Rams-Ravens mini-preview

The final game of the preseason is here already! The Rams host the Super Bowl champ Baltimore Ravens in week 4 for the second straight year to close out the fake part of the 2013 schedule. Kickoff time is 7 p.m. The game will air locally on KTVI. NFL Network will replay it at noon Friday and 2 a.m. Monday morning, which will be the last replay of the preseason.

Jeff Fisher's original intent, and his usual preseason pattern, would be to get the starters in for about a half, but after the Denver game, he sounded more inclined to put the starters in bubble wrap. The Rams don't really need to expose any of their projected starters. Though it would be hell on me as a recapper, at QB, I would like to see Austin Davis and Kellen Clemens alternate possessions. Zac Stacy and Brian Quick are a couple of young players who could use a ton of extra reps. The Rams still have enough linemen in camp to play two different units without using any starters. That's true for the defense as well as the offense, and the way the d-line has half-assed through preseason anyway, what's the point of exposing them to even 1% of injury risk? And while I think the OLBs could use the extra reps, they're so thin at that position I'm not sure they should even suit up Alec Ogletree. There's more than enough DBs hanging around to rest the starters. Isaiah Pead and Bennie Cunningham can continue their kick returner "battle", and Justin Veltung can have all the punts as he draws an inside angle to a roster spot. Actually, Pead isn't returning kicks opening week anyway; maybe Cunningham should get all of those reps. I wouldn't have minded keeping Brett Baer around a week so the Rams didn't have to expose their kickers!

Injury information hasn't changed any from yesterday's report. Chris Long has been mysteriously held out of the last two days of practice. That doesn't affect tomorrow night's game but is starting to bear watching. I'm curious to see if Jermelle Cudjo will get any snaps, but I don't expect he will. And I do expect him to defy traditional logic and "make the club from the tub". The Rams will have to cut 22 players by the Saturday deadline.

Baltimore's 2-1 in preseason and coming off a 34-27 loss in Carolina. Joe Flacco, not that we'll see him, has been extremely sharp, completing 3/4 of his passes, but the Ravens running game has yet to get untracked. With QB2 Tyrod Taylor injured, expectations are we're going to see a ton of Caleb Hanie tomorrow night. Baltimore didn't play any starters in last year's game here, and they're especially not going to expose anyone when they're only seven days from kicking off their regular season in Denver. Besides the kickers, the only other opening day Raven starter we might see is at center, where there's still a position battle going on.

And it should go without saying what absolute shit it is to make season ticket holders pay full freight for this game. This game is going to be crap even as exhibition games go. In the soccer friendlies played here in St. Louis this summer, we at least got to see star players like Cristiano Ronaldo for the first half or more.

Yes, I just went there. I just said soccer is better at football at something. They put on more entertaining meaningless games.

RamView doesn't expect to have the recap up until Friday night, especially considering I just realized I have to write an Arizona preview for the end.

Enjoy the game as much as possible and everybody stay healthy.

-$-