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W2W4 revisited: St. Louis Rams
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10346/w2w4-revisited-st-louis-rams
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Looking back at three things to watch from the St. Louis Rams' 26-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Friday night.
1. An aggressive defensive approach?
Much was made of Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams taking on his former team but, as could be expected in the preseason, that anticipation fell flat. Despite talk all week about Williams dialing up exotic blitzes to get after his old squad, the Rams were every bit as vanilla as coach Jeff Fisher promised during the week.
Williams didn't completely shut off the blitz faucet but chose his spots here and there and ultimately stuck to basic coverages and schemes. Perhaps the most intriguing thing the defense did was use end Robert Quinn exclusively on obvious third-down (and one fourth down) passing situation. That resulted in about five snaps worth of work for Quinn, who did manage to generate pressure on a couple of them.
2. Sorting out the running backs
After getting nicked up earlier in the week, Zac Stacy did handle the starting running back duties. And yes, the job still appears to be his as he got the bulk of the work with the starting offense Friday night. Stacy was solid, too, carrying four times for 22 yards before calling it a night.
The Rams followed their practice script in divvying up the rest of the carries with Benny Cunningham coming in second followed by rookie Tre Mason and Chase Reynolds. Isaiah Pead spent the evening in street clothes, perhaps because of the hand injury that has cost him time in camp. Cunningham also had some good moments, carrying five times for 24 yards.
Mason was the busiest of the backs, getting 15 carries for 51 yards. He struggled to get much going early but he was also working behind the third-team offensive line. He had a couple of long runs late, including one called back for holding and actually had a couple of strong moments picking up the blitz. Chase Reynolds got work in Pead's absence with six carries for 46 yards, though 38 of those came on a well-designed and executed fake punt. He also had a catch for 10 yards and showed up on special teams. Pead looks to be falling further behind.
3. First glance at Sam
Defensive end Michael Sam found himself on the field early and often, entering the game with a little more than five minutes to go in the first quarter. He had a couple of moments that caused Fisher to take notice, namely a quarterback hurry and a run stop and earned some time on special teams as well. He played through the first half and into the third quarter before calling it a night. It was a solid if unspectacular first step for Sam though some of his competition for a potential roster spot also offered some positives. End Ethan Westbrooks posted three tackles and Sammy Brown had two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10346/w2w4-revisited-st-louis-rams
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Looking back at three things to watch from the St. Louis Rams' 26-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Friday night.
1. An aggressive defensive approach?
Much was made of Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams taking on his former team but, as could be expected in the preseason, that anticipation fell flat. Despite talk all week about Williams dialing up exotic blitzes to get after his old squad, the Rams were every bit as vanilla as coach Jeff Fisher promised during the week.
Williams didn't completely shut off the blitz faucet but chose his spots here and there and ultimately stuck to basic coverages and schemes. Perhaps the most intriguing thing the defense did was use end Robert Quinn exclusively on obvious third-down (and one fourth down) passing situation. That resulted in about five snaps worth of work for Quinn, who did manage to generate pressure on a couple of them.
2. Sorting out the running backs
After getting nicked up earlier in the week, Zac Stacy did handle the starting running back duties. And yes, the job still appears to be his as he got the bulk of the work with the starting offense Friday night. Stacy was solid, too, carrying four times for 22 yards before calling it a night.
The Rams followed their practice script in divvying up the rest of the carries with Benny Cunningham coming in second followed by rookie Tre Mason and Chase Reynolds. Isaiah Pead spent the evening in street clothes, perhaps because of the hand injury that has cost him time in camp. Cunningham also had some good moments, carrying five times for 24 yards.
Mason was the busiest of the backs, getting 15 carries for 51 yards. He struggled to get much going early but he was also working behind the third-team offensive line. He had a couple of long runs late, including one called back for holding and actually had a couple of strong moments picking up the blitz. Chase Reynolds got work in Pead's absence with six carries for 46 yards, though 38 of those came on a well-designed and executed fake punt. He also had a catch for 10 yards and showed up on special teams. Pead looks to be falling further behind.
3. First glance at Sam
Defensive end Michael Sam found himself on the field early and often, entering the game with a little more than five minutes to go in the first quarter. He had a couple of moments that caused Fisher to take notice, namely a quarterback hurry and a run stop and earned some time on special teams as well. He played through the first half and into the third quarter before calling it a night. It was a solid if unspectacular first step for Sam though some of his competition for a potential roster spot also offered some positives. End Ethan Westbrooks posted three tackles and Sammy Brown had two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit.