Rams fans got a little giddy watching their long-struggling team play Thursday night.

During our live blog/chat here on STLtoday.com, there was lots of crazy talk. Fans projected eight or nine victories and NFC West title contention.

Fans compared rookie quarterback Sam Bradford to Matt Ryan, who enjoyed an auspicious NFL debut with the Falcons.

Giddy optimism reigned. Fans managed to push last season’s 1-15 nightmare further toward the back of their brains.

This assessment in this corner of cyberspace isn't as exhuberant, but the team looks much more viable than it did at the end of last season.

While the front-line Rams played, the team looked crisp. The Rams played quick on offense, making good use of the no-huddle attack early on.

“I felt like the tempo was really good tonight,” said Bradford, who completed all six passes he threw. “We came out in our no huddle.  It’s something that we wanted to do. I felt like the offense handled it very well.  We got in rhythm early. We really stayed in rhythm that whole first drive.”

The Rams played a robust defensive game, too, swarming to the ball with gusto. This execution reflected well on the work accomplished in training camp.

Messiness crept into the game as coach Steve Spagnuolo gave the bottom-tier guys their final audition, but that is to be expected.

Overall, the Rams looked like a team that got a lot done this summer. The turnaround must start there.

Here are a few notable positives from the fray:

Offensive coordinator Pat Shumur has taken plenty of media heat for his scheme. The Rams spent last season throwing check-down passes and working the sides of the field with short passes. This game reminded us that the offense CAN attack the middle of the field, particularly with the tight ends.

“You know, it’s a similar offense to what we had in the past but it seems tight end friendly,” Billy Bajema observed. “Tight ends get the balls in practices and games, so that’s a big part of it and makes it fun.”

Bajema, Daniel Fells, Fendi Onobun and Michael Hoomanawanui all looked good during the preseason, so it’ll be interesting to see how what the coaches do there.

Injury-plagued Brandon Gibson had a statement game at wide receiver, stepping up the week after Donnie Avery’s demise. Laurent Robinson still figures to become the go-to possession target for Bradford this season, but Gibson’s timely performance turned heads.

“The biggest thing is that I want to earn the respect of my teammates, show them that I’m a good player and I can help the team,” Gibson said. “And most importantly, do what I have to do. Whether it be special teams or wide receiver, I just want to be out there.”

Fans want the Rams to spend a couple of draft picks to pry holdout Vincent Jackson out San Diego. And that request has some merit.

Gibson’s four-catch, 40-yard performance Thursday didn’t eliminate the need for a high-end receiver, but it made everybody feel better about the no-name corps currently in place.

The defensive front seven was solid all night. The linemen got penetration against the pass and run and the linebackers were very active. Just about everybody Spagnuolo deployed did something notable, so the staff will have to make some tough roster calls.

Many of the young fringe veterans fighting for jobs – like defensive end Victor Adeyanju and linebacker Chris Chamberlain – made big plays.

Young quarterbacks Keith Null (7 for 10, 90 yards, one TD) and Thaddeus Lewis (6 for 8, 89 yards, one TD) had equally strong performances during their final competition. Lewis is more mobile, but the much bigger Null looked nimble enough under duress. Turning either guy loose would be difficult. 

And now a few concerns:

Kenneth Darby can pile up yardage when he gets into space, but he can’t move the pile. Keith Toston can move the pile, but he’s not quick to the holes. Chris Ogbonnaya is quick to the holes, but he can’t power through tackles.

Combine all these backs and you might have one decent No. 3 guy behind Steven Jackson. Toston helped himself by gaining 47 yards on 10 carries Thursday, but this team still needs to locate a feature-caliber back to pair with Jackson this season.

While the starting offensive line looked fine, this team has insufficient depth at tackle. True, guard Adam Goldberg can move outside in a pinch – but everybody would feel better if Jason Smith and Rodger Saffold had better support there.

The Rams kick coverage teams had a difficult night, but we can attribute some of that to do the audition shuffle. Those units won’t settle down until after the roster cuts are made.

All in all, the Rams preseason was a success. If they can build on their newfound confidence, fill a few roster holes on the fly and stay reasonably healthy, they could do some damage in the early portion of their schedule.

And if they do some early damage and stay reasonably healthy . . . well, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here.

The road back from 1-15 is long and difficult and the Rams need to grind it out one stage at a time. Stage one, the preseason, was a good start for the journey.