St. Louis Rams Preseason Game 2 Grades

Quarterbacks - B
Sam Bradford, A.J. Feeley and Thaddeus Lewis combined to go 21 of 34 for 256 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception. All three performed well especially if you consider the lack of blocking they received from various members of the Rams offensive line. Bradford and Feeley each threw a touchdown pass and Lewis led a great 2 minute game winning drive to close out the game. Overall a pretty nice performance. In addition the Rams threw the ball downfield much more in this game and they averaged almost 2 more yards per attempt than week 1.

Runningbacks - C
The Rams had a measly 44 yards on 21 carries in this one. Steven Jackson started but could only gain 10 yards on 6 carries. There simply were no holes. Every back seemed to dance a little and them get swallowed up. Can't really judge much here since there really was nowhere for them to run.


Wide Receivers - B
The Rams had receptions from 15 different players on the night. Brandon Gibson caught an electric 83 yard pass from Sam Bradford and even Donnie Avery was able to get on the field and into the end zone. Week 1 star Lance Kendricks only caught 1 ball for 9 yards but everyone was involved. Salas and Pettis contributed and even Marty Gilyard caught a pass. Much better job of hanging onto the ball than last week.


Offensive Line - F
That's right an F! The Rams number one job in these four preseason games should be to keep hands off Sam Bradford. Bradford was belted around for a whole half of football. The Rams allowed 3 sacks and only averaged 2.1 yards per carry on the ground and should be ashamed of their continual year after year inability to pick up the blitz.

Special Teams A+
What can you say about Josh Brown and Donnie Jones. Again I will tell you they are the best combo in the NFL. Brown hits the game winner twice at the buzzer after the bush league timeout call from the Titans. Donnie Jones has a 48+ yard average on 8 punts while knocking 3 out of bounds inside the 20 yard line. These two guys are worth at least two victories during the season. Chris Chamberlain is a beast but I believe the Rams will miss Chris Massey who was cut on Monday.

Defense - C-
Simple things like staying in your lanes (Chris Long) and stopping the cut back run eluded the Rams on this night. The Rams allowed the Titans to convert almost half of their 3rd down attempts (8-17) and gave up 198 yards on the ground and the Titans did not even have Chris Johnson on the field. The second unit held the Titans scoreless in the second half which game the Rams a chance to win the game. The Rams James Butler did have an interception and Quintin Mikell made some solid tackles.


Coaching - C
The Rams were a little flat after the opening play touchdown from Bradford to Gibson. I liked the fact that McDaniels had some longer passes called during the game. With as much as the Rams have spent on the offensive line I would like to see them be able to dominate a game or at least pick up the blitz.

By Stlvinnie - http://www.stlouisramfan.com