Rams News

In retrospect, there was no big surprise in exhibition
against Chargers -- Rams are struggling
08/16 09:44 PM

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch


MACOMB, Ill. -- They are not as bad as they look. This team will not, as predicted by Sports Illustrated, finish 2-14. They are much better than that.
That being said, rarely has a football team traveled so far and accomplished so little as the Rams did in Saturday's 41-27 preseason loss to the San Diego Chargers. In the first half, when it was starters against starters -- the Rams were completely shut down on both sides of the ball.
In the opening half, the Chargers:
> Had 13 first down to three for St. Louis.
> Gained 257 yards to the Rams' 59.
> Controlled the clock for 21 minutes 18 seconds to the Rams' 8:42.
As if that weren't enough, brash Chargers rookie quarterback Ryan Leaf piled on afterward by stating: ``I made a lot of mistakes. It's probably the worst half of football I've played in a long time.''
Ouch! If that's the case, then just how would one characterize the Rams' play?
What can you hang your hat on based on Saturday's performance at Qualcomm Stadium? Even the eternal optimist, Dick Vermeil, was hard-pressed to come up with any positives.
Backup quarterback Steve Bono played OK in his preseason debut. The second-team offensive line played fairly well. The first-team offensive line did a good job on pass protection. Running backs Jerald Moore and Robert Holcombe ran hard and were more effective than their rushing numbers might indicate.
But that was about it. Hardly enough to justify camping out for playoff tickets.
``We've got a long ways to go -- a long ways to go,'' Vermeil said. ``Right now, we're struggling.''
Yes, it's still only the preseason. But Vermeil, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, was clearly disappointed Saturday night in San Diego. On Sunday in Macomb, he was tired and disappointed.
The Rams returned to Western Illinois University at 9 a.m. Sunday morning as a largely unhappy bunch of campers. This is a tired team, worn down by another tough Vermeil training camp. The performance in San Diego might be a case of tired legs and mental fatigue as much as anything.
``The preaseason is the preseason,'' quarterback Tony Banks said. ``We want to come out and perform better than we have. But we get pretty beat down in our camp.
``I don't think our legs are maybe as fresh as we would like. But that's something we've got to deal with and move on. . . . I don't have dead legs. I don't run around like the rest of these guys. I've got a dead arm.''
Even though the first-team offense has been out of sync in preseason games, Banks was asked if they could get in a groove in practice.
``Well, we get about 2,000 reps in practice,'' he said, sarcastically. ``So yeah, I can find a groove in practice.''
``Everybody's dead tired,'' safety Toby Wright added. ``If you're out there trying to get everybody in shape -- and get them prepared for the season -- that's already done. That's already happened. I can't imagine anything more.''
So should the coaching staff back off on the remaining training camp schedule?
``That's hard to say,'' Wright said, diplomatically. ``I'm just trying to get my stuff together.''
Many players were grumbling privately about the fact that the team didn't break camp when leaving for San Diego. Why return to Macomb for just 3 days after the San Diego trip? The Rams break camp and return to St. Louis on Wednesday afternoon.
But here's a news flash from Vermeil. The complaint department is closed. He offers no apologies for Camp Vermeil II.
``I'm sure they're a little bit tired and they better be,'' Vermeil said. ``I don't know of an NFL player in training camp that isn't. But that's not an excuse. If they played well, you wouldn't even consider (fatigue).
``Our second-unit offensive line went out there in the second half and played pretty damn well. They've been on the practice field just as much'' as the starters.
Vermeil did blame himself for one shortcoming Saturday: the play-calling. He called about 90 percent of the offensive plays against San Diego, and he says he didn't do a very good job.
``I didn't feel really good about it,'' said Vermeil, who also said he was responsible for getting some play calls in late to the quarterbacks.
``I might try it one more week, and if I feel good about it after one more week, I'll keep doing it,'' Vermeil said. ``If I don't, I won't do it.''

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