Rams News

Rams' performance in scrimmage with Colts shows
plenty of work needs to be done before seasons starts
08/01 08:40 PM

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- OK, so it was just a scrimmage. But based on what happened Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts, the Rams should be thankful they have five weeks and four exhibition games before doing this for real.
After a day off Sunday, there will be plenty of kinks to iron out when the team resumes practice Monday in Macomb. On second thought forget the iron. Perhaps Dick Vermeil should drive a steam roller out on the grass fields at Western Illinois University.
``There's no reason to be disappointed,'' Vermeil said. ``But I would have liked to have been smoother on offense. And we blew a couple things on defense that you better not do in the league opener.''
Where to begin?
Why not with the Rams' second play on offense, when there was a botched center/quarterback exchange, with Tony Banks recovering. Two plays later, Banks was intercepted when a Rams receiver -- apparently Eddie Kennison -- ran the wrong route.
Despite his much-improved offseason work habits, it was a tough day for Kennison. He dropped one Banks pass, and another bounced off his pads and was intercepted by safety Robert Blackmon.
Banks completed four of eight passes for 29 yards, with the two interceptions, before giving way to Will Furrer, Steve Bono and Kurt Warner.
``He's only thrown one interception in all of practice, the whole training camp so far,'' Vermeil said. ``So I'm not really too concerned about it.''
On Friday, Vermeil said he wanted crisp, mistake-free football at the scrimmage. What he got instead were three holding penalties and two false starts on offense, and a lost fumble by Derrick Harris in a goal-line drill. (Vermeil said he thought the Harris fumble was caused by a bad handoff from Warner.)
The defense was better, with defensive end Kevin Carter registering a sack and blocking a field goal. Rookie draft picks Grant Wistrom, Leonard Little and Jason Chorak all had their moments. Safety Billy Jenkins and rookie free agent Daryl Bush at middle linebacker made some big hits.
But the Rams goal-line defense sprang major leaks. In the first of two goal-line sessions, the Rams allowed TDs on three consecutive plays -- two of which came on runs by Marshall Faulk. In the second goal-line session, the Rams were called for 12 men on the field, and then gave up a TD pass to wide-open tight end Bradford Banta.
Vermeil said there was a good reason for the goal-line struggles.
``We haven't spent any time on it,'' he said. ``We've had priorities in other areas.''
The Rams defense also gave up two TDs in ``red zone'' sessions -- where the offense got the ball on the opponent's 20. On the first TD, former Rams receiver Torrance Small got behind Willie Clark for a 20-yard catch from Peyton Manning.
Meanwhile, the Rams offense managed only two touchdowns -- on a 20-yard pass from Furrer to tight end Aaron Laing in a red zone period and on a 3-yard pass from Warner to tight end Tyji Armstrong in a goal-line session.
Interestingly, neither team scored on a ``regulation'' drive. When not in the goal-line, short-yardage or red zone sessions, each team's offense had two 15-play possessions starting at the offense's own 35-yard line.
``We're not as tight in our offense as we'd like to be, as refined as we'd like to be,'' Banks said. ``We ran a couple of new things today, and we thought guys were going to be able to handle it, but had a couple mental breakdowns.''
Still, there's no need to panic. The Rams rested their starting tight end (Ernie Conwell) and their top two running backs (Jerald Moore and Robert Holcombe) because of minor injuries. Isaac Bruce caught a 14-yard pass on the Rams' first offensive play, then called it a day. Third-down back Amp Lee was in for only a couple of plays.
On the bright side, offensive tackle Orlando Pace appeared to dominate. He ``pancaked'' Colts defensive end Dan Footman early in the proceedings.
``Absolutely flipped him right over on his back,'' Vermeil cackled. ``I thought the whole offensive line, when we gave them a chance to come off the ball as a unit, they blocked well.''
With only four running backs/fullbacks in uniform, rookie Raymond Priester of Clemson made the most of his increased workload with 36 yards in eight carries -- for a per-carry average of 4.5 yards.

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