Examining the Greatness of the NFL Draft Class of 1996

When you think about all-time drafts, the year 1996 rarely comes up. You might hear about the 1983 QB class or the 2004 QB class. You might hear about how the Steelers selected four future Hall of Famers in 1974, or even how the Chicago Bears selected Dick Butkus and Gayle Sayers with the greatest back-to-back picks in NFL history in 1965 (a draft that also featured Fred Biletnikoff and Joe Namath, by the way).

But 1996? Not so much.

But with the retirement Monday of Patriots great Tedy Bruschi, I decided to head back to that 1996 draft to see how it measured up.

The answer: Pretty damn well.

Now I would love to see a full tournament bracket of rosters made up from each year, but this isn’t the time for that. For now, let’s just take a look at the Class of 1996 and appreciate the vast contributions its members made to the last 13 years of the National Football League.

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Rams-Bengals: St. Louis Shows Signs of Life in 24-21 Victory

Rams fans had justifiable cause to be worried about their team after the first two preseason games. The offense couldn’t score. The defense couldn’t cover. It just wasn’t good.

 

But in Thursday night’s 24-21 preseason victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, we got a small glimpse at just what these guys have been working on the past few months.

 

Now we’re not fitting these guys for Super Bowl rings by any means. But there was enough positive from this game to give fans some hope the first few weeks of the season won’t be a complete catastrophe.

 

Here were some of the things that stood out:

* James Hall blew up Cedric Benson in the backfield for a four-yard loss on Cincinnati’s first offensive play after the Rams’ second touchdown. Hall was playing the right defensive end position with Chris Long moving over to the left side. Moving parts on the D-line is a hallmark of the Steve Spagnuolo defense, and it paid off handsomely on that play.

 

* Again playing on the left side late in the first quarter, Long was able to get past tight end Daniel Coats to bat down a ball and force a third and long. Then in the second quarter he was able to beat the right tackle on an inside move and force the quarterback to rush a throw that could have gone for big yardage.

 

Disruption—that’s what has been missing from Long’s game, and that’s what he provided in this contest.

 

* Another guy fans were looking to see some spark from was O.J. Atogwe, and they got that in the second quarter in the form of a strip of running back Bernard Scott that James Butler picked up for an 73-yard touchdown that put the Rams ahead 21-7.

 

Nothing picks up a team like causing a turnover and returning it for a touchdown, and that play (Atogwe also had two nice blocks on the return) showed why he was the Rams’ franchise player this offseason.

 

* I’ve been giving Kyle Boller all kinds of hell this summer, but he played like a backup should play against the Bengals—smart, safe, manage the game, and move the offense down the field. He finished the game having completed 14 of 20 pass attempts for 96 yards and one touchdown (the two-yard flip to Samkon Gado to score the Rams’ second touchdown).

 

I still wouldn’t want Boller as my starting quarterback, but he wasn’t anywhere near the disaster Thursday as he was against the Falcons.

 

(That’s as big a compliment as I can give him right now. Work with me.)

 

* It looks like Gado is the man for the backup job behind Steven Jackson. The offensive line gave him huge holes, and he hit them hard in the Rams’ second drive. Even when there weren’t holes to run through, Gado put his nose in there and ground out the yards that were there to be gotten.

 

As long as Gado keeps a hold of the ball and doesn’t make mistakes in pass protection, he should be in good shape.

 

(That of course leaves Antonio Pittman, Kenneth Darby, and Chris Ogbonnaya fighting for probably just two spots. Right now, it looks like Darby on the outs. I don’t think Spagnuolo ever forgave him for those two blown blitz pickups against the Jets.)

 

* Rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis sure seems to have a knack for being around the ball when things happen. Against the Falcons, Laurinaitis was in perfect position to intercept a pass that had gotten knocked in the air. Against the Bengals, after J.T. O’Sullivan fumbled the snap, there was Laurinaitis to fall on it. He was also only about a yard off being in position for another interception.

 

Laurinaitis still has some growing to do. The TV crew had a good look at him getting swallowed up at the goal line on Brian Leonard’s second-quarter touchdown run. But from what we’ve seen so far, the Rams nailed the decision to select Laurinaitis over Rey Maualuga and others with the 35th overall pick last April.

 

* When I wrote my things to watch column for this game, I mentioned I’d like to see Larry Grant get some time with the first-unit defense. He did, and he came through, stopping Benson for a three-yard loss early in the second quarter.

 

I wrote it the other day and it bears repeating—Grant is a player, and the more time he spends on the field, the better off the Rams defense will be.

 

* Since we’re talking about things I wrote that are coming true, Quincy Butler needs to get some more action with the top unit. In back-to-back plays in the third quarter, Butler came up and made a beautiful open-field tackle, and then intercepted a Jordan Palmer pass and almost took it to the house.

 

Considering the lack of progress by Justin King, Jonathan Wade, and Bradley Fletcher, Butler has more than earned his shot at the nickel corner job. Here’s hoping he gets to play major minutes in next week’s preseason finale against the Chiefs to prove he deserves a roster spot.

 

* I hate to end on a down note, but god were the special teams bad, especially early.

 

On the first kickoff, backup safety David Roach got called for a push in the back to set the Rams up at their own 11-yard line. Then after the offense’s three-and-out, the special teams gave up a 49-yard punt return to Quan Cosby for a touchdown (bad punt, bad coverage).

 

Then there was the missed field goal at the end of the first half, and then the 44-yard punt return by Tom Nelson in the third quarter,

 

You can bet Spagnuolo and special teams coordinator Tom McMahon will be breaking down the tape on those plays, and the culprits will soon find their way to the waiver wire (assuming there’s anybody better to replace them with).

Five Rams To Watch Against The Bengals

Everybody knows the third preseason game is where it’s at when it comes to getting ready for the NFL season.

 

We’ve had the two-a-days. We’ve had the “get our feet wet” first preseason game. We’ve had the “time to start putting things together” second preseason game. And next week, it’s the “please don’t cut me” game.

 

This is the money game.

 

The third preseason game is the last chance for the starters to get their act in gear, before the team makes the turn toward the regular season. It’s also the last time a lot of guys will be on the active roster with cuts looming next Tuesday.

 

With that in mind, here are five guys I’ll be keeping a close eye on Thursday night:

 

Kyle Boller

 

Boller has done nothing to make fans, coaches, or players confident that should he can come in and direct the offense to 21 or more points should Marc Bulger not come back as quickly as expected, or gets injured again (since the defense doesn’t look like it’s winning many 13-10 games anytime soon).

 

So far, Boller has completed only 12 of 25 pass attempts for 116 yards. And if you were to take the names off the jerseys and asked a fan who didn’t know anybody from anybody to rank Keith Null, Brock Berlin, and Boller purely on their performance in the preseason thus far; Boller is ending up last in those rankings 100 out of 100 times.

 

He just hasn’t been very good.

 

With that said, cutting bait on Boller before the regular season and going with a cast-off from another franchise would be a reactionary fan move, not a smart football move.

 

Boller is making this team.

 

Rams General Manager Billy Devaney scouted the available options at back-up quarterback in the offseason, then picked Boller. They didn’t try to trade for Matt Cassel from the Patriots and they didn’t draft Mark Sanchez, who will start from the get-go for the New York Jets. They looked at the available options and Bulger—Boller—Berlin/Null is what they decided.

 

Sometimes you just have to live with your decisions and hope they turn out. Kyle Boller is one such decision.

 

And Thursday night against the Bengals, it would be real swell if he could provide at least a glimmer of hope that he was the right one.

 

 

Derek Stanley

 

Stanley continues to be hit and miss. One moment he’s catching a touchdown. The next, he’s dropping easy passes. Then, he’s providing a spark in the return game, or dropping passes.

 

Stanley needs to realize that occasional moments of excellence aren’t good enough. I would rather have a player with a lower ceiling who can sustain their performance, than a player who can touch greatness, but spends most of his time somewhere between “suck” and “maddeningly frustrating.”

 

Donnie Avery looks like he’ll be fine for the regular season, but he won’t be playing against a physical Bengals secondary on Thursday; Stanley will, and more than doing something spectacular, he just needs to show he can be a consistent contributor.

 

 

Larry Grant

 

The Rams’ starting defense was terrible against the Falcons. There’s no getting around that. And I wrote the other day, that fans should have a little patience as players get used to the system being installed by head coach Steve Spagnuolo and defensive coordinator Ken Flajole.

 

With that said, time might not be the only thing needed. Perhaps a roster shake-up is also in order.

 

Grant has consistently shown an ability to be a disruptive force. Whether it was at camp practice or in the preseason, he’s been one of the few guys who stood out as difference makers.

 

Against Atlanta, Grant had a sack of Falcons QB DJ Shockley, forcing a fumble that Brock Berlin turned into the Rams’ first touchdown of the game. These are the plays the Rams will need as they scrap for wins against more talented teams in 2009.

 

And so I know that Chris Draft, entering his 12th season, has the veteran status and may picks things up a little bit faster, but I’d really like to see Grant run with those next to former college teammate James Laurinaitis.

 

After all, it can’t get much worse, right?

 

 

O.J. Atogwe

 

Assigning blame for mistakes in the secondary is one of the trickiest things, in that you don’t know exactly what defense was called, what reads the defenders were supposed to make, and who failed to cover their responsibility.

 

Did the corner release too early, incorrectly assuming he had safety help over the top? Did the safety miss his assignment and go to the wrong side of the field, leaving a corner to look like he got burnt when really he was doing his job covering the flat?

 

Did the linebacker not cover the tight end, forcing the safety to come up and make the tackle even though it wasn’t his coverage?

 

Sometimes, you just don’t know.

 

With that said, O.J. Atogwe, “Mr. Franchise Player,” has been doing a mighty fine Adam Archuletta impression thus far this preseason: Always around the ball because he’s usually one step behind the guy catching it.

 

Atogwe is one of the top paid safeties in the league this year, and against a Bengals offense missing Carson Palmer, he needs to do a better job of making a play before the other team picks up 15 yards.

 

 

Chris Long

 

I’ve been on Long’s case all preseason because I just don’t think he provides much to the defense. He’s not getting around the corner and hitting the quarterback. He’s not collapsing the line in the run game (in fact, he got moved out like yesterday’s trash when Atlanta was on the goal line).

 

He just isn’t doing near enough to justify his starting spot; not to mention the ungodly salary as the second overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

 

But Cincinnati has a bad offensive line. They drafted Andre Smith with the sixth overall pick, but his crazy insistence that he get paid more than the guy picked after him has left the two sides somehow unable to reach a contract.

 

So if there’s any line the Rams should be able to create pressure against, it’s these guys. And Long needs to show something other than his amazing chase speed when the play is 10 yards in front of him.

 

The time to learn and figure things out is over. It’s time to show you can play. Because in just about two weeks, wins and losses will start to mean something.

St. Louis Rams Fans, Take Heart: The Defense Will Improve

One of the more interesting things about sports fans is the psychology of the loser.

 

The highlights and commemorative DVDs are all filled with cheering throngs elated with their team’s victory, but that’s just a small minority of the hundreds of millions of sports fans across the globe.

 

Most of us just end up dejected, working our way through the stages of grief until we can finally focus on the hope of next year.

 

This is the life of a St. Louis Rams fan.

 

Sure there were a couple years at the turn of the century when things went well. The Rams went a combined 56-24 from 1999 through 2003, with four playoff appearances and the 1999 Super Bowl victory over Tennessee.

 

But take out those five seasons, and the Rams are 49-95 since they moved from Los Angeles to St. Louis for the 1995 season, and 19-45 since last making the playoffs as an 8-8 Wild Card in 2004.

 

And coming off the worst two-year stretch in franchise history—5-27 overall and 1-11 in the NFC West—you can forgive Rams fans for watching the dismal start to Friday’s preseason loss to Atlanta and thinking, “Here we go again.”

 

In case you missed it, which would have been easy to do since the game wasn’t even shown live in St. Louis, here’s what went down:

 

Falcons receive. Run for no gain. Run for 43. Pass for seven. Run for nine. Pass for five. Run for seven. Run for four. Run for one. Run for one. Touchdown.

 

Rams take over on their own 16 thanks to a weak kick return, pick up 13 yards on five plays and punt the ball back to Atlanta.

 

Falcons take over at their own 30. Incomplete pass. Run for one. Pass for 11. Pass for 15. Pass for 18. Run for no gain. Pass for 11. Pass for 14. Touchdown.

 

That’s two drives with two touchdowns, 15 of 17 plays resulting in positive yardage, and an astronomical 8.65 yards per play for the Falcons starting offense in the first quarter.

 

And this is where the Rams’ “Here we go again” train would typically start picking up some steam.

 

But here’s a message to Rams fans who might feel like packing it in and focusing on which of the top quarterbacks to select with the top pick in the 2010 NFL Draft:

 

It’s ok. Don’t panic. This is all just part of the process.

 

Some perspective:

 

The last time head coach Steve Spagnuolo installed his defensive system, in 2007 with the New York Giants, it did not produce immediate success.

 

In the preseason that year, the Giants went 1-3, giving up more than 20 points in all three losses. Then in the first two weeks of the 2007 season, the Giants gave up a combined 80 points in losses to Dallas and Green Bay to fall to 0-2.

 

In the Cowboys game, Tony Romo threw for 345 yards and four touchdowns, the running back duo of Julius Jones and Marion Barber combined for 131 yards on 27 carries, and Jason Witten caught six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.

 

In the Packers game, New York allowed three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to turn a 14-13 nail-biter into a 35-13 washout.

 

Needless to say, things worked out alright for the Giants that season, finishing the year ranked seventh in total defense, first in sacks and won the Super Bowl, putting the “1” in the Patriots’ infamous 18-1.

 

Now the Rams don’t have the same talent as that 2007 Giants team. Leonard Little isn’t Michael Strahan, James Hall isn’t Justin Tuck, and Chris Long sure as hell isn’t Osi Umemyiora.

 

But defensive systems have a way of making stars out of their participants. And the Spagnuolo defense, adopted from the late Jim Johnson and others, has proven to have success once it takes hold.

 

So take heart, Rams fans. Things might look ugly now. And frankly, they might look ugly for a while to come. With road trips to Seattle and Washington in the first two weeks of the regular season, an 0-2 start seems eminently possible.

 

But there will be brighter days ahead for the defense.

 

The system is proven. It just needs time to take hold.

 

(And maybe a few more players.)

Rams Preview: St. Louis Has Something To Prove Against Atlanta

When the St. Louis Rams and Atlanta Falcons kick off Friday night at the Edward Jones Dome, it will be the first chance many Rams fans will have had to see in person the product rebuilt by GM Billy Devaney.

 

From the last time the Rams took the Dome turf, a gut-wrenching 17-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, gone are Jim Haslett, Al Saunders and Rick Venturi.

 

In their place is a trio of first-timers: Head coach Steve Spagnuolo, defensive coordinator Ken Flajole, and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

 

All three of those coaches are tasked with learning a new level of responsibility while at the same time trying to transform the Rams from a 2-14 laughingstock into some semblance of a respectable football team.

 

And then there are the changes on the field:

 

Gone are franchise faces Orlando Pace, Torry Holt, and Pisa Tinoisamoa.

 

Fakhir Brown, La’Roi Glover, Anthony Becht, Jason Craft, Brett Romberg, Dante Hall, Drew Bennett, Trent Green, and Brandon Gorin: All gone.

 

Many Rams fans would say not a moment too soon.

 

In their place are new faces of the franchise, guys like center Jason Brown, tackle Jason Smith, safety James Butler, and middle linebacker James Laurinaitis.

 

Though we have familiarized ourselves with the new names and their impressive profiles, doesn’t mean we know yet what kind of team this is going to be. We know what kind of team we think this is going to be. We know what kind of team we hope this is going to be.

Until we see the team develop on the field against the competition, though, we won’t really know.

 

In that vein, here are some things to watch as the 2009 Rams take the second of their preseason steps on the journey to the real thing:

 

* The Michael Vick signing got a whole lot of play nationally for the dog fighting and prison sentence, but the ramifications could be felt all the way to St. Louis:

 

The Eagles now need to trim a quarterback from their roster, and that QB may very well be A.J. Feeley, who had none other than new Rams OC Shurmur as his position coach for his entire career.

 

With starter Marc Bulger likely sitting out the rest of the preseason with a fractured pinkie, it’s time for Kyle Boller to prove he can step into the fray and lead this team should the situation arise during the regular season.

 

Boller only completed three of nine pass attempts for 25 yards against the Jets, and shows no sign of being anything more than the disappointment he was when Baltimore let him walk at the end of his rookie contract.

 

The Rams are only on the hook for $1.5 million on Boller, so if Feeley becomes available and Boller hasn’t shown anything, you could see a late switch at the back-up quarterback position.

 

* The Falcons’ main addition over the offseason was tight end Tony Gonzalez from the Chiefs. Gonzalez caught just one pass in limited action last week against the Lions, but should see increased action Friday as teams build toward the regular season.

 

Word out of Falcons camp is that Gonzalez and second-year quarterback Matt Ryan have developed a great rapport already, and that will provide a stiff test for a Rams team that couldn’t cover the Jets’ tight ends in their preseason opener in New York last week. Jets starting TE Dustin Keller had three catches for 52 yards, while defensive tackle-turned-tight end Kareem Brown had two catches for 20 yards.

 

With John Carlson (Seattle) and Chris Cooley (Washington) coming up over the first two weeks of the regular season, the Rams don’t have much time to get this right. It needs to start against Gonzalez.

* Sticking with the Falcons offense vs. the Rams defense, the St. Louis secondary did a horrible job against the Jets receivers last week, allowing Jets quarterbacks to complete 17 passes out of 25 attempts for 238 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

 

The Falcons feature Pro Bowl receiver Roddy White, who has more than 2,500 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns over the past two seasons. Rams corners will have to do a much better job on him than they did on the Jets’ receivers.

 

Rams running backs were the primary culprits in just about all of the pass protection breakdowns against the Jets, with Kenneth Darby whiffing on two safety blitzes and Antonio Pittman missing on another.

 

Samkon Gado’s 77-yard touchdown run late last week may have caught the eyes of TV producers, but the ability to protect the quarterback has to be a critical factor in determining who among the Rams stable of back-ups get the snaps behind starter Steven Jackson.

 

* With new left tackle Alex Barron likely to miss the game due to a knee injury, first-team right tackle Adam Goldberg will slide over to the let side and the rookie Smith will make his first start on the right side.

 

Smith had no problem with Vernon Gholston last week, but that’s not saying much considering Gholston is well on his way to bust status with the Jets.

 

This week, Smith gets another former top-ten bust in Falcons LDE Jamaal Anderson, the eighth overall pick out of Arkansas in 2007 who has just two sacks in 31 career games. Smith is in a dog fight with Chauncey Davis for the starting spot opposite John Abraham, so Smith could be facing the best from both.

 

 

* Finally, this is an opportunity for revenge for Rams receiver Laurent Robinson, a third-round pick out of Illinois State by Atlanta in 2007 who fell out of favor last year and was traded to St. Louis in exchange for swapping positions in the fifth and sixth rounds of the 2009 NFL Draft.

As a rookie, Robinson finished fourth in receptions by a rookie in 2007 with 37, behind only Dwayne Bowe, Calvin Johnson, and James Jones. Now a presumptive starter for St. Louis, Robinson has a chance to show the Falcons they made a mistake by giving up on him so early in his career.

The Ups And Downs of Rams 23, NY Jets 20

They say the games don’t count this time of year. It’s just the pre-season, where the starters play a few snaps, then it’s a parade of scrubs versus scrubs.

 

That’s what they say.

 

But they’re wrong.

 

The final score in the pre-season doesn’t count. This is true. Rams 23, Jets 20 was nice for a few minutes at the end, but it means absolutely nothing in terms of predicting how the 2009 regular season will play out.

 

But just because the final score is inconsequential does not make the process by which that score was achieved also inconsequential.

 

This was Steve Spagnuolo’s first game as a head coach, Pat Shurmur’s first game as an offensive coordinator, Ken Flajole’s first game as a defensive coordinator, and the first game for 80 or so Rams players under entirely new offensive and defensive schemes.

 

All in all, this was a good first test. They got out of the game fairly injury free, got some good tape on which to base corrections, and they won, which though meaningless in the long run, is still nice for a team that went 2-14 last year.

 

Watching the game, I kept some notes on guys who came through and performed well, and others who left some doubt. Call it the Ups and Downs of Rams 23, Jets 20.

 

Up

 

DE Leonard Little: Showed his trademark burst off the edge of the line, sacking Jets QB Kellen Clemens, forcing a fumble that was recovered by James Hall, leading to the Rams’ first points. These type of impact plays on defense that lead to easy points were sorely lacking last year.

 

WR Laurent Robinson: Huge 50-yard catch down the right side with Dwight Lowery all over him (Lowery actually got called for pass interference on the play). With Donnie Avery out for another four or five weeks, it’s critical for Robinson to own the top receiver role.

 

The Offensive Line: Marc Bulger certainly faced some pressure, but it was mostly from free rushers on the blitz not picked up by the backs. The starting offensive line of Alex Barron (no false starts), Jacob Bell (who went out early and was replaced by Roy Schuening), Jason Brown, Richie Incognito and Adam Goldberg stayed on their blocks and opened up holes for the backs. The Jets were missing mammoth nose tackle Kris Jenkins, but the Rams front line did a great job with the bodies they had in front of them.

 

RB Samkon Gado: Stuck in fourth position behind Steven Jackson, Kenneth Darby and Antonio Pittman on the RB depth chart, Gado made sure to get himself noticed early in the third quarter with a nifty 77-yard touchdown run for the Rams’ first touchdown of the preseason.

 

Gado burst through a gaping hole in the middle of the line (more great work by the second-team offensive line), then juked corner James Ihedigbo out of his shoes and accelerated down the sideline all the way to the house.

 

With Gado’s presence on special teams, those kind of plays on offense are going to make it awfully hard to let him go.

 

DE C.J. Ay You: Playing deep in the fourth quarter, Ah You did a good job of crashing off the edge of the line and pulling down the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage.

 

Ay You also had a heads-up play that went unnoticed on the telecast when Eric Moore forced an Erik Ainge fumble. Ah You wasn’t in position to recover the ball so he batted it into the backfield and chased after it. He still wasn’t able to recover the loose ball, but the move to bat the ball cost the Jets 18 yards (from the 24 to the 42) and took them out of field goal range in a three-point game with less than 3:30 to play.

 

And this is why you watch the fourth quarter of pre-season games.

 

Down

 

QB Marc Bulger: He had some nice throws, but he still looked jittery when the rush got into his face. There’s no doubt he can make the throws with a clean pocket, but I’m not at all convinced he retains the ability to stand in the pocket that’s breaking down around him and keep focus long enough to hit a streaking receiver down field.

 

Bulger just did too many turtle imitations in this game for me to feel comfortable with his mental state.

 

The Secondary: Jets receivers were wide open pretty much the whole game. Justin King was  beaten deep by a Mark Sanchez-to-David Clowney bomb from inside the Jets’ 10 yard line, and OJ Atogwe had trouble with Jets TE Dustin Keller (fantasy alert on Keller, especially once Sanchez takes the starting QB job).

 

Also, back-up safeties Todd Johnson and David Roach both missed several tackles in the open field that led to extra yardage for the offense, and Johnson bit hard on an Ainge play fake that led to a wide open Clowney for a 50-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

 

The secondary was the biggest concern going into the game and it remains so a day after. Expect the Rams to go cruising the waiver wire once other teams start making cuts.

 

DE Chris Long: I saw his big No. 72 out there, but he had no impact on the Jets offense. Watching him play, there’s nothing that screams, “Thank God we took him over Matt Ryan in the 2008 NFL Draft!”

 

RB Kenneth Darby: Had some nice runs and a good kick-off return, but missed critical blocks on two sacks of Marc Bulger. No matter what else you do as a running back on this team, you absolutely have to come through on your protection assignments or you just can’t be trusted to be on the field.

 

Fortunately for Darby, his primary competition for carries behind Steven Jackson, Antonio Pittman, wasn’t much better, missing a block on a blitzing safety that stalled the Rams’ two-minute drive at the end of the first half. Pittman did force a fumble on special teams, though.

 

Of course these are just snapshots of a few plays in the first preseason game. This is the time to make mistakes so you can get back into the film room and make corrections before the errors start costing you games that count.

 

Now it’s time to get some work done so that when the Atlanta Falcons come to the Edward Jones Dome next Friday, St. Louis can show they learned some lessons.

 

The Ups And Downs of Rams 23, NY Jets 20

They say the games don’t count this time of year. It’s just the pre-season, where the starters play a few snaps, then it’s a parade of scrubs versus scrubs.

 

That’s what they say.

 

But they’re wrong.

 

The final score in the pre-season doesn’t count. This is true. Rams 23, Jets 20 was nice for a few minutes at the end, but it means absolutely nothing in terms of predicting how the 2009 regular season will play out.

 

But just because the final score is inconsequential does not make the process by which that score was achieved also inconsequential.

 

This was Steve Spagnuolo’s first game as a head coach, Pat Shurmur’s first game as an offensive coordinator, Ken Flajole’s first game as a defensive coordinator, and the first game for 80 or so Rams players under entirely new offensive and defensive schemes.

 

All in all, this was a good first test. They got out of the game fairly injury free, got some good tape on which to base corrections, and they won, which though meaningless in the long run, is still nice for a team that went 2-14 last year.

 

Watching the game, I kept some notes on guys who came through and performed well, and others who left some doubt. Call it the Ups and Downs of Rams 23, Jets 20.

 

Up

 

DE Leonard Little: Showed his trademark burst off the edge of the line, sacking Jets QB Kellen Clemens, forcing a fumble that was recovered by James Hall, leading to the Rams’ first points. These type of impact plays on defense that lead to easy points were sorely lacking last year.

 

WR Laurent Robinson: Huge 50-yard catch down the right side with Dwight Lowery all over him (Lowery actually got called for pass interference on the play). With Donnie Avery out for another four or five weeks, it’s critical for Robinson to own the top receiver role.

 

The Offensive Line: Marc Bulger certainly faced some pressure, but it was mostly from free rushers on the blitz not picked up by the backs. The starting offensive line of Alex Barron (no false starts), Jacob Bell (who went out early and was replaced by Roy Schuening), Jason Brown, Richie Incognito and Adam Goldberg stayed on their blocks and opened up holes for the backs. The Jets were missing mammoth nose tackle Kris Jenkins, but the Rams front line did a great job with the bodies they had in front of them.

 

RB Samkon Gado: Stuck in fourth position behind Steven Jackson, Kenneth Darby and Antonio Pittman on the RB depth chart, Gado made sure to get himself noticed early in the third quarter with a nifty 77-yard touchdown run for the Rams’ first touchdown of the preseason.

 

Gado burst through a gaping hole in the middle of the line (more great work by the second-team offensive line), then juked corner James Ihedigbo out of his shoes and accelerated down the sideline all the way to the house.

 

With Gado’s presence on special teams, those kind of plays on offense are going to make it awfully hard to let him go.

 

DE C.J. Ay You: Playing deep in the fourth quarter, Ah You did a good job of crashing off the edge of the line and pulling down the ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage.

 

Ay You also had a heads-up play that went unnoticed on the telecast when Eric Moore forced an Erik Ainge fumble. Ah You wasn’t in position to recover the ball so he batted it into the backfield and chased after it. He still wasn’t able to recover the loose ball, but the move to bat the ball cost the Jets 18 yards (from the 24 to the 42) and took them out of field goal range in a three-point game with less than 3:30 to play.

 

And this is why you watch the fourth quarter of pre-season games.

 

Down

 

QB Marc Bulger: He had some nice throws, but he still looked jittery when the rush got into his face. There’s no doubt he can make the throws with a clean pocket, but I’m not at all convinced he retains the ability to stand in the pocket that’s breaking down around him and keep focus long enough to hit a streaking receiver down field.

 

Bulger just did too many turtle imitations in this game for me to feel comfortable with his mental state.

 

The Secondary: Jets receivers were wide open pretty much the whole game. Justin King was  beaten deep by a Mark Sanchez-to-David Clowney bomb from inside the Jets’ 10 yard line, and OJ Atogwe had trouble with Jets TE Dustin Keller (fantasy alert on Keller, especially once Sanchez takes the starting QB job).

 

Also, back-up safeties Todd Johnson and David Roach both missed several tackles in the open field that led to extra yardage for the offense, and Johnson bit hard on an Ainge play fake that led to a wide open Clowney for a 50-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

 

The secondary was the biggest concern going into the game and it remains so a day after. Expect the Rams to go cruising the waiver wire once other teams start making cuts.

 

DE Chris Long: I saw his big No. 72 out there, but he had no impact on the Jets offense. Watching him play, there’s nothing that screams, “Thank God we took him over Matt Ryan in the 2008 NFL Draft!”

 

RB Kenneth Darby: Had some nice runs and a good kick-off return, but missed critical blocks on two sacks of Marc Bulger. No matter what else you do as a running back on this team, you absolutely have to come through on your protection assignments or you just can’t be trusted to be on the field.

 

Fortunately for Darby, his primary competition for carries behind Steven Jackson, Antonio Pittman, wasn’t much better, missing a block on a blitzing safety that stalled the Rams’ two-minute drive at the end of the first half. Pittman did force a fumble on special teams, though.

 

Of course these are just snapshots of a few plays in the first preseason game. This is the time to make mistakes so you can get back into the film room and make corrections before the errors start costing you games that count.

 

Now it’s time to get some work done so that when the Atlanta Falcons come to the Edward Jones Dome next Friday, St. Louis can show they learned some lessons.

 

Previewing Rams-Jets from a St. Louis Perspective

When the Rams line up against the Jets in the first preseason action for both teams on Friday night, most eyes nationally will be on the Jets.

 

New York has the loquacious new coach in Rex Ryan, the new superstar-QB-in-the-making with Mark Sanchez, a huge media market obsessed with everything they do, and a fan base that’s as rabid as any in the league.

 

The Rams, on the other hand, are coming off a horrible 2-14 season, are expected to once again be one of the worst teams in the league, and sports fans in St. Louis will be far more interested in Cardinals-Padres than Rams-Jets on Friday night.

 

But even though the Rams’ side of the story isn’t what most people will tune in to see, the St. Louis players and coaches have the power to make themselves the story by the time the night is over.

 

Everybody knows the final score of the game doesn’t matter. You’d always rather win than lose, but the Lions went undefeated last preseason and look what that got them.

 

In the preseason, process is what counts, not results.

 

So as you’re watching the sideline cameras focus in on the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets, here are five things to look for from a Rams perspective.

 

1. The Rams defensive line has to be able to get some push on whoever is back in the pocket for the Jets. Center Nick Mangold, left guard Alan Faneca and right tackle Damien Woody will all be missing from the Jets’ starting front line, so the Rams first-team defensive line will largely be going up against the Jets’ second line. They need to dominate that matchup.

 

2. This will be the first chance for the Rams offense to work against a live defense in the offense being installed by new coordinator Pat Shurmur. Quarterback Marc Bulger has said he plans on playing at least two, possibly three quarters in this game in order to get the feel of the offense against an opposing defense.

 

With Ryan known for an attacking scheme from his days as the Baltimore defensive coordinator, this should be a good stiff test for the Rams protection schemes and offensive play execution.

 

3. One thing the Rams absolutely have to accomplish is keeping Bulger off his back. Alex Barron at left tackle and the combination of Adam Goldberg and rookie Jason Smith at right tackle have to be able to hold the corners and pick up edge rushes from the Jets’ outside linebackers.

 

Just to make sure Bulger stays healthy, Shurmur may want to consider using more max protect packages with the running backs and tight ends to make sure they have enough blockers to handle the rush.

 

4. Word out of Jets camp is that Ryan wants to make much better use out of running back Leon Washington, a really difficult match-up for opposing linebackers when he gets out into space. James Laurinaitis, who I expect to start at middle linebacker, is going to have to be on the ball with his reads in order to diagnose where Washington is going to be before he gets there. Once you’re a step behind Washington, you’re usually not catching up.

 

5. This will be both teams’ first chance to go live under the new wedge rules on kick-offs. It’s one thing to work on the techniques in practice, but it’s a whole different matter entirely to be able to stop opposing return games when you have no game experience defending their blocking patters.

 

Washington was one of the best kick-off return men in the game last year, so this isn’t an easy way to start the learning curve. Rams fans shouldn’t be surprised to see some big returns from the Jets. Hopefully the Rams can counter with a few of their own, though they have nowhere near as established a return man as the Jets have in Washington.

Breaking Down The St. Louis Rams Depth Chart

The Rams released the first depth chart of the Summer on Saturday, giving us our first look at how the new coaching regime led by head coach Steve Spagnuolo views the pieces that could potentially make up the 2009 Rams roster.

 

The one thing that has been clear all camp and remains so to this point is that Spagnuolo isn’t handing his rookies anything.

 

While some teams might view a tackle picked with the second overall pick in the draft and signed to a monster contract as a starter from day one, the Rams still list rookie Jason Smith as the second-team right tackle behind journeyman Adam Goldberg, a former undrafted free agent out of Wyoming.

 

Likewise, middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, selected in the second round after an All-America career at Ohio State, and has only recently seen time with the first team. Instead he has spent the majority of camp slotted behind Chris Draft in the middle.

 

The other rookies are all buried as well: Corner Bradley Fletcher, defensive tackle Darell Scott, receiver Brooks Foster, quarterback Keith Null and running back Chris Ogbonnaya are all entrenched in the crowded “third team” column.

 

Chances are they won’t stay there, especially Smith and Laurinaitis, but for now Spagnuolo is going experience over youth.

 

Some other observations from the first depth chart:

 

Judging from what I saw in practice, Derek Stanley wasn’t somebody I had pegged as a second-team guy. But there he is being paired with second-year wideout Keenan Burton behind starters Donnie Avery and Laurent Robinson.

 

“Derek is becoming a detailed guy, which we felt he had to do. And I think the details are paying off.” Spagnuolo was quoted as saying in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He’s catching the ball well. He’s holding it a lot better now. I think he’s a talent. We’ve just got to get him out there in games and see what happens.”

 

Another surprise was the second-team status of defensive tackle Gary Gibson, a 27-year-old who has all of six solo tackles in the NFL since being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers in 2005.

 

Gibson, who played the past two years with Carolina while new defensive coordinator Ken Flajole was the Panthers linebackers coach, is listed behind starter Adam Carriker. He has had an oppurtunity to play with the first team as Carriker has sat out the past few practices since injuring his ankle in an intra-team scrimmage last Friday night.

 

“Gary is a workhorse,” Spagnuolo told stlouisrams.com. “He hasn’t missed a thing. He’s one of those guys that is going to try not to miss anything. He’s a pretty intelligent defensive lineman, so we’ll see how that works out there.”

 

Things aren’t looking good for 2006 second-round pick Joe Klopfenstein. Randy McMichael is the clear-cut top dog of the tight end group with Daniel Fells and Billy Bajema having strong showings in camp so far.

 

That leaves Klopfenstein, a member of the grossly disappointing draft class of 2006, on the verge of finding himself traded or released before the summer is done.

 

David Vobora is Mr. Irrelevant no more. The final selection of the 2008 draft out of Idaho has found himself frequently running with the first team at strong-side linebacker. Though he will likely find himself in a sub role as Chris Draft moves over to make room for Laurinaitis, it’s clear Spagnuolo sees a spot for Vobora on the 2009 Rams.

 

Of course, the first depth chart is by no means the finished product, but it does give us our first official indicator of who just might make the roster of 53.

 

If I had to guess:

 

QB (3): Marc Bulger, Kyle Boller, Keith Null

RB (4): Steven Jackson, Kenneth Darby, Antonio Pittman, Chris Ogbonnaya

FB (1): Mike Karney

TE (3): Randy McMichael, Daniel Fells, Billy Bajema

WR (6): Donnie Avery, Laurent Robinson, Keenan Burton, Derek Stanley, Ronald Curry, Brooks Foster

OL (9): Alex Barron, Jason Smith, Adam Goldberg, Jacob Bell, Richie Incognito, Roy Schuening, John Greco, Jason Brown, Mark Setterstrom

 

DL (9): Leonard Little, Chris Long, Victor Adeyanju, James Hall, Adam Carriker, Clifton Ryan, Gary Gibson, Hollis Thomas, Darell Scott

LB (6): Will Witherspoon, James Laurinaitis, Chris Draft, David Vobora, Larry Grant, Quentin Culbertson

CB (5): Ron Bartell, Tye Hill, Justin King, Quincy Butler, Bradley Fletcher

S (4): James Butler, OJ Atogwe, Todd Johnson, Craig Dahl

 

P (1): Donnie Jones

K (1): Josh Brown

LS (1): Chris Massey

 

Notable players left out of the mix: CB Jonathan Wade, QB Brock Berlin, WR Tim Carter, TE Joe Klopfenstein, RB Samkon Gado, LB Chris Chamberlain

Observations From St. Louis Rams Camp

Heading toward the end of the first week at Rams camp, it’s time to empty out the notebook (as they say) with some thoughts and observations from Steve Spagnuolo’s first camp.

 

* Watching all four quarterbacks throw, Kyle Boller looked the worst. Marc Bulger looked great, Brock Berlin made some nice throws, and rookie sixth-rounder Keith Null showed some signs of promise, but Boller got few reps and didn’t do much with them.

 

Of course there’s a lot left to the evaluation process, and the preseason games will play a more important role than a few week one reps, but it’s still not a great sign to see Boller off to the rough start.

 

* Regardless of how the depth chart shakes up behind starter Bulger, there is a significant talent gap between him and the rest of the QBs. If he goes down, they’re screwed.

 

* Linebacker Larry Grant was a seventh-round choice out of Ohio State by the 49ers in 2008, and came over to St. Louis when the Rams signed him off the San Francisco practice squad. That’s not exactly a resume that pops “training camp star in the making,” but that’s exactly what Grant has been so far.

 

Grant has been all over the place, making big hits and seemingly always in the right place. The assumption has always been that once James Laurinaitis (Grant’s teammate at Ohio State) took the first-team MLB spot, Chris Draft would slide over to the SLB role.

 

But with Grant playing the way he is, that’s no foregone conclusion.

 

* Another guy most fans have never heard of who has made an immediate impact has been Quincy Butler, a former All-Mountain West Conference selection at Texas Christian who spent time on the practice squads for Dallas and New Orleans prior to joining the Rams.

 

An undrafted free agent in 2006, Butler has showed well in both the pass and run games.

 

* The addition of Hollis Thomas will prove to be a very good one for St. Louis. Adam Carriker and Clifton Ryan were the first-team DTs (with Leonard Little and Chris Long the book-ends), while Thomas and rookie Darell Scott were the second two in the middle of the D-Line.

 

Thomas and Scott together is a whole lot of dude. That should come in handy on the goal-line defense.

 

* On the negative side, I don’t see a very long tenure at Rams camp for DT Antwon Burton, a pick-up from the Kansas City practice squad in 2008.

 

Perhaps it was due to injury because both ankles were taped heavily, but Burton has the body language of a death row inmate on the way to the electric chair. He was always the last guy running from place to place and I didn’t see him talking with a single other player.

 

He looked like he would have rather been anywhere but at football practice. With at least four DTs ahead of him on the roster, Burton’s spot on the roster is precarious, at best.

 

*  I love it when actually seeing something validates a conclusion you’ve only based on numbers and the reports of others, and that’s exactly what’s happened with receiver Laurent Robinson.

 

Robinson has already moved ahead of Keenan Burton opposite Donnie Avery in the two-WR set, and has shown no reason why he can’t stay there. He’s tall, fast and, for at least the times I’ve seen him, showed more than adequate hands.

 

* As for the rest of the receiving corps, there’s no question Avery is the top dog here. He’s got the look of an 80-reception, 1,100-yard season.

 

Behind Avery, it’s Robinson, Burton, Ronald Curry (who looked smooth, which is what you’d expect from the veteran), Brooks Foster (some nice flashes from the rookie fifth-rounder from North Carolina), and then a battle between Tim Carter and Derek Stanley for the final spot.

 

Nate Jones, Jarrett Byers, and Sean Walker will all likely see the waiver wire, with Byers the most likely to be signed to the practice squad.

 

*  The battle for carries behind Steven Jackson is an interesting one. In RB pass catching drills, Antonio Pittman looked faster and smoother than Kenneth Darby. But when the team went into live 11-on-11, it was Darby getting the majority of the carries.

 

One name that should definitely not be forgotten about in the RB race is rookie seventh-rounder Chris Ogbonnaya, who showed nifty feet in the hole and a surprising burst to the outside.

 

* There’s also some good competition at corner, but I think that’s more for a lack of starter-caliber players than an over-abundance of talent.

 

Tye Hill is with the first team with Ron Bartell almost by default, with Jonathan Wade, Justin King, Butler, and Bradley Fletcher in the mix.

 

I saw both King and Wade got some extra technique lessons from Spagnuolo, and Wade was often on the losing end of battles with the WRs in one-on-one situations. King looks fast, but lacks confidence with his technique.

 

Right now, this has to be a major source of concern for Spagnuolo and GM Billy Devaney, especially considering the depth of receivers on the other NFC West teams: Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston, Nate Burleson, TJ Houshmandzadeh, Deion Branch, Isaac Bruce, and Michael Crabtree (if he ever signs).

 

* Jason Smith is the best tackle on the field. That includes Alex Barron, who’s being switched over from RT to LT to fill in for the departed Orlando Pace.

 

* There are some guys you just love to watch practice. New fullback Mike Karney is one of those guys. There’s just something about the way he runs into contact that’s fun to watch.

 

* I’ve written about it before, and I’m going to keep at it: Take tight end Randy McMichael in your fantasy drafts. He’s healthy, talented and will see a ton of balls in this offense. He’s also taken on a leadership role within the offense.

 

That’s it for now. The great thing for the Rams is that their first preseason game is at the New York Jets on August 14. With head coach Rex Ryan and media-star-in-the-making Mark Sanchez the new faces of the franchise, this game is going to garner a lot of national attention.

 

The Rams will have an immediate opportunity to make a statement to the rest of the NFL that they need to be taken seriously.

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