Rams rewind: Preseason opener
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10389/rams-rewind-preseason-opener

EARTH CITY, Mo. — The St. Louis Rams’ preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints on Friday night offered plenty of bizarre moments, including a wild finish that yielded a 26-24 Saints victory.

Some leftover thoughts on the game after watching it again (unfortunately on the TV broadcast since the All-22 is not yet available):

Defensive end Robert Quinn only played a handful of snaps, with the Rams using him exclusively on obvious third-down passing situations and on one fourth down when New Orleans went for it. He was his usual, disruptive self but was unable to get home as the Saints clearly made it a point of getting the ball out quick.

Rookie offensive lineman Greg Robinson split his time between left guard and left tackle, starting the game on the inside. It appeared Robinson was responsible for allowing a sack early in the game when he kicked out on a block when he was supposed to block down to the inside. Coach Jeff Fisher confirmed as much Saturday. Fisher called it a communication issue, something that Robinson probably won’t struggle with as much when veterans Jake Long and Scott Wells return to his flanks. But aside from that, Robinson seemed to handle himself just fine. Even kicking outside to tackle, Robinson looked comfortable protecting the edge. Granted, it came against the third team defense but it was still a positive step for the young lineman.

Fellow first-round pick Aaron Donald also continued to show why he’s earned rave reviews in camp. He was his usual quick self off the snap and spent plenty of time in the Saints’ backfield. The Rams want to be an aggressive, up the field unit but one thing worth watching is whether the Rams will have to get him to dial back his push a little in some running situations. It’s strange to say because Donald is at his best pushing up the field but there were a couple of times where he seemed to take himself out of the play because he was in the backfield so quickly and the Saints sent an extra blocker over to keep him from blowing up the play. It may not matter in the real games, though, because the Rams have the benefit of picking and choosing their spots with Donald behind Kendall Langford and Michael Brockers.

As suspected at first blush, cornerback E.J. Gaines did have a strong performance. He started and played a lot and spent most of the evening around the ball. His instincts to read the play and react allow him to get to the ball fast. He’s putting himself in a good position to win a roster spot.

Two of the team’s prized undrafted rookies are also beginning to make their cases. Tight end Alex Bayer has been making plays since the spring but looked faster and more athletic when he was able to cut it loose in a game. He was solid as a blocker, too. Ethan Westbrooks, who could push for a ninth defensive line roster spot, also was active. He chased ball carriers down the field and made three tackles but also flashed his pass-rushing potential. Westbrooks doesn’t play special teams like Michael Sam does but he has the versatility to play inside and out, which could help his cause.

Rookie running back Tre Mason got 15 carries — more than the Rams would have liked — and he had some good moments. There were a couple of runs where Mason looked like he made the wrong read and bounced it outside costing himself yards, but he seemed to settle in as the game wore on. Perhaps the most impressive play of his night was a blitz pickup in the second half when he stood up a pass-rusher as if he’d been doing it for years. That’s one way to fast track himself onto the field more as a rookie.

It was clear the Rams had issues with tackling. So did the Saints. We’ve covered that ground already. But it was particularly noticeable with linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong. Each time the Rams missed a tackle it led to a big gain. They can scheme ways to better defend the run, and they will when the season starts, but Armstrong doesn’t look ready to be a full-time linebacker just yet. Some are wondering about an expanded role for him in the defense, and that could still happen, but don’t expect it to be a starting down-to-down scenario. The Rams defense, in general, was missing many key components, but middle linebacker James Laurinaitis’ absence was the most glaring.

It should be no surprise that defensive back Lamarcus Joyner made a positive, physical first impression. He proved a solid open-field tackler and looks to have the makings of an outstanding gunner on punt teams. On the first punt of the night, Joyner worked past two blockers and pinned the returner to the other side of the field where he was promptly forced out of bounds.

There’s still plenty to sort out among the backups on the offensive line. Mike Person, Davin Joseph and Tim Barnes look poised to be the top backups beyond the starting five after getting the first opportunity against the Saints.

Rams look to clean up usual details
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10381/rams-look-to-clean-up-usual-details

EARTH CITY, Mo. — When St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher sat down and watched his team’s preseason opening loss to the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, he saw the usual array of good and bad from his team.

“There was some good things, some good efforts, some good plays, no turnovers,” Fisher said. “Penalties became the common theme through the game, after we subbed, as did some mental mistakes and some missed tackles and things like that. So clearly a lot to learn from as we told the team. We’re still kind of in the process of grading things and correcting things with them. All in all, I think it was a good exercise.”

The preseason “exercises” quite often end with similar assessments from all coaches around the league. At this early stage, there’s little use in fretting over the mistakes of a team that was without 18 players, nine of whom are projected to be among the team’s 22 starters and others who are expected to play valuable contributor roles.

But yes, it’s clear the Rams have some work to do over the next three weeks, especially when it comes to improving tackling (and in turn, run defense) and eliminating penalties.

Poor tackling is a common theme around the league at this time of year. The first preseason game often provides the first attempt to tackle for real. The Rams were clearly rusty in that regard, but Fisher didn’t want to use that as an excuse because his team works on tackling form throughout the week.

That didn’t translate against the Saints as Rams defenders missed numerous tackles resulting in big gains. The most obvious was safety Cody Davis’ miss on Saints running back Mark Ingram on a play that turned into a 22-yard touchdown run. For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus had the Rams down for 10 missed tackles in the game, including four by linebacker Ray Ray Armstrong.

Missed tackles cleared the path for a big rushing day for the Saints, who posted 123 yards and 5.1 yards per carry on 24 attempts. Fisher attributed the rushing yards to a combination of the missed tackle, a missed assignment here or there and a lack of game plan to stop the run. All are things he believes can be corrected in short order.

“A couple tackles to the hole that we missed but some guys doing some things that they hadn’t done before in the scheme,” Fisher said. “But not a big concern. We really didn’t load up, stop the run or pressure to do things. We got caught in a few pass stunts, which created some seams in the defense, which obviously in a normal game situation you don’t think those will happen.”

Similar problems arose last preseason and into the opening weeks of the year before the Rams course corrected midway through the season to finish ninth in the league in run defense. Of course, they need to be on an expedited schedule to fix those issues considering they open Week 1 against Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings.

As for the penalties, it’s another familiar issue around the league in the preseason. Against the Saints, the Rams had 14 penalties for 118 yards.

Again, Fisher attributed many of Friday night’s penalties to subbing in young players and the absence of many of his starters.

“When you have nine starters that don’t play for whatever reason you end up playing a lot of players earlier in the ball game and when that happens some of the inexperience translates into penalties and we had way too many penalties,” Fisher said. “I think all but two you can make the case were legit and we have to learn from them.”

The idea that the Rams can fix their tackling woes is a much easier sell than the penalties, however. It’s an issue the Rams had in the past two preseasons, and Fisher often gave the same explanation for them. But when the season started and the starters were on the field, the deluge of yellow flags rarely stopped. The Rams have been penalized 251 times in their two seasons under Fisher, the most in the league.

So while the tackling and run defense should get better, recent history tells us penalty flags thrown against the Rams will remain a common sight when the real games begin.

Morning Ram-blings: Division preview
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10356/morning-ram-blings-division-preview

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Although preseason projections are always a year-to-year proposition, there doesn’t seem to be much debate that the NFC West is clearly the best division in football.

With the reigning champion Seattle Seahawks and powerhouse San Francisco 49ers along with the dangerous Arizona Cardinals and upstart St. Louis Rams, there isn’t a team in the league that looks forward to the heavyweight bouts required of facing an NFC West team.

Over at Grantland, Bill Barnwell and Robert Mays discussed the strength of the division and how it could play out in 2014 in their divisional preview podcast.

The tide could turn this year and another division could emerge but I have a hard time believing that the NFC West’s run as king is going to come to an end in 2014. Everything is cyclical in the NFL as fans of the NFC West can attest but this is one cycle that should live another year, at least barring any major rash of injury.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Saturday’s Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. … In the wee hours of the morning, we took a look back at defensive end Michael Sam’s first preseason performance. … Next, we offered the news that tight end Mason Brodine was lost for the season to a broken ankle. … From there, we looked at the strange finish to the preseason opener and what the Rams can learn from it. … After that, we turned our attention to the potential return this week for many key Rams, including quarterback Sam Bradford. … We then revisited three things to watch from Friday night’s game. … We closed the day by discussing an interesting move by Rams coach Jeff Fisher and his use of a challenge against the Saints.

Elsewhere:

Also from Grantland and Barnwell, a look at Bradford and the deep ball.

At stltoday.com, Bryan Burwell writes about Sam’s solid start.

Jim Thomas provides his game story from the preseason opener.

Joe Lyons writes that quarterback Austin Davis had some success against the Saints.

At 101sports.com, Chris Long discussed the preseason opener with sideline reporter Will Witherspoon.

Plenty to work on, but Rams’ miscues not significant
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/plenty-to-work-on-but-rams-miscues-not-significant/article_5b941c55-1109-5ff0-9ef4-820696148460.html

When coach Jeff Fisher threw out the red challenge flag late in the second quarter Friday night, there couldn’t have been many in the Edward Jones Dome who thought Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines had stopped Saints wide receiver Nick Toon short of the first-down marker.

Actually, neither did Fisher.

“No, I thought it was a good spot,” Fisher said. “I was standing right there.”

So why did he make the challenge?

Basically, Fisher was doing a favor for referee Carl Cheffers and his crew.

“(Friday) was the first time that this crew was gonna potentially communicate with New York,” Fisher said.

Last March, club owners approved a change in the replay system, allowing the league’s officiating headquarters in New York to have input on replay challenges to crews.

“So I just said if there’s anything close, I’ll go ahead and challenge it for you and see how it goes,” Fisher said, referring to Cheffers.

As expected, the call was upheld, the Saints got their first down, and as a result of the unsuccessful challenge the Rams were charged a timeout.

It’s a timeout the Rams could’ve used in the final 2½ minutes of the half with their offense on a drive that started at the St. Louis 8 and ended with a 45-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein as the half expired.

With an extra timeout in his pocket, the Rams might have had a chance for a touchdown. As if you didn’t already know, that replay challenge sequence further illustrated that August football isn’t the same as the brand of ball that takes place after Labor Day.

Normally a two-point loss in which you’ve missed two field goals in the final five minutes would be gut-wrenching. But it’s August, which also explains why Fisher, in summing up the Rams’ 26-24 loss to New Orleans, merely stated: “All in all, I think it was a good exercise.”

Exercise in the sense that the Rams ran around, worked up a sweat, played at a lot of players and kept it simple. No game-planning, no scheming; just block, tackle, catch, run.

(And in several cases missed blocks, tackles, catches, and running the wrong way.)

When all was said and done Friday, Fisher found plenty to work on after reviewing the game film, but nothing to stress out about.

“There were some good things,” Fisher said. “Some good effort, good plays. No turnovers. We got two (takeaways) on defense. … We ended up with balance when all was said and done — we had 34 pass attempts and 32 rushes.”

On the downside, there were too many penalties, too many rushing yards allowed and too many missed tackles.

The Rams committed 14 penalties, most of them by players who won’t be on the 53-man roster in September. Those 14 resulted in 118 yards marked off, and Fisher said he agreed with all but two of the 14 flags.“We have to learn from them,” Fisher said. “Penalties became the common theme through the game after we subbed.”

A bevy of missed tackles helped the Saints rush for 123 yards and 5.1 yards per carry, including 83 yards on eight carries by Mark Ingram.

The Rams missed at least nine tackles in the first half alone by unofficial count, and several of them were missed by players who are expected to make the 53-man roster — including linebacker Ray Ray Armstrong and safety Cody Davis.

“Usually when the runs were popping, there was either nine guys doing their job and one guy (not),” Fisher said, “or the defense got cut. Or we just weren’t setting the edge. Or we had a couple tackles in the hole that we missed.”

But again, Fisher wasn’t overly concerned.

“We really didn’t load up to stop the run, or pressure,” Fisher said. “We got caught in a few pass stunts, which creates some seams in the defense. Obviously in a normal game situation, you don’t think this will happen.”

Exhibition openers frequently feature more missed tackles simply because nobody tackles in training camp anymore. But Fisher said the Rams do practice tackling form, so he wouldn’t use that as an excuse.

Fisher also gave credit to Ingram, who scored the Saints’ second touchdown on a 22-yard run late in the second quarter.

“Ingram’s a fine back,” Fisher said. “He’s gonna make some people miss and he’s gonna run over people. He’s been doing that since his college days.That’s not an excuse, but we did miss him a few times.”

But Ingram is no Adrian Peterson, and that’s whom the Rams will face in the regular-season opener when the Minnesota Vikings come to town Sept. 7.

Against New Orleans, nine of the normal 22 starters on offense and defense didn’t play because of injuries and other factors. All told, 18 of the 90 Rams on the training camp roster didn’t suit up.

“When you have nine starters that don’t play for whatever reason, you end up playing a lot of (backup) players earlier in the ballgame,” Fisher said. “And when that happens, some of the inexperience translates into penalties, and we had way too many penalties.”

With Green Bay coming to town for a 3 p.m. contest Saturday, things should get turned up a notch. For one, there should be a lot more familiar faces on the field because there won’t be 18 guys sitting out.

“This week, it looks as if we’ll probably get maybe 15 or 16 of them back,” Fisher said.

One of them will be quarterback Sam Bradford.

“I haven’t decided how much, but yeah, he’s gonna play this week,” Fisher said.

And here’s a safe bet: There probably will be no “courtesy” challenges this week.

Rams get plenty of lessons in opener
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10337/rams-get-plenty-of-lessons-in-opener

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Aside from attempting to stay healthy for four consecutive games, perhaps the primary goal of preseason football is to put your team through as much situational football as possible.

The idea being that the more different situations the team goes through, the more valuable lessons you can learn before the real games start. While the St. Louis Rams’ preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints was strange in many ways, it also offered plenty of learning experiences for coach Jeff Fisher’s team.

“I hope that when you get in preseason games that there’s enough things that take place there that you can learn from and learn lessons and teach from, and we got our share today,” Fisher said. “I’ll tell you, that was something.”

The fourth quarter alone could serve as a crash course on some of the league’s lesser-known rules as well as an instruction book on how not to run a two-minute drill.

Twice, the Rams found themselves in position to score the go-ahead points and each time they failed to convert in part because of some silly mistakes. The offense at the time was comprised mostly of third- and fourth-stringers but the mistakes made could be used by anyone as lessons for the future.

Kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 46-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and then missed a 59-yarder as time expired to give New Orleans a 26-24 victory.

It was the final sequence that raised the most eyebrows. After starting their final drive with a couple of conservative run calls, quarterback Austin Davis hit tight end Alex Bayer down the middle for a 42-yard gain to the Saints 42.

Things went haywire from there as there was some clear confusion about when the two-minute warning was. Davis hit receiver T.J. Moe for a gain of 4 yards but nobody, officials included, seemed to know whether they had hit the two-minute warning, and the Saints ended up using a timeout. Davis promptly was flagged for delay of game coming out of the timeout but it seemed mostly because of the confusion over the timeout and clock.

After a couple of completions got the Rams in field goal range, they went back to the conservative approach with two runs for no gain. Out of timeouts, Davis let the clock run down and then attempted to spike the ball to stop the clock to set up a 49-yard field goal attempt.

But Davis mishandled the snap before he could spike it. According to league rules, a mishandled snap that touches the ground that is then spiked is intentional grounding. The flag came out, the Rams moved back 10 yards and there was a 10-second runoff which suddenly left Zuerlein attempting a 59-yard field goal and the Rams having to snap the ball as soon as the whistle blew.

Zuerlein had the distance but missed it left.

“I didn’t see it hit the ground, I saw him mishandle it, but I didn’t see it hit the ground,” Fisher said. “But it’s correct. It’s the right call, kind of unusual with four seconds left in a preseason game to see that, and then you got a 10-second runoff.”

That’s just one glaring example of something the Rams will have to work on this week, not including the bigger issues such as tackling and eliminating silly penalties.

Burwell: It’s a low-key but solid step for Sam
By BRYAN BURWELL

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bryan-burwell/burwell-it-s-a-low-key-but-solid-step-for/article_2f0438d5-68b7-5edd-90ed-10c7046b1a75.html

By the middle of the third quarter of the first exhibition game of his NFL career, Michael Sam stood on the sidelines with his helmet tilted on the top of his head, waiting for another chance to get back on the field.

For months, this was the moment he’d been waiting for and now here it was. How good it felt to be standing there with sweat and eye black streaming down his face, with a St. Louis Rams game uniform on his back.

It was Friday night at the Edward Jones Dome, and Sam was in a pro football game — albeit a preseason opener — and everything seemed so normal. He wasn’t fighting for a cause, he was battling for a job.

He wasn’t a symbol of social progress, he was a rookie trying to prove his worth. He wasn’t a distraction, he was an excitable defensive lineman flying all over the football field trying to make a play.

Many in the smallish crowd inside the Edward Jones Dome politely acknowledged his presence when they finally realized the most celebrated seventh-round draft pick the St. Louis Rams have ever known had entered the game in the second quarter of a 26-24 loss to the New Orleans Saints.

He had come into the game with 5 minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the second quarter, but no one actually noticed that the first openly gay player to playon an NFL field had made his historic entrance until a play later when the PA announcer mentioned his name as part of the play.

It wasn’t a rousing ovation or some gushing recognition for a ground-breaking social pioneer. It wasn’t a gasp-and-swoon salutation for a man who was creating the sort of history that seemed unimaginable less than 12 months ago.

What Sam received from the home crowd simply was the polite recognition accorded a favorite son of Mizzou; it was not much different from the applause heard when another former Tiger, rookie E.J. Gaines, was mentioned after a play he made.

The small crowd in the Dome wasn’t all that interested in the greater sense of the historic story of the evening, because here in St. Louis the Michael Sam story is not quite the same as it is everywhere else.

We know Sam and his story as well as anybody in the land. We watched him grow into a special player at Mizzou. We knew — or at least had an inkling — of his personal back story for a while. And surprisingly it didn’t seem to matter when we found out that he is gay, which is somewhat of a surprise when you consider the bright-red conservative leanings and politics of this state.

We’ve long ago settled into the notion that the Michael Sam story is that of a football player trying to earn a job. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing that the rest of the world sees things a bit differently.

“Everywhere else in the country, they’re watching this game because of Michael,” said Cyd Zeigler, founder and columnist for Outsports.com and Sbnation.com. “He’s the story to everyone else because of what it means.”

And what it means to everyone else is the monumental moment when an openly gay athlete stepped onto an NFL field for the first time and played in a football game. Whatever your politics, you have to understand why so many people beyond the local borders think this merits heavy media attention.

That’s why on Friday night, the Dome press box did have a surprisingly large presence of national media for such a meaningless contest. Zeigler was part of a contingent that included USA Today, ESPN, NFL Network and Yahoo Sports.

To them, everything Sam did Friday night was landmark stuff.

Yet to most of the spectators in the Dome — and by and large the local media contingent — the documentation of his every movement simply was part of a less historically significant depth-chart obsession.

“Here in St. Louis, the story is their football team,” Zeigler said. “They just want to know how the Rams are doing. To them, the story is the team and Michael is just a small part of that story.”

And with so many of the starting players for both teams on the sidelines in sweat suits or T-shirts and shorts, this was a game that was being played for the benefit of bottom-of-the-roster dreamers such as Sam.

This was the first opportunity to get substantial playing time, to put something on game film for the coaches and personnel people to see. After a few weeks in training camp, the reps for Sam had begun to dwindle — and quite frankly, so had his play over the last week of practice.

After so many practices against the same teammates, it starts to get difficult to fool the guy across the line of scrimmage with your moves. So a game against new competition was a decidedly important change of pace.

According to several NFL scouts who were in attendance, what they saw out of Sam was impressive.

He had some explosion off the line of scrimmage. You could see a different, higher energy from him from the start. He had several quarterback pressures, showed some excellent bursts of speed off the line of scrimmage on pass plays, chased down Saints backup quarterback Ryan Griffin a couple of times in the backfield and did a decent job on the few running plays that came in his direction.

His first tackle came with 11:57 left in the second quarter, when he split through two blockers and nearly tackled running back Khiry Robinson in the backfield then dragged him down for no gain.

As Rams coach Jeff Fisher said after the game, Sam needs to get more game action with his hand in the dirt because he is a pure pass-rushing defensive end, and it’s quite rare to find a pass-rushing DE who ends up as special-teams demon racing down on kick or punt coverage.

By the end of Friday’s game, as he walked off the field with a TV camera trailing him, Sam didn’t look like a social pioneer. He just looked like a very happy and satisfied football player pleased with a good night’s work.

If he can keep this sort of activity up in the next three exhibition games — and make some impact on special teams — by September Sam really will be able to make NFL history by stepping on the field for a regular-season game.

That would be the sort of history that really would matter.

Rams rally falls short
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-rally-falls-short/article_e187a8a0-e089-5fe1-8635-6b5149f0289a.html

As openers go, things couldn’t have gone much better for quarterback Shaun Hill in his Rams debut Friday at the Edward Jones Dome.

A perfect passer rating in the NFL is 158.3, and the 34-year-old from Parsons, Kan., was close to perfect. With Sam Bradford sitting this one out, Hill stepped into the starting spot and completed five of seven passes for 84 yards playing most of the first half.

Throw in a pair of touchdown passes, one to Cory Harkey and another to Stedman Bailey, and Hill ended his night with a 151.2 passer rating in a preseason game the Rams eventually lost 26-24 to New Orleans.

Hill is replacing Kellen Clemens as the Rams’ No. 2 quarterback this year, and Friday’s outing had to be a confidence builder. Even with the strong performance, Hill saw room for improvement.

“The two 3-and-outs we’d like to have back,” Hill said, referring to his second and third series of the night.

At the very least, Hill said he would’ve liked to at least flip field position with a couple of first downs on those series.

“Give our defense a little break,” Hill said. “But yeah, other than that, the guys made some great plays out there. The drives we did get going, we capped off with touchdowns instead of 3’s, so that helped.”

He also slightly overthrew wide receiver Brian Quick on a deep ball for one of his two incompletions, but other than that there wasn’t much to quibble about.

“Shaun was in complete control,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “He can win games for you.”

One of only a handful of defensive starters seeing action Friday, end Chris Long gave the Rams the ball for their offensive first possession when he intercepted a bubble screen intended for Saints rookie wide receiver Brandin Cooks near midfield.

The Rams took over on the Saints’ 47 and then escaped a second-and-17 situation when Hill found tight end Jared Cook open over the middle for a 24-yard gain.

“It was a good drive starter,” Cook said. “And Cory finished it off with a nice touchdown.”

That he did. Two plays after Cook’s catch, Hill threw to a wide-open Harkey in the left flat. Harkey, who has caught only 13 regular-season passes in two NFL campaigns, rumbled 16 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Rams lead.

“It was just a simple run-action play,” said Harkey, who has shown improved pass-catching skills during training camp and during the OTAs in June. “I was just looking to make sure my guy wasn’t coming on a blitz, and I ended up being wide open.”

Midway through the second quarter, Hill engineered a five-play, 71-yard TD drive with some help from tight end Lance Kendricks, running back Benny Cunningham, and then Bailey.

Kendricks got the drive jump-started with a 14-yard reception to the St. Louis 48. Cunningham responded in a third-and-1 situation from the Saints’ 43, breaking a tackle near the line of scrimmage, then breaking outside for a 19-yard gain.

On the next play, Bailey ran a streak pattern, then beat defender Stanley Jean-Baptiste with a back-shoulder catch for a 24-yard TD and a 14-9 Rams lead.

All told, only five of the Rams’ normal defensive starters opened the game: Long, linebackers Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Alec Ogletree, and safeties T.J. McDonald and Rodney McLeod.

It was more of the same on offense: fullback Harkey; running back Zac Stacy, left guard Greg Robinson and right tackle Joe Barksdale were among the only usual starters to open the game. Lance Kendricks was at tight end for the first play instead of Cook, but sometimes the tight end and wide receivers that start the game are decided according to play-call and formation.

At wide receiver, the Rams opened with their “bigs” — 6-3 Kenny Britt and 6-3 Brian Quick.

Bradford was in sweats during pregame warmups as coach Jeff Fisher chose to sit him. Others not playing included left tackle Jake Long, center Scott Wells, guard and tackle Rodger Saffold, and running back Isaiah Pead (bruised hand) on offense.

Among those sitting on defense were cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins (hamstring) and Trumaine Johnson, defensive tackles Michael Brockers (ankle) and Kendall Langford, and linebacker James Laurinaitis (ankle).

Defensive end Michael Sam played a lot. And a couple of quarterback hurries and a nice tackle at the line of scrimmage drew cheers from a half-filled dome.

There were some bumps defensively, even in the first half when the Rams were primarily using players who will be on the 53-man roster in September. There were too many missed tackles, including one by linebacker Ray Ray Armstrong that led to a 46-yard gain by tight end Josh Hill, setting up the Saints’ first TD.

On the final Saints possession of the first half, safety Cody Davis missed a tackle on a cutback run by Mark Ingram that resulted in a 22-yard TD.

In the first half alone, the Saints gained 99 yards on the ground, at 7.1 yards a crack.

“I’m sure there were some encouraging things, but definitely for our first game we should rachet down the run game a little better,” Chris Long said. “They hit the perimeter a little bit too much, but that’s what these preseason games are for.”

In a see-saw game, the Rams trailed by as much as nine points — 26-17 — after three quarters. But Austin Davis, following Hill and Garrett Gilbert into the game at quarterback, got the Rams back into it when he fired a strike to rookie free agent Austin Franklin for a 15-yard TD with 11:07 to play.

Greg Zuerlein’s extra point narrowed the Saints’ lead to 26-24, but the Rams missed a chance to take the lead on their next possession when Zuerlein uncharacteristically hooked a 46-yard field goal attempt way wide left with 5:02 to play. He missed again as time expired from 59 yards.

Observation Deck: St. Louis Rams
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10314/observation-deck-st-louis-rams

ST. LOUIS –While St. Louis Rams defensive end Michael Sam is the late-round draft pick from Missouri garnering most of the attention, it was the one taken a round before him that found himself around the ball for most of the night.

Of course, cornerback E.J. Gaines was also the one on the wrong end of Brandin Cooks’ touchdown catch and run that ultimately gave the New Orleans Saints a 26-24 victory Friday night at the Edward Jones Dome.

With cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins, Trumaine Johnson and Brandon McGee not playing, sixth-round pick Gaines got the start at corner and acquitted himself well with that one notable exception. He was a solid tackler and mostly sticky in coverage before Cooks juked him in the open field for a 25-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Here are some other thoughts on the Rams’ first preseason game:

With a little more than five minutes to go in the first quarter, Sam got his first taste of an NFL game. Sam replaced Chris Long at left defensive end and played the rest of the first half and part of the second. Along the way, Sam had some good moments including a tackle on Saints running back Khiry Robinson for no gain and a pressure that forced an incompletion in the second quarter. Beyond his defensive duties, Sam also worked on the kick block and kick return units on special teams.

Without the services of quarterback Sam Bradford, left tackle Jake Long and center Scott Wells, all of whom didn’t play as expected, the Rams starting offense, such as it was, got off to a strong start and staked the Rams to a halftime lead. Shaun Hill, starting in place of Bradford, showed why the Rams coveted him in free agency with a nearly flawless outing. Hill played the bulk of the first half and finished his evening 5-of-7 for 84 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a rating of 151.2.

Gaines was one of the few Rams defenders who was consistently solid as a tackler Friday night. Like most teams in the preseason, tackling is an issue but the Rams appeared particularly shoddy, especially in the first half. Linebackers Ray-Ray Armstrong, Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Phillip Steward and safety Cody Davis had clear misses that resulted in big gains for Saints running backs. New Orleans back Mark Ingram scored on a 22-yard touchdown run after a clear Davis miss in the second quarter.

Neither team used many of their starters so the majority of the game was played by backups. Beyond Bradford, Long, Wells, Jenkins and Johnson the Rams also were missing projected starter at linebacker in James Laurinaitis, the offensive line in Rodger Saffold and defensive tackle in Michael Brockers and Kendall Langford. The good news is the few starters who did play didn’t seem to have any noticeable injury issues though tight end Cory Harkey did come off with an apparent hand injury.

Hill sharp in Rams debut at quarterback
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/hill-sharp-in-rams-debut-at-quarterback/article_767968d8-932c-5211-9ce6-af468835570f.html

As openers go, things couldn’t have gone much better for quarterback Shaun Hill in his Rams debut Friday at the Edward Jones Dome.

A perfect passer rating in the NFL is 158.3, and the 34-year-old from Parsons, Kan., was close to perfect. With Sam Bradford sitting this one out, Hill stepped into the starting spot and completed five of seven passes for 84 yards playing most of the first half.

Throw in a pair of touchdown passes, one to Cory Harkey and another to Stedman Bailey, and Hill ended his night with a 151.2 passer rating.

Fourth-string quarterback Austin Davis almost rallied the Rams back from a nine-point deficit, but the Saints pulled out a 26-24 victory when Greg Zuerlein’s 59-yard field goal sailed wide left as time expired.

Hill is replacing Kellen Clemens as the Rams’ No. 2 quarterback this year, and Friday’s outing had to be a confidence builder.

Defensive end Chris Long gave the Rams the ball for their first possession when he intercepted a bubble screen intended for Saints rookie wide receiver Brandin Cooks near midfield.

After a short return by Long, the Rams took over on the Saints’ 47 with 11 minutes 46 seconds to go in the first quarter. The Rams escaped a second-and-17 dilemma when Hill found tight end Jared Cook open over the middle for a 24-yard gain.

“It was a good drive starter,” Cook said. “And Cory finished it off with a nice touchdown.”

That he did. Two plays later, Hill threw to a wide-open Harkey in the left flat. Harkey, who has caught only 13 regular-season passes in two NFL campaigns, rumbled 16 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Rams lead.

Midway through the second quarter, Hill engineered a five-play, 71-yard TD drive with some help from tight end Lance Kendricks, running back Benny Cunningham, and then Bailey.

Kendricks got the drive jump-started with a 14-yard reception to the St. Louis 48. Cunningham responded in a third-and-1 situation from the Saints 43, breaking a tackle near the line of scrimmage then breaking outside for a 19-yard gain.

On the next play, Bailey ran a streak pattern, then beat defender Stanley Jean-Baptiste with a back-shoulder catch for a 24-yard TD and a 14-9 Rams lead.

“I feel pretty good overall,” Cook said. “We had a few 3-and-outs; I feel like we could’ve capitalized better. It’s the first day on the job. We’ve got three more preseason games I’m looking forward to.”

All told, only five of the Rams’ normal defensive starters opened the game: Long, linebackers Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Alec Ogletree, and safeties T.J. McDonald and Rodney McLeod.

It was more of the same on offense: fullback Harkey; running back Zac Stacy, left guard Greg Robinson and right tackle Joe Barksdale were among the normal starters to open the game. Kendricks was at tight end for the first instead of Cook, but sometimes the tight end and wide receivers that start the game are decided according to play-call and formation.

At wide receiver, the Rams opened with their “bigs” — 6-3 Kenny Britt and 6-3 Brian Quick.

Bradford was in sweats during pregame warmups as coach Jeff Fisher chose to sit him. Others not playing included left tackle Jake Long, center Scott Wells, guard tackle Rodger Saffold and running back Isaiah Pead on offense.

Among those sitting on defense were cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson, defensive tackles Michael Brockers and Kendall Langford, and linebacker James Laurinaitis.

Defensive end Michael Sam played, and a couple of quarterback hurries and a nice tackle at the line of scrimmage drew cheers from a half-filled Edward Jones Dome.

There were some bumps defensively, even in the first half when the Rams were mostly using players who will be on the 53-man roster in September. There were too many missed tackles, including one by linebacker Ray Ray Armstrong that led to a 46-yard gain by tight end Josh Hill, setting up the Saints’ first TD.

On the final Saints possession of the first half, safety Cody Davis missed a tackle on a cutback run by Mark Ingram that resulted in a 22-yard TD.

In the first half alone, the Saints gained 99 yards on the ground, at 7.1 yards a crack.

“We have a lot to work on — we knew that coming into the game,” Chris Long said. “The game just reaffirmed it. I’m sure there were some encouraging things, but definitely for our first game we should ratchet down the run game a little better.

“They hit the perimeter a little bit too much, but that’s what these preseason games are for.”

In a see-saw game, the Rams trailed by as much as nine points— 26-17 — after three quarters, after the Saints tacked on a field goal and touchdown following intermission. But Davis, following Hill and Garrett Gilbert into the game at quarterback got the Rams back into it when he fired a strike to rookie free agent Austin Franklin for a 15-yard TD with 11:07 to play.

Zuerlein’s extra point narrowed the Saints’ lead to 26-24, but the Rams missed a chance to take the lead on their next possession when Zuerlein uncharacteristically hooked a 46-yard field goal attempt way wide left with 5:02 to play.

After a defensive stop, the Rams had another chance for the win. But Zuerlein’s 59-yard attempt sailed wide left as time expired.

Bernie Miklasz previews the Rams’ preseason matchup with the Saints, including what impact Gregg Williams will have against his former team. He wants to see Greg Robinson knock some people down. He wants to see Tre Mason run and see how all the new players in the secondary perform. Plus will the WR’s live up to the hype of training camp so far?

http://www.rams-news.com/bernies-rams-preseason-opener-preview-video/

W2W4: St. Louis Rams
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10288/w2w4-st-louis-rams

EARTH CITY, Mo. — The St. Louis Rams and New Orleans Saints open the preseason Friday night at the Edward Jones Dome. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on the NFL Network. Here are three things to watch for from the Rams’ end:

1. An aggressive defensive approach? The preseason opener doubles as the first opportunity to see the highly-anticipated Rams’ defense under the guidance of coordinator Gregg Williams. To add to the intrigue, Williams is facing his former team, the Saints. Reunions happen all the time in the NFL but rarely do they come with the hard feelings that apparently still exist between Williams and the Saints. Williams, of course, was part of the Saints’ staff and the supposed ringleader of the bounty scandal which resulted in his yearlong suspension and similar punishments for Saints coach Sean Payton and assistant Joe Vitt. Williams is known for his aggressive, exotic blitzes and while it normally is common procedure to hold back on those things in the preseason, Williams is anything but conventional. He undoubtedly has plenty of schemes he’d like his charges to work on in the preseason, but it’ll be worth keeping an eye on the defensive approach to see if Williams goes a little above and beyond the usual vanilla preseason tactics.

2. Sorting out the running backs: It doesn’t look like there’s much competition for the Rams’ starting running back job as Zac Stacy has been largely handling those duties in camp. But the Rams have some things to figure out behind Stacy and coach Jeff Fisher said earlier this week he’d like to get each back about a half-dozen carries in this game. Benny Cunningham is the leader in the clubhouse to be Stacy’s primary backup, but preseason games present prime opportunities for players to make moves up the depth chart, especially at this position. Cunningham has been sharp in practice, but rookie Tre Mason has also had some good work, especially this week. Isaiah Pead and Chase Reynolds also remain in the mix. Each back will get his chance to make an early statement as the Rams work through building their depth chart at the position.

3. First glance at Sam: Rookie defensive end Michael Sam has had his share of ups and downs in training camp, starting off strong and leveling off of late. But Sam figures to get an extended opportunity to make a good impression Friday night. The Rams, under Fisher, have rarely played their starters much in the first preseason game and with valuable backup end William Hayes still working back from offseason surgeries, Sam should get a lot of snaps. It’s expected Sam will work at left end on defense but also keep an eye out for him on special teams, particularly on the return units where coach John Fassel believes Sam has major potential. Of course, Sam is going to get plenty of competition for a roster spot so the other backup ends are also worth watching, especially undrafted rookie Ethan Westbrooks.

Five things to watch at Rams preseason opener
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/five-things-to-watch-at-rams-preseason-opener/article_c8cc9c65-3433-5790-b8eb-1e7712711418.html

Sam and Westbrooks: As the exhibition-game schedule begins, undrafted rookie Ethan Westbrooks could be the one roadblock to Michael Sam making the 53-man roster. After a good start in training camp, Sam’s play has leveled off over the last week. After missing the first several days of camp because of a hamstring issue, Westbrooks now has a few days of camp under his belt and looks quick and menacing.

Backfield stable: Ideally, coach Jeff Fisher would like to give each running back about six carries. But Isaiah Pead has been in and out of practice lately because of a bruised hand. Intriguing Trey Watts, an undrafted rookie from Tulsa, probably sits because of a hamstring injury. Zac Stacy could sit as well, so we could be in for a heavy dose of Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham and Chase Reynolds.

Line dancing: Left guard Greg Robinson and right tackle Joe Barksdale are the only starting offensive linemen expected to play, further reason to sit QB Sam Bradford. It’s possible Robinson, the No. 2 overall draft pick, sees time at left tackle with the starters then switches to left guard when the second unit plays. With Scott Wells and Barrett Jones out, it’s Tim Barnes and 7th-rounder Demetrius Rhaney at center.

Britt & Co.: No matter who’s blocking, or who’s playing QB, the receiving corps is healthy. Can camp standouts Kenny Britt, Stedman Bailey, and Brian Quick transfer their play from the practice field to the dome? Britt, Bailey, and Tavon Austin might have only limited duty, playing in the first quarter then calling it a night. Quick, Chris Givens, and Austin Pettis might go until halftime.

The longshots: Keep an eye on rookie free-agent Alex Bayer, who has been impressive early in camp and is challenging Justice Cunningham and Mason Brodine for the fourth tight end spot. Mizzou’s T.J. Moe hasn’t gotten many reps in “team” situations at Rams Park. Moe, Justin Veltung, Emory Blake, and Austin Franklin are among those trying to wedge their way into the picture at wide receiver.