Rams Starters Shake Off Rust In Loss
RamsNation Writer - Barry Waller
While many Rams fans may be sighing in relief as their high- flying offense finally got off the ground Friday night in Kansas City, the fact is that there was never any real logic to the concern over what went on this pre-season. Once Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk played more than what amounted token appearances this August, and wideouts Ike Bruce and Torry Holt became targets again, there should have been little doubt that the offense which scored 500 points the last three seasons would still be able to hit on all cylinders when it all starts to mean something next week.
With Faulk and Warner getting plenty of work in the "Governors Cup" game between cross state rivals, both showing why they have a monopoly on NFL MVP awards the last three campaigns, the Rams dominated the Chiefs and former Rams head coach Dick Vermeil in the first half as the surged to a 16-0 lead.
The fact that the Chiefs scored 23 unanswered points thereafter against the Rams backups is not very good news, to be sure, but many of the players on the field during the second half won't be Rams for long anyway. It certainly doesn't erase the positives seen in the first half, with the offense clicking and Dre Bly, now the starting cornerback opposite Aeneas Williams after beating out the incumbent Dexter McCleon, looking like the next Deion Sanders. Bly made a dazzling one-handed pick off Trent Green early in the first quarter and then intercepted another Green aerial early in the second quarter and returned it 15 yards, setting the Rams up for a 39-yard TD drive.
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St. Louis Rams cornerback Dre' Bly breaks up a second-quarter pass attempt to Kansas City Chiefs' Johnnie Morton at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, Aug. 30, 2002. (AP Photo/Dick Whipple)
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Warner got a good evening of work with a 17-27 213 yard performance, with a 10 yard scoring strike to Holt after Bly's second pick. Faulk was spectacular, as he rushed for 50 yards on eleven carries and caught two passes for another 37. Once again the running game was poor after Marshall departed, as Trung Canidate once again failed to get loose, and also fumbled the ball away once. Lamar Gordon did not play much, and did nothing much when he did.
The Rams defense had some players return to action in the game, particularly defensive tackles Tyoka Jackson, Ryan Pickett and Damione Lewis, but was still without defensive end Leonard Little, out with a thigh bruise/concussion that should be healed by the opener in Denver on Sunday. The returning trio did OK for their first action in awhile, but the Chiefs were able to run the ball far too well in against mostly starters, averaging almost 8 yards a carry the first 30 minutes.
The biggest negative in the game, and the one that really should be troubling Rams fans as well as Mike Martz this week, is the continued horrible play of the kick coverage units, and the special teams in general. If "MAX Q" is the goal of Martz team, the special teams are more like "MIN X", as in the worst possible performance. Bobby April, brought in to replace Bobby Pasquale after just one season in 2001, had pathetic units last season, despite a team with loads of talent, and if the coverage from "April's Fools" continues to play as they did Friday, allowing someone named Dante Hall to average nearly 45 yards a kickoff return, Martz may have no choice but to make a change in his coaching staff post haste.
The way the Rams are covering kicks, it would be better for Jeff Wilkins to merely kick the ball out of bounds and give it to the opposition on the 40. The holes in their coverage were huge, and the returns have been every bit as bad. None of the candidates for the final receiver roster spot had been even adequate on kick returns so the Rams signed former Charger Will Blackwell to bolster the return game, only to see him injured and later cut after his first Rams practice.
On Saturday they traded for former Steeler first round pick Troy Edwards, a talented player who never seems to have got untracked with the Steelers, or out of head coach Bill Cowher's doghouse in Pittsburgh. Edwards should battle for the number four WR spot and has been a solid kick returner in his three-year career. The Rams gave up a sixth round pick for Edwards, a muscular 5'9 192 pound 25 year old out of Louisiana Tech, who was the 13th overall pick in the 1999 draft.
While many Rams fans may decry acquiring another toy for Martz offensive show, rather than a defensive end to back up Little or an offensive lineman, both far thinner area than receiver, the fact is that there are no players available at those positions worthy of acquiring via trade. Cowher was looking to trade Edwards, and a player of his talents is perfect for the Rams system. If a change of scenery gets him to play to his potential, Martz and GM Charlie Armey have another steal for next to nothing.
The Rams can now afford to let Eric Crouch develop slowly as the sixth receiver, with a sold veteran quintet of Bruce, Holt, Rickey Proehl, Terrance Wilkins, and Edwards ahead of him.
With Proehl probably in his last NFL season, and Holt an unrestricted free agent after 2003, the Rams need plenty of possible replacements ready in case Holt can't be kept due to the cap.
The immediate goal is to lock up Orlando Pace, next year's biggest free agent, so they don't have to use the franchise label on the offensive line keystone. After Friday's performance, team president Jay Zygmunt better get going on locking Dre Bly up for awhile as well, as he will also be a free agent after the season. Not winning the starting job could mean the end of McCleon's Rams career, as his salary goes way up in 2003, too far to keep him around as the nickel back.
With Williams not getting any younger, and youngsters Jerametrius Butler and Travis Fisher not ready to start, Bly is the cornerstone of the future defensive backfield for St. Louis. If Pace is signed long term first, look for Bly to get the transition tag after the season, barring an earlier long-term deal.
Right now the future is Sunday, and the Broncos, and for Rams fans and players, and especially for Mike Martz, all eager to see the Rams finish what they couldn't last season, it can't come soon enough.