Rams report card @ Washington
LANDOVER, Md. — Here’s one blogger’s grades for the Rams after Sunday’s 19-17 victory over the Washington Redskins:
QUARTERBACK: It wasn’t Marc Bulger’s best day statistically, and the offense didn’t produce a touchdown. But he was at the controls for the 76-yard, game-winning drive, during which he hit rookie WR Donnie Avery for first downs twice on third-down plays. The second time, the 43-yard gain set up Josh Brown’s 49-yard FG at the gun. GRADE: B
RUNNING BACKS: Steven Jackson ground out a tough 79 yards on 22 carries against a rugged Redskins defense. Jackson caught three passes for 32 yards, giving him a productive 111 yards from scrimmage. But his fumble at the Rams 3-yard line handed Washington an early TD. GRADE: B-
RECEIVERS: Avery had a breakout game, with four catches for 73 yards and the long, diving reception that preceded the winning FG. Joe Klopfenstein, the new starter at TE, had two catches but also dropped a ball. Holt’s team-high five grabs netted just 23 yards. GRADE: B+
OFFENSIVE LINE: Bulger was pretty well-protected (two sacks), but Jackson didn’t have much room to roam. Undisciplined G Richie Incognito took his unit’s mark down significantly because he was called for two 15-yard penalties, including one that turned Brown’s final kick from a chip shot into a long try. GRADE: C
DEFENSIVE LINE: DEs Leonard Little and Victor Adeyanju each had a sack. Little knocked the ball away from QB Jason Campbell, leading to Oshiomogho Atogwe’s 75-yard fumble return for the Rams’ lone touchdown. DE Chris Long also recovered a fumble. But Clinton Portis gashed the Rams for 129 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. GRADE: B
LINEBACKERS: Pisa Tinoisamoa was all over the field, collecting a game-high 11 tackles according to the unofficial press-box stats. He also recorded a sack and forced a fumble. Will Witherspoon had seven stops, and Chris Draft three vs. the NFL’s sixth-ranked offense. GRADE: A-
SECONDARY: Atogwe had the long TD return, and CBs Jason Craft and Ron Bartell were generally sound in coverage. S Corey Chavous was strong vs. the run but got beat on a 30-yard pass to TE Chris Cooley. Jonathan Wade had two tackles at nickel back after Ricky Manning Jr. left with a broken foot. Manning had a sack. GRADE: B+
SPECIAL TEAMS: Brown was four-for-four on FGs, including the winner. Donnie Jones continued his standout punting. The Rams had some nice returns, although they didn’t produce any points. Coverage was good. GRADE: A
COACHING: The Rams played with increased emotion and fire in their first outing under Jim Haslett. They also shrugged off adversity far more effectively. The defense bent often but didn’t break under new DC Rick Venturi. OC Al Saunders wisely leaned on Jackson and got Avery involved. GRADE: A


Marc Bulger a “B”?! are you kidding me? His numbers were horrific today and if it wasnt for the redskins D dropping the passes he put right into his hands this would have been a much different story today..
He can’t throw deep.. he misses targets short and is slow to react in the pocket.. he is not good. Avery saved his butt today.
A “B” for Marc Bulger? What game were you watching, Bill? Whomever thinks Bulger deserves any grade better than a C- is delusional; he was awful! The Skins dropped two sure INT’s that Bulger put right between the defender’s numbers.
You guys honestly need to lay the hell off Bulger. He’s not as good as he once was, but dammit, he’s not the reason we lose. And even if he’s not the reason we win, so what? He led the game-winning drive, and that’s all that matters. Plus, we lose because we do stupid shit like swear at referees, hold, and false start. These dumb penalties–all by the offensive line, every week–are a bigger thorn in our side than Bulger. The man is a competitor–he may not make the perfect throw every time anymore, but he’s a competitor and he still has the ability to win games. Give it up already.
The Good: Youth is potential and age is wisdom. Hasslet did a great job of substituting the youngsters with the vets on Defense. It kept them fresh and they had energy. It was great to see the young DL of Ajendeyjo, Carriker, Ryan and Long perform so well. DB Wade and Bartell, LB Culberson played well. DE Little had juice.
The Bad: G Incognito. But I like it. A 0-4 team is not going to get a lot of respect on the field. Other teams feel they can intimidate a struggling team but Incognito is not having it. Some one has to stand up and protect the teams honor.
The Ugly: The Rams won despite QB Bulger. It seems as if when Bulger is behind center the Rams revert back to the Linehan play calling. Last week when QB Green started the playing calling was more agressive and Green spread the ball around to different receivers. Bulger seemed to be locked in on Holt only and again appeared jittery. I think the run he made and hit he took kind of woke him up. He seem to get agrressive after that. Hopefully he can build on that.WR Avery bailed him out on that pass play it was under thrown. Good job Rams!
You’re saying Incognito was protecting the teams honor?? He’s like a big mouth friend in a parking lot that gets everyone in trouble cuz he can’t shut up. You want to talk about protecting someone’s honor? Check out Clifton Ryan coming up strong and push Leigh Terrance out of Haslett’s face. Ryan protected his coach like a man…and the Rams didn’t have to get pushed back 15 yds. for it. There’s a time and a place to show testosterone and it wasn’t with the game on the line!
Come on Bill! Bulger was no where near a “B” in his performance on Sunday. Why do these grades when you throw crap like that at us. We too watch the games on Sunday.
And NickJ here a news flash: We don’t have to lay the hell off of Bulger. He is an NFL QB that is paid a tremendous amount to perform. And when he doesn’t, which is pretty much every game for the last 3 years, he should here about it. What the hell does Icognito being an idiot have to do with Bulger not performing well again on Sunday? Why don’t you stop making excuses for him!
I will reiterate That Bulger should not have received a B-. He made one good play in the game with a pin point pass to convert a third down. The long pass completion ( Oh my God, did I say long pass completion with the reference to Bulger?) was terribly under thrown. The guy has numerous deficiencies which are: poor pocket presence, total ineptness with the long ball, not very mobile, unable to make big plays or any plays under duress( refer to Warner, Favre Rivers or a host of others), poor decision making( takes too many sacks instead getting rid of the ball). The same thing is happening to Warner and he’s rated #3 in the NFL not 24th. like guess who. One more issue that really burns my ass. The guy has no visible leadership qualities whatsoever and this team is in dire need of a leader. Lets hope that he isn’t leading by example. I’m sure he is a pleasant and god person. Thats Great! But, Mark Bulger is a middle of the road quarterback at best. He would be a decent back up in this league.
Bulger a “B” are you kidding me! I was at the game and he STUNK up the place. As usuall he was throwing of his back foot, inaccurate, consistently coming up short on the long ball, and he bounced two passes right off of Redskins who dropped them. The only thing he did well was the last drive of the game. No better than a “C-” performance.
The good: Steven Jackson ran hard, the LB’s and DL (with the exception of one long run by Portis), and Avery.
The bad: The OL (not all together bad but still needs to improve) and the secondary (too many wide open receivers while in zone).
The ugly: Bulger until the last drive and the receiving corp (minus Avery, yes that means Holt as well)…they were short arming throws and not physical enough!
On the positive side, the team played with energy and heart for four quarters, it was fantastic!
I think that Bulger was really a C- all game long. Badly underthrown receivers, bad decision making. However, I have no problem giving him a B because when the game was on the line he actually made 2 plays that showed heart. On 3rd and 13 he scrambled and ran for the first down and showed spark. (Although it was called back). On the next play because of the penalty, he was able to throw to Avery because he actually MOVED in the pocket…he stepped up and allowed his receiver to come back to make a spectacular catch.
Running Backs- I give a solid B. The fumble hurt because it led to the only offensive TD for MOST of the game…but Jackson didn’t do a lot of dancing outside and powered the ball forward…
Wide receivers-B..Although Avery-AAAAAAAA
Offensive Line-B I give them a B because there weren’t a lot of holes against a defense that stopped westbrook and barber/jones…but they did provide a surge for Jackson. The sacks I won’t put totally on them because one was caused by an overload and at last count 5 can’t stop 6. Incognito has heart and fire which is good. The end of the game penalty..was just stupid..
D-Line Well…pressure on Campbell I give B+..Not to make a big deal out of it but the sack totals have doubled in 2 games since Little’s return…I like the rotation it keeps little fresh and teams have to double either him or Long… Against the run…yikes…That’s a D…So overall I say a C..but because they caused a turnover..B-
D-Backs…A. One Reason…3 DB’s….Santana Moss was invisible…Randle-El..was invisible..and short of the Cooley play..Redskins didn’t do much deep. We harp on this unit for long td plays (Like the Tigers) So Today I give them Kudos for playing tough while being short handed..And by the way..I know people love Fahkir Brown, but I think that Bartell has the potential to be a better fit especially with the size of the NFC west receivers..
Special Teams-A..for Donnie Jones (Pro-bowl)..A for Josh Brown, A for coverage..and an A for several Dante Hall Sightings!!!!
Coaching A. I give Haslett an A for not allowing the team to quit..and almost fighting a Redksin himself. Al Saunders…I liked that he dialed up some Te plays and involved jackson..I am still a little confused as to Holt…and running the same plays two times in a row again..(Quick slants) and Shotgun Draws..) But a win is a win
NickJ is right! When you’ve had a porous O line like the rams–the fault is not the quarterback. Those hits take an effect–ala Kurt Warner–see how well he does with an offensive line in front of him. Sure Bulger has trouble with the long ball and I can’t explain the inability to this point to get it in the end zone but he is a Pro bowl caliber quarterback–check the history book. Give him time and he will again (with protection–he is no longer mobile as what happened to Warner) and he will again shred defenses with pin-point passes. Avery is the true find from this week and Dante Hall will be fine as long as the blocking is there. Rams’ right side needs shored up on defense and Incognito needs to sit and learn about controlled agression! My 4 cents!!