St. Louis Rams report card vs. Bears
Here’s one blogger’s grades for the Rams after Sunday’s 27-3 loss to the Chicago Bears:
QUARTERBACK: All three got into the game, and none was effective. Trent Green, who entered after Marc Bulger suffered a concussion on the first series, was dealt a bad hand. The Rams again were plowed under by halftime, and they couldn’t do anything on the ground. Green tossed four interceptions, matching the number of times he was sacked. Overall, Bulger, Green and Brock Berlin combined for an ugly passer rating of 33.8. GRADE: F
RUNNING BACKS: Filling in for Steven Jackson, Antonio Pittman and Kenneth Darby produced just 18 yards on 16 carries. The Rams finished with a net total of 14 rushing yards, hamstringing the offensive game plan. GRADE: F
RECEIVERS: Torry Holt picked up a season-best 84 yards on four catches. Sure-handed Dane Looker also had four grabs, getting 46 yards. Overall, a couple of nice receptions and a couple of drops. Average day. GRADE: C
OFFENSIVE LINE: The Bears had 17 sacks all season, but they penetrated for five vs. the Rams. A failure to pick up a stunt got Bulger knocked out of the game. Run-blocking was poor. Chicago’s d-line had an effective push most of the day. GRADE: F
DEFENSIVE LINE: The one sack the Rams managed was a gimme — QB Kyle Orton tripped and fell. Bears ballcarriers got to the second level with consistent ease. Tackling was abysmal. Chicago’s o-line had a decided edge in this (mis)match. GRADE: F
LINEBACKERS: More missed tackles. Overpursuit is a consistent problem. Will Witherspoon played with heart, but also a banged-up shoulder. Pisa Tinoisamoa looked lost at times. Quinton Culberson continues to disappoint in place of injured Chris Draft. GRADE: D
SECONDARY: FS Oshiomogho Atogwe punched out another fumble. CB Fakhir Brown dropped an interception. Coverage was OK. Tackling issues with this group, too. GRADE: D+
SPECIAL TEAMS: Too many undisciplined penalties. Derek Stanley’s 75-yard kickoff return produced nothing because Josh Brown missed a 40-yard field goal five snaps later. Donnie Jones averaged 49.8 yards (44.6 net) on five punts. Kickoff coverage was bad, punt coverage decent. GRADE: D
COACHING: Another good week of practice, according to Jim Haslett, and another pratfall on Sunday. Again, the Rams were on their heels at the start and tumbled into to a deep first-half hole. At least part of the blame for the balky starts falls into this category. Overall, an uninspired effort by an unmotivated team. GRADE: D-
It’s not the QB, stupid! Johnny Unitas would have been crushed by the Bears yesterday. On another note, why is eveyone so quick to attribute this pathetic performance on lack of “attitude” or “motivation” or “effort”. This is not high school or college. The NFL is about talent. There are very few marginal players that simply hustle and play with fire listed on NFL rosters. After nearly 3 years of ineptitude it’s obvious that the Rams do not have enough talent on their roster to compete. This will take 2 - 3 years to fix if all the right players are eventually signed.