Take Five: What we like about the Rams, and what needs fixin
Verfasst: 03.01.2007, 11:55BY JEFF GORDON
STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
Tuesday, Jan. 02 2007
So what are we to make of the Rams season?
Scott Linehan sized up the 8-8 finish during his Tuesday news conference and
figured the campaign was average. In this corner of cyberspace, we agree.
Was it a good season or a bad season? Neither, really, so we’ll slap a “C” on
the whole thing and start looking forward.
Here are the five things we like most about the state of the Rams:
1. The offensive line got young.
This had to happen sooner or later, so the injuries suffered by center Andy
McCollum and guard Adam Timmerman just sped things along. The Doughnut Brothers
are done.
Guards Richie Incognito and Mark Setterstrom and center Brett Romberg appear to
have bright futures, which is a LARGE development. Those three, plus tackles
Alex Barron and Orlando Pace, should give the Rams offense a nice foundation
for next season.
2. Steven Jackson broke out, growing from “very good” to “elite” during the
2006 season.
If you asked NFL general managers to name the players they would most like to
build around, Jackson would have to make the Top 20.
“This guy basically said, ‘Hey, jump on my back. I’m going to try to carry you
as far as I can,' ” Linehan said. “If this year is any indication, I’d say we
have a pretty bright future.”
3. QB Marc Bulger settled into the new offense.
Through the middle of the season, he struggled to make downfield connections
with Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Kevin Curtis.
During the last three victories, that was NOT an issue. The offense appears to
be in excellent shape heading forward. We’d like to see the Rams commit to
Curtis and give him a bigger offensive role -– although Bruce really looked
fresh at the end of the season.
4. Young defensive backs Tye Hill, O.J. Atogwe and Ron Bartell grew this
season, giving the beleaguered “D” something to look build upon.
Jerametrius Butler will move on. The forever-injured Travis Fisher will be out
as well.
5. All is not lost on the front seven.
Will Witherspoon, Pisa Tinoisamoa and Leonard Little are impact players.
Defensive end/tackle Claude Wroten showed something. So did ends Victor
Adeyanju and Brandon Green.
And here are the five things we worry the most about:
1. The middle of the Rams defense is soft!
Witherspoon was miscast as a middle linebacker and Jimmy Kennedy was miscast at
nose tackle.
Defensive tackle La’ Roi Glover made some plays, but he may be a change-of-pace
player at this point in his career. The Rams need to hoard stout rookies and
free agents for the middle of the D.
2. Linehan and his staff still have much to prove.
How did they NOT get into the playoffs this season? Linehan made adjustments on
the fly, such as surrendering his play-calling responsibilities.
But until this staff gets the Rams into postseason play, it can’t measure up to
the Dick Vermeil and Mike Martz regimes.
3. Although punter Matt Turk and kicker Jeff Wilkins did a fine job booting the
ball, the Rams mustered nothing with their kick returns. And their coverage
suffered enough breakdowns to keep them out of the playoffs.
How does this happen year after year?
4. Tight end was still an under-productive part of the offense.
Joe Klopfenstein showed a bit of promise, but Dominique Byrd did nothing until
the very end of the season. Are these guys good enough for the future?
5. The Rams didn’t generate enough pass pressure, despite Little’s outstanding
season.
Adeyanju is a solid run-stopping end and Green brings lots of energy to his
job, but they didn’t generate much pressure from the right side of the D.
And the Rams need to wreak more havoc up the middle without having to rely so
heavily on blitzing.
On balance, the Rams don’t need a whole lot for next season. Their areas of
need are well-defined. The football staff should be able to focus on those
needs and strengthen this team.
“We’re a pretty hungry team,” Linehan said. “We’d like to pick up where we left
off as soon as we can.”
STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
Tuesday, Jan. 02 2007
So what are we to make of the Rams season?
Scott Linehan sized up the 8-8 finish during his Tuesday news conference and
figured the campaign was average. In this corner of cyberspace, we agree.
Was it a good season or a bad season? Neither, really, so we’ll slap a “C” on
the whole thing and start looking forward.
Here are the five things we like most about the state of the Rams:
1. The offensive line got young.
This had to happen sooner or later, so the injuries suffered by center Andy
McCollum and guard Adam Timmerman just sped things along. The Doughnut Brothers
are done.
Guards Richie Incognito and Mark Setterstrom and center Brett Romberg appear to
have bright futures, which is a LARGE development. Those three, plus tackles
Alex Barron and Orlando Pace, should give the Rams offense a nice foundation
for next season.
2. Steven Jackson broke out, growing from “very good” to “elite” during the
2006 season.
If you asked NFL general managers to name the players they would most like to
build around, Jackson would have to make the Top 20.
“This guy basically said, ‘Hey, jump on my back. I’m going to try to carry you
as far as I can,' ” Linehan said. “If this year is any indication, I’d say we
have a pretty bright future.”
3. QB Marc Bulger settled into the new offense.
Through the middle of the season, he struggled to make downfield connections
with Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce and Kevin Curtis.
During the last three victories, that was NOT an issue. The offense appears to
be in excellent shape heading forward. We’d like to see the Rams commit to
Curtis and give him a bigger offensive role -– although Bruce really looked
fresh at the end of the season.
4. Young defensive backs Tye Hill, O.J. Atogwe and Ron Bartell grew this
season, giving the beleaguered “D” something to look build upon.
Jerametrius Butler will move on. The forever-injured Travis Fisher will be out
as well.
5. All is not lost on the front seven.
Will Witherspoon, Pisa Tinoisamoa and Leonard Little are impact players.
Defensive end/tackle Claude Wroten showed something. So did ends Victor
Adeyanju and Brandon Green.
And here are the five things we worry the most about:
1. The middle of the Rams defense is soft!
Witherspoon was miscast as a middle linebacker and Jimmy Kennedy was miscast at
nose tackle.
Defensive tackle La’ Roi Glover made some plays, but he may be a change-of-pace
player at this point in his career. The Rams need to hoard stout rookies and
free agents for the middle of the D.
2. Linehan and his staff still have much to prove.
How did they NOT get into the playoffs this season? Linehan made adjustments on
the fly, such as surrendering his play-calling responsibilities.
But until this staff gets the Rams into postseason play, it can’t measure up to
the Dick Vermeil and Mike Martz regimes.
3. Although punter Matt Turk and kicker Jeff Wilkins did a fine job booting the
ball, the Rams mustered nothing with their kick returns. And their coverage
suffered enough breakdowns to keep them out of the playoffs.
How does this happen year after year?
4. Tight end was still an under-productive part of the offense.
Joe Klopfenstein showed a bit of promise, but Dominique Byrd did nothing until
the very end of the season. Are these guys good enough for the future?
5. The Rams didn’t generate enough pass pressure, despite Little’s outstanding
season.
Adeyanju is a solid run-stopping end and Green brings lots of energy to his
job, but they didn’t generate much pressure from the right side of the D.
And the Rams need to wreak more havoc up the middle without having to rely so
heavily on blitzing.
On balance, the Rams don’t need a whole lot for next season. Their areas of
need are well-defined. The football staff should be able to focus on those
needs and strengthen this team.
“We’re a pretty hungry team,” Linehan said. “We’d like to pick up where we left
off as soon as we can.”