Good And Bad From Preseason @ St. Louis Rams

[Coffeedrinker]

D'oh, I obviously meant RAMS but I don't know how to edit a title.

I'm watching the game right now, I'm just about to start the 4th quarter and here are some of my observations.

Here are the players I think have looked good:

McClendon - He was listed as the starter but Reitz actually started and then they rotated series through-out the first half and, IMO, McClendon won this battle for starting LG. Reitz did well but McClendon was very quick off the snap, redirected the defender with ease and had great technique in pass protection.

Pollack - He only played guard for three plays and then moved to center and he did very well at center. There was one block he missed at center the rest he was getting some good movement.

Spann - Not as a returner but as a runner he showed quickness, speed, decisiveness and he kept his shoulders square to the LOS.

Gill - Too bad he missed 2010 because he doesn't have great field awareness but my word he can get off the ball and push around whomever is trying to block him.

Wheeler - Again I would like to see Wheeler get time at WILL. But he had some nice reads, nice tackles and showed good awareness in his zone.

Thomas/Rucker - Thomas looked smooth in his zone, excellent field awareness and a solid tackler for a CB. I didn't notice him too much (which is good for a CB) but had an excellent play where the receiver pushed off and Rucker still made up the ground and got his arm in and knocked the ball away. Very good play.

Brown - Not Donald(although he did pretty good) but the kicker for the Rams. I know it's against the Colts but when a kicker hits a 53 yarder and a 60 yarder in one game you just have to acknowledge the coolness of that.

Players that showed flashes but inconsistent.

Castonzo - People talk about a play where Gill came in untouched... I'm not sure that wsa AC's fault. When you look at the play where DeVree caught a long crossing route the TE took the Gill and it appears to be the same call but the TE releases. So whether that was the fault of the TE or AC, I don't know. What I'm basing it on, is one play AC does everything perfect, form, punch, keeps his feet moving. Then the next play the DE stunts to the inside, AC over-commits and the DE loops back around to the outside and gets a free run at the QB. That is one of those things that will be learned.

Painter - The INT was just a bad pass, Collie was open he just threw it over his head. But then on the next series he looked pretty sharp and made some good decisions.

Nevis - Showed unbelievable explosion off the snap but he needs to keep his head up so he can follow the play. There were two or three times where he could have had a stop for a loss only to have the RB run behind him.

Reitz - Solid game by Reitz needs work on pass blocking in his zone.

Hughes - Showed some great movement off the snap and very active hand play but took himself out of a couple of plays.

Chick - Kind of a combination of the comments fir Hughes and Nevis.

Carter - Looked smooth and he's faster than he looks but was a little indecisive a couple of times and went the wrong way on a play after two nice runs.

Players that I want to see more of before I make any decisions.

Kirkpatrick - Snap is a little slow, but after that he is very good.

Tepper - Played guard and did pretty well, looked strong and had sound technique.

Ijalana - Did not look good on the majority of plays, got very little push in the run game, did not maintain a block for very long. Descent pass protection but would still give up too much ground.

Nate Davis - Looked comfortable in the pocket and seemed to know what was going on around him unlike Orvlosky who looked like, if you asked him what team they were playing against, he would have had to think about it long and hard before he could answer.

Harris - He did nothing in the game, he was slow off the ball but at least he stood straight up. I'm willing to give him a break because he's had just over a week to get into the swing of things. But two more preseason games like that he will be cut.

Mathews - The guy is like the Tasmanian Devil, he's moving, he's active, he's wreaking havoc but there is no rhyme or reason to it and it didn't affect many plays.

Guys who are in real trouble of not staying on the roster.

Devan - He spent as much time in the backfield as the QB. At guard he got pushed around then he moved to center and got pushed around. With the emergence of McClendon and Reitz at guard and if Kirkpatrick continues to develop at center, Devan will be out of work in Indy.

Foster - Foster has the past to go on as well but when ranking him to Moala, Nevis, AJ and Gill, Foster would be 5th in that group. Gill can fill the same role as Foster but Gill is bigger, stronger and just as fast.

Any LB not named Brackett, Angerer, Conner, Wheeler or Sims. The Colts have a really, really bad group of LBers behind those 5.

Toudouze or Linkenbach. I for the life of me do not see what the Colts see in Link, technically he's sloppy and he has very little strength. To me he and Toudouze are on the same level with AC and Ijalana and Reitz (who can play RT) one of these guys is not going to make it. Probably Toudouze but you never know.

Orlovsky - This guy may have all the tools but he has no awareness of anything going on around him. Smith is behind the defense wide open all Or has to do is float it up towards the sideline to let Smith run under it and it's easy 6. Instead Orlovsky throws it to the middle of the field for an INT.

I will probably write more after I watch the game again.

Edited August 14, 2011 by 21isSuperman
Mod Edit: Editted topic title to say Rams

[Mouthfire]

lol at the Matthews comment

Also, was Pollack playing guard on the Brown run that he had to cut back to the left? I haven't re-watched the tape yet, but that kind of stuck out as a bad play for him.

I'm hoping McClendon keeps it up! That'll be huge for our run game.

[Coffeedrinker]

lol at the Matthews comment

Also, was Pollack playing guard on the Brown run that he had to cut back to the left? I haven't re-watched the tape yet, but that kind of stuck out as a bad play for him.

I'm hoping McClendon keeps it up! That'll be huge for our run game.

Pollack was at center on that play and yeah that was the one bad play that I mentioned.

[coltfaninnewyork]

I watched the first half and i thought hughes had trouble getting off blocks,he had some speed turning the corner but does he have the strength to get off blocks?

[Coffeedrinker]

I watched the first half and i thought hughes had trouble getting off blocks,he had some speed turning the corner but does he have the strength to get off blocks?

I will look at that when I re-watch the game.

[coltfaninnewyork]

I will look at that when I re-watch the game.

Thanks,i am hoping this kid can contribute this year.

[Smonroe]

Coffee - I like your in depth descriptions, keep them coming! But I have to disagree with you about Pollak/Devan. I'll re-watch the game but I thought Pollak was getting beat all night, no matter which position he played.

Devan did play against their 2s and 3s, but I thought he looked decent.

Hughes will obviously make the roster, and he's going to get every opportunity to show why he was drafted so high. So far, I'm not seeing much more than I'd expect from any UDFA.

[Coffeedrinker]

I'm rewatching that Donald Brown run right now. I thought Pollack got blown up on that play but after re-watching it, I'm going to put that one on DeVan as well. The DT is lined up directly over DeVan and it's supposed to be a double team. The DT steps to the gap between Pollack and DeVan, Pollack steps to his right gets a shoulder on the guy, Devan plays pat-a-cake with him, does a 360 then runs down the line and grabs number 53 of the rams by the shoulder pads and spins him to the ground. At least Pollack stays with the guy and doesn't allow him to make a play.

You're one of my favorite postes Smonroe but you could not be more wrong in this instance and I'm sure when you re-watch the game you will see what I'm seeing. Just remember Pollack is 78, DeVan is 66.

[Colts20593]

What are you talking about, Pollack is awful and shouldn't be a starter.

[DILLIGAFER]

I didn't get to wtch the game. I will after the Indian Festival I'm at. Thanks to everyone who kept us all updated throughout the evening yesterday. GO GET SUM!

[ruksak]

I will look at that when I re-watch the game.

They are reairing it Monday @11 PM I believe on NFLN.

[Smonroe]

I'm rewatching that Donald Brown run right now. I thought Pollack got blown up on that play but after re-watching it, I'm going to put that one on DeVan as well. The DT is lined up directly over DeVan and it's supposed to be a double team. The DT steps to the gap between Pollack and DeVan, Pollack steps to his right gets a shoulder on the guy, Devan plays pat-a-cake with him, does a 360 then runs down the line and grabs number 53 of the rams by the shoulder pads and spins him to the ground. At least Pollack stays with the guy and doesn't allow him to make a play.

You're one of my favorite postes Smonroe but you could not be more wrong in this instance and I'm sure when you re-watch the game you will see what I'm seeing. Just remember Pollack is 78, DeVan is 66.

Thanks Coffee. I'll leave re-watch that play with that in mind. BTW, it's Pollak. (Couldn't resist after your numbers barb)

[Zebra3]

They are reairing it Monday @11 PM I believe on NFLN.

Thanks for this, I'll set my DVR, I listened in on Sirius, but prefer watching.

[bayone]

its sched to be on 10 pm tonight on nfl network i belive

[manningstheman]

I watched the first half and i thought hughes had trouble getting off blocks,he had some speed turning the corner but does he have the strength to get off blocks?

For sure, he is quick as heck. He just doest have that power head duck that mathis and freeny have. He just gets pushed right out the the play. He was always a few yards behind the qb when he got there. This dude needs to hit the gym and get some more upper body strength.

[John Waylon]

I don't think wheeler looked all that good. He racked up a bunch of ticks in his "Tackles" column, but watch them again. Very few were actual tackles. Most of the time he just ran into a guy and made him fall down. Any powerful RB is just going to flatten him, and a good spin, or juke move is going to easily dispose of him. He could be a great LB with his speed, but the guy literally has no idea how to tackle.

[Indianapolis-Colts-Fan]

I don't think wheeler looked all that good. He racked up a bunch of ticks in his "Tackles" column, but watch them again. Very few were actual tackles. Most of the time he just ran into a guy and made him fall down. Any powerful RB is just going to flatten him, and a good spin, or juke move is going to easily dispose of him. He could be a great LB with his speed, but the guy literally has no idea how to tackle.

This ^^

[ruksak]

I don't think wheeler looked all that good. He racked up a bunch of ticks in his "Tackles" column, but watch them again. Very few were actual tackles. Most of the time he just ran into a guy and made him fall down. Any powerful RB is just going to flatten him, and a good spin, or juke move is going to easily dispose of him. He could be a great LB with his speed, but the guy literally has no idea how to tackle.

Hate to say it but you just described a prototypical Colts LB. A smallish squad predicated upon team speed and gang tackles. The primary asset to a Colts LB is maintaining position. Which Conner was continuously victimized by a lack thereof, namely against that rookie TE STL was sporting. STL's first touchdown displayed the aforementioned positioning issue to a tee. Conner was turned around on that seemingly easy read.

Wheeler seemed in good position all night. Hence the tackles leading stat. He played Colts defense.

[Coffeedrinker]

They are reairing it Monday @11 PM I believe on NFLN.

Thanks, I don't have cable or a dish though. I ordered the NFL Preseason live package so I get to watch all preseason games as many times as I want.

With a 32" monitor is pretty cool.

[Coffeedrinker]

I don't think wheeler looked all that good. He racked up a bunch of ticks in his "Tackles" column, but watch them again. Very few were actual tackles. Most of the time he just ran into a guy and made him fall down.

I may not be up on all my football terminology but isn't that what a tackle is, hitting a guy a knocking him down? And I saw him stick Benson twice and stop him in his tracks and he's not a speed back.

[ruksak]

its sched to be on 10 pm tonight on nfl network i belive

Just rechecked and thats a negative, Barry. Monday 11 PM

[coltfaninnewyork]

I thought wheeler was active,had a good hit and defended a pass well.

[ruksak]

I may not be up on all my football terminology but isn't that what a tackle is, hitting a guy a knocking him down? And I saw him stick Benson twice and stop him in his tracks and he's not a speed back.

If I may be so bold, I believe that John is saying that Wheeler fails to wrap-up, and that can be poison to a defense. What I was saying is that Colts LB's are typically smallish and failure to wrap-up is common place. Hence the speed philosophy required multiple defenders to stop runs. We saw this in the infamous JAX game early in our SB championship season. Too many solo tackle attempts led to big gashing gains. Small LB's don't wrap-up well. They aren't taught not to, they just can't due to physical limitations.

[ColtsLegacy]

Just rechecked and thats a negative, Barry. Monday 11 PM

I'm looking at my directv guide right now and it shows Colts/Rams at 10pm tonight (Sunday).

[ruksak]

I'm looking at my directv guide right now and it shows Colts/Rams at 10pm tonight (Sunday).

Hmph, I have Comcast so ....given Comcasts unprecedented quality and continuous bad listings, I'm hoping you're Direct TV is better.

Minn @ Tenn is what I got listed at 10PM.

[Mouthfire]

Yeah, I have Comcast too. It had Ind @ St Louis listed for this morning. Minn @ Tenn was what played instead. So I'm assuming that the Indy game is tonight.

[nitecrawler]

How did Ogbu look at DT??

[Coffeedrinker]

If I may be so bold, I believe that John is saying that Wheeler fails to wrap-up, and that can be poison to a defense.

Soooo, he's like 90% of the LBers in the NFL and his tackle don't count because he didn't use (fan approved) proper form?

What I was saying is that Colts LB's are typically smallish and failure to wrap-up is common place. Hence the speed philosophy required multiple defenders to stop runs. We saw this in the infamous JAX game early in our SB championship season.

That was actually late in the season. And, all kidding aside, it is a complaint I have about the Colts D as well.

Too many solo tackle attempts led to big gashing gains.

Or it could lead to a lot of solo tackles.

Small LB's don't wrap-up well. They aren't taught not to, they just can't due to physical limitations.

I'm sorry but that is complete nonsense. Small LBers, at least the ones I played with are taught to tackle just like the bigger LBers. At it's not like the difference between a big LB and a small LB is so huge that their arms are to short to wrap up. Big LB is 6'2" 245lbs a small LB is 6'1" 230 lbs.

[ruksak]

Soooo, he's like 90% of the LBers in the NFL and his tackle don't count because he didn't use (fan approved) proper form?

Not sure what you're aiming at? I actually disagree with the premise that Waylon introduced. I believe a tackle is a tackle regardless of form, technique or how many hands were used to get the take-down. A tackle is a tackle.

That was actually late in the season. And, all kidding aside, it is a complaint I have about the Colts D as well.

I'm getting old. Take it easy on me. I'm lucky if I remember pants in the morning.

I also find the philosophy to be quite dubious. I had hopes that the new defense would change our prototype, but that doesn't seem to have happened. We have been told for years that this defense was designed to operate with a substantial lead, but our offense hasn't stuck to that MO for some time now.

I'm sorry but that is complete nonsense. Small LBers, at least the ones I played with are taught to tackle just like the bigger LBers. At it's not like the difference between a big LB and a small LB is so huge that their arms are to short to wrap up. Big LB is 6'2" 245lbs a small LB is 6'1" 230 lbs.

I wasn't referring to "small LB's" having tyrannosaurus-like arms. I was referring to a difference in strength.

Bigger = Stronger

Smaller = Faster.

Are these differences dramatic? No. But split seconds and mere pounds levy all the difference in the world.

A 4:35/40 and a 4:50/40. To the layman thats not going to invoke a dramatic difference, is it? .15 of a second slower in the 40, thats nothing right? Well, as I know you are aware, the difference in terms of NFL compare, is monumental.

All I'm saying is in my experience, little guys pop and whack, big guys plant and drive when tackling.

The post of mine that you were responding to was written poorly and probably confused you. I didn't mean to infer that small LB's are taught to tackle differently.

[Yehoodi]

Just rechecked and thats a negative, Barry. Monday 11 PM

not sure what the scheduling is in indy, but here in Boston the game is on right now on NFL network [10pm-1am] . . . i am DVRing and plan to watch it later in the week . . .

[ruksak]

not sure what the scheduling is in indy, but here in Boston the game is on right now on NFL network [10pm-1am] . . . i am DVRing and plan to watch it later in the week . . .

Yep. My Comcast service regularly misinforms with faulty listings. Sorry to all for reporting bad info. Please direct any complaints to Comcast Communications INC. Again, sorry if I caused anyone to miss this re-broadcast.

[Mouthfire]

Fwiw, Indy game is playing right now for those with NFLN on Comcast.

At least it is for me.

[Guest BlueShoe]

Harris - He did nothing in the game, he was slow off the ball but at least he stood straight up. I'm willing to give him a break because he's had just over a week to get into the swing of things. But two more preseason games like that he will be cut.

I agree with a lot of what you've said but totally disagree about Harris. On the TD pass by Feeley that was called back, Harris destroys his man, sidesteps another and kills Feeley. The ball was dropped but Harris was all over the play. It's hard to judge everything when the Rams had one string ahead of us in the game until the fourth quarter. I don't see much of a chance that Harris will be cut. I think Harris could actually be starting for us soon.

Also, the player who really stood out to me was Joe Lefeged. When he was in the game, he was near the ball almost every play. There was a running play in the second quarter where Lefeged read run, ran around the line and grabbed the back from the back/side with little to no gain. This kid is going to make the 53 man roster. He reminds me a lot of a young Jason Belser.

One last thought is just how fluid Kevin Thomas looked dropping back into coverage and he appears to be one heck of a sure tackler too. We didn’t get to see him in action last year, but there is a very strong possibility that he could be our most athletic corner.

[The Peytonator]

I didn't rewatch the game and break down specific peoples' performance...but on the few plays I actually payed attention to Hughes, I seen him getting a ton of push...and it was against someone he would have yielded 50 plus pounds to. Granted I didn't pay a ton of attention to the game, cuz I had a little kid around that was annoying me. But I just don't see why in other threads people have been talking crap about the guy. Same with Pollak. I guess some people just love to hate on certain guys.

[Coffeedrinker]

I agree with a lot of what you've said but totally disagree about Harris. On the TD pass by Feeley that was called back, Harris destroys his man, sidesteps another and kills Feeley. The ball was dropped but Harris was all over the play. It's hard to judge everything when the Rams had one string ahead of us in the game until the fourth quarter. I don't see much of a chance that Harris will be cut. I think Harris could actually be starting for us soon.

I will re-watch that play. Thanks for the heads up. I thought that was someone else.

Also, the player who really stood out to me was Joe Lefeged. When he was in the game, he was near the ball almost every play. There was a running play in the second quarter where Lefeged read run, ran around the line and grabbed the back from the back/side with little to no gain. This kid is going to make the 53 man roster. He reminds me a lot of a young Jason Belser.

Lefeged was one guy I was going to try to watch specifically the next time I watch it. He also had that great special teams play where he just destroyed the returner as soon as he caught the ball.

One last thought is just how fluid Kevin Thomas looked dropping back into coverage and he appears to be one heck of a sure tackler too. We didn’t get to see him in action last year, but there is a very strong possibility that he could be our most athletic corner.

Unfortunately, I live in Southern California and watched a lot of USC ball. I thought he was a good draft pick last year and was disheartened when he got injured. And yes I agree I, I mentioned several times that I think Thomas will be the Colts primary nickle back this year. And could fill in for a starter if need be, although I'd like him to have another year under his belt before that happens.

[John Waylon]

If I may be so bold, I believe that John is saying that Wheeler fails to wrap-up, and that can be poison to a defense. What I was saying is that Colts LB's are typically smallish and failure to wrap-up is common place. Hence the speed philosophy required multiple defenders to stop runs. We saw this in the infamous JAX game early in our SB championship season. Too many solo tackle attempts led to big gashing gains. Small LB's don't wrap-up well. They aren't taught not to, they just can't due to physical limitations.

Indeed. Sure, running into someone and making them fall down is a "tackle". But it's not a proper tackle.

I could get by Wheeler in a one on one. A simple spin, juke, or strong, well timed and placed stiff-arm is going to take him right out of a play and allow a huge chunk of yardage for a RB, or ball carrier.

When Wheeler does wrap up, he does it very poorly. I'll never, as long as I live, forget the 15+ yard ride he went for hugging arian foster's waist in game 1 last year...

I know our LB's aren't great tacklers, but he seems to be the worst offender of all.

[Coffeedrinker]

Indeed. Sure, running into someone and making them fall down is a "tackle". But it's not a proper tackle.

I could get by Wheeler in a one on one. A simple spin, juke, or strong, well timed and placed stiff-arm is going to take him right out of a play and allow a huge chunk of yardage for a RB, or ball carrier.

I would bet big, big money that you could not.

When Wheeler does wrap up, he does it very poorly. I'll never, as long as I live, forget the 15+ yard ride he went for hugging arian foster's waist in game 1 last year...

I know our LB's aren't great tacklers, but he seems to be the worst offender of all.

And I remember several times when he stuck his guy and he went down. One play, for or against your point, does not make the point valid.

I will say the same thing I said last year about Wheeler. Wheeler is a solid LB that does some things well and some things I'd like to see improvement. As a starter he's middle of the road, but he's an excellent guy to have as a back-up. And he played very well in the preseason game.

[Yehoodi]

Yep. My Comcast service regularly misinforms with faulty listings. Sorry to all for reporting bad info. Please direct any complaints to Comcast Communications INC. Again, sorry if I caused anyone to miss this re-broadcast.

Ruksak, looks like everyone was correct, NFL network is running the game at least twice . . . once last night at 10 pm and once tonight at 11 pm as you indicated . . .

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/networkschedule

[ruksak]

I would bet big, big money that you could not.

I think somebody wants to be on Pros vs Joes.

[Mouthfire]

Just watching Ijalana again... yeah, he does look like he gives up too much ground. Hope to see that improve.

But, man... that is one big dude....