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September 4, 2015 at 12:19 am #29797
znModeratorRams get through fourth preseason game healthy
Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21010/rams-get-through-fourth-preseason-game-healthy
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Rams opted to play the majority of their starters on both sides of the ball for a couple of series in Thursday night’s 24-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Rams didn’t win any of their four preseason games but they came out of Thursday’s game with the most important number of all on their side: zero. Although playing starters in the fourth preseason game for just a series or two doesn’t seem to serve much purpose, the Rams managed to escape without any serious injuries of note to any of their key starters.
While the team did preserve top players like end Robert Quinn, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and guard Rodger Saffold by keeping them on the bench, those that did play made it through about a quarter of work without any health issues.
As with all preseason games, staying healthy is the most important piece of all. And best I can tell, the Rams did pretty well in this preseason in the health department save for the season-ending foot injury to cornerback E.J. Gaines.
QB depth chart: As if it wasn’t already clear, there really wasn’t much of a competition here. It seemed Austin Davis might get a chance to showcase his skills for a potential trade in the fourth preseason game, but the Rams opted instead to play him just one series. Rookie Sean Mannion took over midway through the second quarter and finished the game. It’s pretty clear that Mannion will be the No. 3 signal-caller behind Nick Foles and Case Keenum.
Maybe that dude could start: Note the word “could” instead of “should” here, but running back Isaiah Pead got the chance to start Thursday night and acquitted himself well. With Tre Mason and Todd Gurley nursing injuries, the Rams protected Benny Cunningham by having him sit out in case he needs to play a lot against Seattle in Week 1. But Pead would be next in line if Mason isn’t ready and would likely play early in the year behind Cunningham in that scenario. He offered at least some semblance of hope that he could contribute if needed with 12 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown. Which is more than we can say for his first three years.
Who got hurt?: Receiver Daniel Rodriguez, who is known for his heroism in tours in Afghanistan and Iraq as an Army Sergeant, took a scary hit on a kick return in the second quarter. He was shaken up but walked off on his own. No surprise but it takes a lot more than a big hit to keep the Purple Heart recipient on the ground.
Player who stepped up: Safety Cody Davis has made a habit of coming up with interceptions in training camp. He carried it over to Thursday’s game with an interception and return for a 24-yard touchdown. He’s already a core special-teams player but increasingly looks like a player who could help on defense if needed.
Rookie watch: Undrafted defensive tackle Louis Trinca-Pasat started and played pretty much the entire game. He was as active as usual. It might be hard to make the numbers work to keep him as a ninth defensive lineman but he’s done enough to earn a spot.
Man in the middle?: The Rams’ center competition is as clear as mud as Tim Barnes, Barrett Jones and Demetrius Rhaney continue to rotate. Barnes started against the Chiefs with Rhaney next, then Jones. The decision on a starter might not be made until closer to the opener next week though there seems to be some momentum for Barnes. The question now becomes whether the Rams will keep all three and if not, who goes?
September 4, 2015 at 12:22 am #29800znModeratorRams’ Cody Davis, Isaiah Pead make strong closing arguments
Nick Wagoner
ST. LOUIS — Here are some highs and lows in terms of individual performances from the St. Louis Rams’ 24-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs:
HIGHS
WR Tavon Austin: Austin played only a handful of snaps, but he once again flashed a glimpse of what he can do when he gets the ball with a little bit of room to work. After a catch behind the line of scrimmage lost 6 yards because he had no blocking, Austin got a block on a second one and weaved his way to a 43-yard pickup. He finished with two catches for 49 yards and another highlight reel catch-and-run to add to his tape.
S Cody Davis: Davis has had a strong camp, seemingly coming up with an interception in practice almost every day. He carried it over into Thursday’s game by reading Kansas City quarterback Chase Daniel’s eyes on a short curl, jumping the route and returning the interception 24 yards for a touchdown. He also chipped in two tackles and a pass defended.
RB Isaiah Pead: In an effort to preserve Benny Cunningham, who might have to start in Week 1 against Seattle, the Rams gave Pead the first opportunity in the backfield and he made his case to stick on the roster with a strong second drive. On the drive, he threw a nice block downfield to help spring Austin and chipped in 21 yards on five carries with a drive-ending 1-yard touchdown plunge. He finished with 52 yards on 12 carries and put himself in good position to nail down a roster spot on the initial 53.
LOWS
WR Kenny Britt: Not that you can blame him much, but Britt didn’t seem too interested in the preseason finale. He whiffed on a block that led to Austin’s 6-yard loss and though he picked up his assignment on the ensuing play, he didn’t put much effort into catching the ball on his lone target. He’s clearly ready for the regular season.
TE Jared Cook: On the Rams’ opening possession, quarterback Nick Foles threw a strike in traffic to Cook over the middle, but the ball bounced off Cook’s hands for an easy interception to Kansas City safety Daniel Sorensen. The Chiefs scored a touchdown a couple of plays later and Cook’s night ended with the starters soon after.
QB Sean Mannion: The Rams gave their third-round pick plenty of work as he took over in the second quarter and finished the game. He also showed why it’s going to be awhile before he’s ready to play. Mannion locked on to receivers and forced throws into traffic that were either nearly intercepted, got a wideout hurt or both. He finished 11-of-24 for 107 yards with a passer rating of 58.9.
September 4, 2015 at 12:25 am #29801znModeratorFive Takeaways: Chiefs at Rams (Preseason)
Myles Simmons
The Rams and Chiefs finished off their preseason on Thursday night, with Kansas City posting a 24-17 victory to claim the Governor’s Cup. Here are five takeaways from the action.
1) Tavon Austin is (still) really fast
The Rams got Austin involved early on their second drive and it paid off well. The West Virginia product caught two screens in a row on the outside, but it was the latter that really made the difference.
Austin caught the pass on the left side of the formation, and then completely reversed field to run down the right sideline for a 43-yard gain. It was a classic display of what makes Austin such a weapon. His shiftiness and speed means he can take a play that may look like it’s going nowhere, and transform it into a big gain.
Austin said at halftime it felt good to finish off the preseason in that fashion.
“Coach (Jeff) Fisher said our plays were limited, so I had to go out there and try to make the best of something and give us a spark. I believe that’s what I did,” Austin said. “Hopefully I just keep on doing that the rest of the year.”
2) Pead shows his mettle
Running back Isaiah Pead has had a tough road coming back from tearing his ACL early in the preseason last year. But on Thursday night, he showed he has the chops to play in the league.
After Austin’s 43-yard screen pass placed St. Louis at the visitors’ 36, Pead got to work. The Cincinnati product ran it five straight times, reaching pay dirt for a 1-yard touchdown on the fifth.
“Definitely feels good to get back in the endzone,” Pead said. “Last time I did was against the Chiefs in the preseason a couple of years ago.”
Pead’s best run of the possession came on 2nd-and-7 at the Kansas City 12, when he broke a tackle in the backfield and received a nice block on the left sideline from wideout Brian Quick to spring him for a first down.
Pead finished the night with 12 carries for 52 yards and a touchdown — a good showing by the running back.
“I feel confident in my abilities to help the team on special teams, of course offense, running back,” Pead said.
3) Davis notches a pick six
Known as one of the Rams’ special teams aces, safety Cody Davis has had a nice training camp making many plays on the defensive end. He took that into the game on Thursday by picking off a Chase Daniel pass and returning it to the house.
Davis read the play perfectly, jumped the curl route, and then high-pointed the ball to catch it for the interception. That’s all the safety needed as there was plenty of green in front of him for the 24-yard touchdown.
It’s a nice cap on what’s been a strong preseason for the Texas Tech product.
4) Forcing another turnover
St. Louis wasn’t done creating turnovers after Davis’ interception. Late in the second quarter, undrafted rookie cornerback Montell Garner put a nice form tackle on the Chiefs’ Spencer Ware and popped the ball out.
Linebacker Bryce Hager was right there to pick it up, and the Rams came away with an extra possession.
Both Garner’s play and Davis’ interception illustrate how the Rams can utilize turnovers to their advantage. Really, that’s a staple of what coordinator Gregg Williams likes to do with the defensive unit. Look for more of that as the season begins on Sept. 13.
5) Zuerlein from long range
We all know by now that kicker Greg Zuerlein can attempt a field goal from a long way and the ball will still have a good chance to get past the uprights.
Well Zuerlein showed his leg power once again tonight, blasting a 57 yarder right down Broadway between the yellow posts, with plenty of room to spare.
While there was never any question about the kicker heading into the 2015 season, it’s still encouraging to see him hit from such long range — even if it was in the fourth preseason game.
September 4, 2015 at 2:10 am #29808znModeratorRams notes: Davis’ ‘pick 6’ is a highlight
Jim Thomas
For third-year safety Cody Davis, interceptions on the practice field have become a common occurrence this summer in training camp. On Thursday against Kansas City, the Rams’ third-year safety from Texas Tech got one in a game, and he did more than catch the ball — he took it to the house.
Davis picked off a pass thrown by former University of Missouri star Chase Daniel late in the first quarter and raced down the sideline for a 24-yard touchdown. It was his first NFL touchdown, be it preseason or regular season, and gave the Rams a 14-7 lead with four minutes left in the opening quarter.
As fate, would have it, Davis was “miked up” for the game, so his reaction to his big play should be available soon on social media and the highlight shows.
As Davis said, look for “probably a bunch of yelling, everybody slapping my helmet.”
He added, “It’s one of those plays where you’re just reacting, not much thinking. It’s kind of a blur now but it was fun when it happened.”
In the locker room after the game, fellow safety T.J. McDonald referred to Davis as White Lightning. “He’s got a 41 ½-inch vertical and runs a 4.3,” volunteered McDonald, doing his best Mel Kiper.
“It was hand-timed,” Davis clarified, “So you can add whatever you want on that. But it was a 4.37 I think at a regional combine.”
Davis last had a “pick 6” in college, returning an interception 88 yards for a touchdown as a senior against Texas State.
Davis appeared to be a pretty safe bet for a roster spot before Thursday’s contest, but if any doubt remained, his pick 6 probably clinched it. Signed as an undrafted rookie in 2013, Davis spent the first four games of his rookie season on the practice squad before getting promoted to the active roster.
Last year, he developed into one of the Rams’ better special teams performers, recording 10 tackles covering punts and kickoffs.
SITTING IT OUT
As is normally the case in preseason finales, a scorecard was needed to keep track of who wasn’t playing Thursday in the Governor’s Cup game at the Edward Jones Dome.
Sitting out for the Rams were running backs Tre Mason, Todd Gurley, and Benny Cunningham; cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson and Brandon McGee; linebackers Daren Bates and Jo-Lonn Dunbar; offensive linemen Rodger Saffold and Andrew Donnal; and defensive linemen Michael Brockers, Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn, and Nick Fairley.
In the case of Cunningham, Johnson, Donald and Quinn, there were no injuries involved. They were just put on ice Thursday in anticipation of the Rams’ Sept. 13 opener against Seattle.
Among those sitting for the Chiefs were quarterback Alex Smith, running back Jamaal Charles, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin (of Missouri), center Mitch Morse (of Missouri), and linebackers Tamba Hali, Derrick Johnson, and Justin Houston.
SIGN OF THE TIMES
Spotted for the first time on a column of the Edward Jones Dome at one of the main entrances to the stadium was a sign regarding the “Banner & Sign Policy” for the building.
It read in part: “management reserves the right to prohibit any signs, banners, or similar items (including hand held signs) due to space availability, banner size, materials, interference with other fans, or message content.”
It went on to read that signs “must be football-related and be in good taste.”
Some Rams fans were upset during a Rams Park training camp practice that was televised live by the NFL Network last month because their signs were prohibited. Earlier in camp, some anti-Kroenke signs and keep the Rams in St. Louis signs were spotted at practice.
Some fans were further incensed later in camp when all manner of signs and banners were allowed by LA Rams fans attending the team’s practices against Dallas in Oxnard, Calif.
A Rams official later said the sign-policy banners were posted late last season in response to the Ferguson protests.
LONGTIME RIVALS
Not only have Jeff Fisher and Kansas City coaching counterpart Andy Reid coached against each other for years in the NFL, they squared off on the gridiron as high school players in the Los Angeles area.
Fisher reminded everyone of that fact when asked earlier in the week how long he’s known Reid.
“Played against him in high school. Is that long enough?” Fisher quipped.
Reid, an LA native, played for John Marshall High.
“He played offensive line,” Fisher recalled.
Fisher, meanwhile, was an all-American wide receiver at Taft High in Woodland Hills. “You don’t know who you’re playing against in high school,” Fisher said. “But yeah, we went back and we were in basically the same couple of conferences or divisions.”
PRESEASONS PAST
Thursday’s loss gave the Rams an 0-4 record this preseason, marking only the second time in the 21 seasons of “St. Louis” Rams football that the team went winless in the preseason.
It happened before in 2002, with the Rams still suffering hangover effects from their Super Bowl upset loss to New England. Besides going 0-for-the-preseason, Mike Martz’s team started the regular season 0-5 that year.
The Rams have finished exhibition play with a winning record only six times since the franchise moved to St. Louis in 1995. Three of those six successful preseasons came during former coach Steve Spagnuolo’s tenure.
Spagnuolo was Mr. August, going 10-2 in his three preseasons as Rams head coach. That matched his victory total in three regular seasons, in which he went 10-38
September 4, 2015 at 2:12 am #29809znModeratorResilient Pead a bright spot for Rams
Jim Thomas
There have been more downs than ups for running back Isaiah Pead in the NFL. Many more.
He suffered a season-ending knee injury last season against Green Bay in the Rams’ second preseason game. In 2013, he served a one-game suspension to open the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
On the verge of this season, Pead has appeared in only 25 regular-season games with one start. But the former Big East offensive player of the year at Cincinnati and second-round draft pick in 2012 hasn’t given up on what to date has been a disappointing pro career.
If nothing else, Pead knocked off some rust in Thursday’s preseason finale against Kansas City. With the Rams resting Benny Cunningham, Pead started against the Chiefs and gained 52 yards on 12 carries — all in the first half of the Chiefs’ 24-17 victory over the Rams at the Edwards Jones Dome.
“Each week he’s getting better,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s dropped the (knee) brace, which is a huge thing psychologically for him. Each week he’s getting better, so it’s great effort on his behalf to get to this point.”
And this just in: With 2015 first-round pick Todd Gurley not expected to play in the Sept. 13 season opener against Seattle, and Tre Mason questionable with a hamstring injury, Pead may very well be the Rams’ No. 2 running back (behind Cunningham) against the two-time defending NFC champions.
With Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on hand, it was the Chiefs who took the Governor’s Cup back to the western side of the Show-Me State. Another very light crowd watched, with tickets distributed announced at 37,616. There were maybe 25,000 fans in the seats, and many of them were Chiefs fans.
For only the second time since the franchise moved to St. Louis in 1995, the Rams went winless in exhibition play, finishing 0-4.
“Disappointed that we didn’t find a way to win a preseason game,” Fisher said. “But I’m also very excited to have it over now, as everybody else is, and move forward and get ready for the Seahawks.
“And we ended up with only Danny (Rodriguez) in the training room, which is a really good night — not a good thing for Danny but it’s a good thing overall for the club.”
Rodriguez, the wide receiver from Clemson and an Afghanistan war hero, suffered a concussion on a kickoff return late in the second quarter.
Back to Pead, he also got in the end zone Thursday with a rushing touchdown, something he did 27 times in college for the Bearcats. However, it wasn’t all peaches and cream for him against the Chiefs. On his last carries of the half, he had two cracks at a first down on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1, but couldn’t move the sticks.
“It’s always good to get out and contribute,” Pead said. “Definitely feels good to get back in the end zone. Last time I did was against the Chiefs in the preseason a couple of years ago.”
On a night when the Rams rested 10 of the 22 expected starters on offense and defense, quarterback Nick Foles played two series, backup safety Cody Davis returned an interception for a touchdown, backup linebacker Bryce Hager recovered his second fumble of the preseason, and Greg Zuerlein drilled a 57-yard field goal.
“I feel good about it,” Foles said of the Rams’ offense. “We still need to continue to improve and progress, which we will because we have the guys here, we have the coaches … we come to work every day to get better. I feel good about where we’re at and I’m excited about where we’ll go.”
As is frequently the case in preseason finales, Thursday’s Bubble Bowl was an entertaining if not crisply-executed affair, filled with intense play by dozens of players on both teams fighting for a roster spot.
Second-year Rams safety Maurice Alexander, out of Eureka High, probably ensured his roster spot for 2015 with an active second half that included hard hits and pass breakups. Former minor leaguer Bradley Marquez may have shown enough at wide receiver and on special teams to at least earn a practice squad spot.
Even after the game, Fisher said there were a few undecided roster spots in terms of the 53-man roster the Rams will take into the regular season. He said the coaches won’t grade this game film Friday; instead they will look at it with an eye only in evaluating a few bubble players. The final roster cuts must be made by Saturday afternoon.
Kansas City took the early lead when Daniel Sorenson intercepted a well-thrown Foles pass that bounced off the hands of tight end Jared Cook on the Rams’ first series. He returned it 26 yards to the St. Louis 8, and two running plays later, the Chiefs were on the scoreboard thanks to a one-yard run by Spencer Ware.
The Rams tied things up on Pead’s one-yard TD run, capping a 73-yard drive that included a 43-yard reverse-field run by Tavon Austin that was aided by a Pead block.
Davis’ “pick 6” on a pass by former Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel made it 14-7 Rams and there were still four minutes left in the opening quarter.
“We like the turnovers,” Fisher said. “We got a defensive score finally, which is good, I thought Nick put together a second drive, which is good. We got Tavon, who made the big play. … That’s what he’s here for.”
Even with those bright spots, the Chiefs scored 17 of the game’s final 20 points for the victory. Kansas City tied the score on a 15-yard TD pass from Daniel to Chris Conley, with Lamarcus Joyner getting beaten on the play.
After a Cairo Santos field goal gave the Chiefs a 17-14 halftime lead, the visitors took at 24-17 lead midway through the third quarter on a Darrin Reaves touchdown reception. He scored despite absorbing a big hit from Hager near the goal line.
Once Foles departed for the Rams, No. 2 QB Case Keenum got one series, as did Austin Davis. Davis was in for eight plays, and they were all handoffs. If Davis survives the final roster cuts over the weekend, it will be a major upset. Rookie Sean Mannion then took over for the rest of the game. Mannion struggled mightily, hitting only one of his first six passes and finishing 11 of 24 for just 107 yards.
September 5, 2015 at 2:23 pm #29871
rflParticipantPead knocked off some rust in Thursday’s preseason finale against Kansas City. With the Rams resting Benny Cunningham, Pead started against the Chiefs and gained 52 yards on 12 carries — all in the first half of the Chiefs’ 24-17 victory over the Rams at the Edwards Jones Dome.
One wonders if he could come on in his 4th year.
I am a DEEP skeptic about late bloomers in the league. But, it isn’t impossible.
And the thing is that he has the package to be a 3rd down specialist. If his head is on straight, he actually could do that.
I wonder …
By virtue of the absurd ...
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