St. Louis Rams report card vs. Miami Dolphins
Here’s one blogger’s grades for the Rams after Sunday’s 16-12 loss to the Miami Dolphins:
QUARTERBACK: Kudos to Marc Bulger for taking every snap just a week after suffering a concussion vs. the Bears. But that’s about all that can be put on the plus side for Bulger, who struggled again. Even though he wasn’t sacked, he connected on just 16 of 35 passes — the third time in five games that his completion rate has been under 50 percent — and produced no touchdowns. He was intercepted three times and earned a season-low passer rating of 22.2 GRADE: F
RUNNING BACKS: Steven Jackson was strong early in his first extended action in six weeks. At the half, he seemed to be a lock for reaching 100 yards rushing. But he got just one touch in the fourth quarter, a 1-yard carry with 14:04 remaining. Thereafter, Antonio Pittman and Kenneth Darby handled the running-back chores. Jackson insisted that he didn’t take himself out of the game, even though coach Jim Haslett said Jackson “was gassed, and his leg was hurting.” GRADE: B
RECEIVERS: Veteran Dane Looker turned in his best outing in some time, getting 52 yards on a team-high six receptions. Torry Holt had three catches, as did emerging tight end Daniel Fells. The Teen Squad — Donnie Avery, Keenan Burton and Derek Stanley — was generally quiet, although Avery did draw two pass-interference penalties. GRADE: C
OFFENSIVE LINE: Just two weeks after suffering ligament damage in his right knee, left tackle Orlando Pace suited up and snuffed linebacker Joey Porter, the league’s sacks leader. The Rams gave up no sacks for just the third time this season, and the run-blocking was good. Brett Romberg was much better in his second start at center, and rookie John Greco filled in nicely after Richie Incognito left early in the second half because he felt light-headed. GRADE: A-
DEFENSIVE LINE: Although they pressured QB Chad Pennington several times, the Rams failed to register a sack. There were some missed tackles early, but that was corrected. RBs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams struggled to get to the second level thereafter. GRADE: B
LINEBACKERS: Rookie David Vobora was active in his first start and made the defensive calls without a serious hitch. Pisa Tinoisamoa missed a tackle near the goal line early, but rallied afterward. Quinton Culberson was better, but somewhat less than steller. GRADE: C+
SECONDARY: Free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe punched out another fumble. Nickel back Jason Craft had some nice moments. Corners Ron Bartell and Fakhir Brown were generally OK in coverage, but less impressive on run support. Corey Chavous and Todd Johnson split time at strong safety. GRADE: C
SPECIAL TEAMS: Josh Brown tied his season high with four field goals, in four tries. Donnie Jones averaged a solid 52.0 yards on three punts. Coverage was good. Returns were just fair. GRADE: B+
COACHING: The play-calling of OC Al Saunders continues to mystify at times. DC Rick Venturi was conservative, blitzing rarely. HC Jim Haslett’s decision to punt on fourth-and-1 with 4 1/2 minutes left and the Rams down 16-12 was dubious. At least the Rams weren’t blown out by halftime this week. GRADE: C-
“……Richie Incognito left early in the second half because he felt light-headed.”
“Light headed”???? My God you look in his ear and you hear “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages……” There is NOTHING in the head so naturally he’s light headed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The sad irony is that the Rams will probably get rid of Bulger, then he’ll go somewhere else and turn into an all-pro. Kurt Warner on the Cardinals is a case in point. Still, abysmal is a kind word to describe Bulger’s performance recently. As disappointing as Mike Martz was a few years ago, I’m really starting to miss him. At least he knew how to orchestrate things offensively and put points on the board. Anyone else remember when Haslett, then with the Saints, called the Martz Rams a “bullshit finesse team?” I was hopeful when Haslett first took over, but now I’m thinking the Rams need more of that so-called bullshit finesse.
i think that the rams are playing the way they are playing because they are short handed with alot of key injuries. i dont really think bulger is the problem i think he is not confident with the players out on the field being that most starters are out with injuries. but i do believe the rams should try and gat a qb in the draft just in case bulger doesnt pan out and maybe pick up one more receiver.i remember when the rams had bruce,holt,mcdonald,curtis,hakim thats when they were unstoppable scoring an average of 44 pts a game.
Good assessment, but on the coaching grade, I would include treatment of Jackson in the fourth quarter. If Haslett felt that Jackson shouldn’t play, he sould have talked to him at the time. Playing out later in the press is bad for the team.
I was disappointed that SJAX would hold out for a new contract, but it is as much the Ram’s FO fault as it is SJAX. Did the Ram’s hold the line on the contract cost? NO. Did they shorten the contract length? NO. So the same signed contract that they received 30 days after the holdout began is the contract they could’ve had prior to training camp. If the organization is going to hard line on contract renegotiations then they should walk away from players that holdout. This is again why Jay Z and John S are the operators of this team, they always consider profits over wins.
I don’t want to make fun of Marc Bulger because I honestly believe had he played behind anything other than an inept offensive line the past few years he would be an elite QB in this league. However, at the end of the day he is damaged goods, and I think this team is best off moving on either in Free Agency or the draft.
The Defense seems to be at least building towards something, the offense is just horribly stuck in neutral.
I too believe the Rams need coaches with balls and doesn’t allow losses to happen. They also need a quarter back who is good and not just average, I’m sure they’re kickin’ their selves for letting go of Kurt Warner(since he is up for MVP this year). Its really dificult to be a rams fan when you live in AZ, trust me, it sucks.
I’m sorry I wouldn’t give any of this team’s effort above a D, especially coaching which was horrible on offense and only a tad better on defense.
Bulger has to goooooo or you and your organization is going to lose every fan you ever had!!! Wrong to pay him all that money when he can’t even throw into the end zone with a “playoff” game on the line with Mike Martz!!! F-Him and be gone of him!!!
bulger should be picking fly s$#t out of peppers at the local produce stand. the guy is the laughing stock of ALL nfl quarterbacks but in his mind he’s doing a decent job, just ask him.