him in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. His electrifying 76-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Ravens is only one example of how well he’s played this preseason. The combination of Cortland Finnegan and Jenkins at cornerback will be a strength for the Rams in 2012.
Finally, I think it’s clear that the Rams’ wide receivers are better than I thought they would be this season. Bradford still has excellent chemistry with Danny Amendola, and veteran receiver Steve Smith also proved valuable during training camp. Rookies Chris Givens and Brian Quick have also done a solid job picking up the Rams offense. While St. Louis isn’t going to blow many teams out of the water with their receivers, I’m convinced there is talent there for Bradford to rely on.
The Rams still have a long way to go, but they are on the right path to playing winning football. If they can find answers to some of the questions plaguing the roster, the team might surprise a few people this season.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, GatewayMMA.com and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
(Originally published on Yahoo! Sports)
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COMMENTARY | On Thursday, August 30, the St. Louis Rams beat the Baltimore Ravens 31-17 to finish their preseason with a 2-2 record. Quarterback Sam Bradford was 11 of 16 for 175 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Rams.
While Bradford and the starting offense looked great against Baltimore, the Ravens rested most of their starters. That means that the Rams have really only played excellent offensive football against one starting unit this preseason: the Kansas City Chiefs. That’s it. We simply don’t know how well this team is going to perform against the Detroit Lions next Sunday.
Question marks
The Rams have significant question marks heading into the regular season. The team’s initial 53-man roster has six 2012 undrafted free agents on it, including five non-special teams players. That’s a sign of how little depth the Rams have on the team. One major injury could sentence this club to another season with 11 or more losses.
For example, Sam Bradford’s backup quarterback is undrafted rookie Austin Davis. Would you really trust Davis to lead this team if Bradford got hurt? I understand that Davis looked great throughout the preseason while beating out veteran Kellen Clemens for the job, but we haven’t seen the rookie take on an NFL first team defense yet.
That said, the Rams may still sign a veteran backup for Bradford. There are quite a few decent quarterbacks out there for general manager Les Snead to look at, but that would require him to take from another position on the roster that’s short on talent. Injuries are inevitable, which means Snead will have to find depth on the fly this season for the Rams to survive a very difficult schedule.
Another question remains the offensive line. It proved able to protect Bradford against the Ravens’ second team defense, but it was mauled by both the Indianapolis Colts’ and the Dallas Cowboys’ starting defensive lines this preseason. We know that Bradford can move the Rams down the field if he’s given some protection. Yet we also know that he exhibited signs of “happy feet” last season when the offensive line failed to block for him. If the Rams have any chance of being successful in 2012, they must find a way to protect Sam Bradford. Their first major test will be next Sunday against a very talented Lions’ front seven.
Finally, there’s the defensive line. The Rams were one of the worst teams in the NFL last season against the run. The team rebuilt its interior line during the offseason, which included making defensive tackle Michael Brockers its first round pick in the 2012 draft. The problem is that Brockerssuffered a high-ankle sprain against the Ravens and could be out for a month. We don’t know how the defensive line will perform with him on the bench.
There are some positives
Despite all these uncertainties, there are some things about the Rams to be excited about. Steven Jackson has looked three or four years younger in limited action this summer. He’s going to have a career season in offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s offense if he can stay healthy.
Defensively, Robert Quinn has been on fire throughout the preseason. He earned a sack, forced a fumble, and deflected a punt against the Ravens on Thursday night. When you look at his progression throughout last season and his performances in the team’s four 2012 exhibition games, it’s clear that Quinn is about to have a breakout season.
Meanwhile, rookie cornerback Janoris Jenkins has had an outstanding training camp. It’s clear that the Rams found themselves a playmaker when they selected him in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft. His electrifying 76-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Ravens is only one example of how well he’s played this preseason. The combination of Cortland Finnegan and Jenkins at cornerback will be a strength for the Rams in 2012.
Finally, I think it’s clear that the Rams’ wide receivers are better than I thought they would be this season. Bradford still has excellent chemistry with Danny Amendola, and veteran receiver Steve Smith also proved valuable during training camp. Rookies Chris Givens and Brian Quick have also done a solid job picking up the Rams offense. While St. Louis isn’t going to blow many teams out of the water with their receivers, I’m convinced there is talent there for Bradford to rely on.
The Rams still have a long way to go, but they are on the right path to playing winning football. If they can find answers to some of the questions plaguing the roster, the team might surprise a few people this season.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, GatewayMMA.com and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
(Originally published on Yahoo! Sports)
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