Rams at Titans
Preseason game #2 for the Rams sees need for improvement over game #1 in just about every way. The offense needs to score touchdowns. Sack City needs to live up to its name. Special teams need to clean up a little bit, and the whole team needs to commit fewer penalties. Good luck with that tonight with an EXTRA referee on the field.
Kevin Burkhardt and John Lynch calling the game for Fox, with referee Walt Anderson warming up in the bullpen. Get that arm loose, Walt.
Michael Brockers not playing tonight for the Rams. Total mystery to me.
FIRST QUARTER
The Rams kick off, so I assume Tennessee won the toss. Bishop Sankey genuflects with the opening kick 9 yards deep.
Titans at their 20. Ethan Westbrooks starting for Brockers. Marcus Mariota's play-action pass is out quickly, with Kendall Wright running a slant in front of Trumaine Johnson's soft coverage for 16. Also, one play, one blown tackle for Rodney McLeod. Big hole for Bishop Sankey, who gets 18, and we are on our way to a long night in Sack City. Chris Long, Aaron Donald, James Laurinaitis, TruJo, all got blocked. Sankey gained half the run after T.J. McDonald failed to bring him down with a no-wrap shoulder tackle. Two plays, two blown tackles. I idiotically drafted Sankey in my fantasy league last year; I think he just matched his 2014 rushing total. Donald gets penetration on 1st-and-10 but Sankey cuts back for yet another 7. Robert Quinn and Alec Ogletree got blocked. But hey, no missed tackles! PENALTY NUMBER ONE: offsides, Westbrooks. Delay handoff to Sankey, but Quinn is having none of that, whipping Taylor Lewan to stuff the run at the Ram 34. Tennessee attempts a counter run on 2nd-10, but Quinn whips Lewan again to stuff Sankey for minus-2, and loses his helmet for the second straight play. On 3rd-and-12, statistically not a blitzing situation, Gregg Williams of course blitzes Laurinaitis and Ogletree, Mariota gets all day, but Lamarcus Joyner saves his DC's bacon with a nice pass breakup. Tennessee punts instead of trying a 53-yard FG, gets too high a bounce at the goal line and nets 16 yards. Viva preseason. Quinn wins the drive MVP.
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| St. Louis Rams |
Sigh. On 1st-and-20, Foles gets light heat from Rhaney getting driven back into the pocket and Derrick Morgan getting too easily around Havenstein, who I think was expecting a chip block from Mason. Foles' feet are not set, he throws a quick in route for Britt that was run quite sloppily and easily cut off by Perrish Cox for a pick-six. Not sure what Britt was doing there, but he wasn't exactly exploding to the ball. 7-0, Titans
Still waiting for any sign whatsoever that this team is going to be better than last year. This preseason to date has just been a rewind of the 2014 lowlight reel.
Isaiah Pead returns the kick to the 21 from about 8 deep. Benny Cunningham (that's it for Mason?!?) right for 3, had a nice lane but Michael Griffin came from around the other end and tripped him from behind. Cunningham middle for 2. Middle line got nice initial push but the DTs regrouped. Stay on them next time. Sweet play by Foles on 3rd-and-4. Rhaney nearly gets pushed over him again and can't react in time to a Morgan stunt, but Foles dodges that and hits a well-covered Britt for 7. I'm more than ready to bring Tim Barnes back in at C at this point. Cunningham gets mauled by Brian Orakpo, who sneaked behind Greg Robinson to make a down-the-line play. Attempted four-yard out for Tavon Austin is way off. I have no clue. 3rd-and-9, Karl Klug flat runs over Washington and forces Foles to fire a blank out of bounds. And to add to an already sucky night, Johnny Hekker flubs about a 35-yard punt.
Sure will be nice if the Rams actually come to play a game sometime this season.
Penalty on the punt, not on the Rams, shockingly. Titans from their 20. Donald nearly blows up a Mariota bootleg but TE Craig F. Stevens is WIDE OPEN behind most of the Ram secondary for 35. Tricky play; Stevens was the inside TE of a double-TE set and released downfield. TruJo and McDonald both bit on Mariota's play action to set the dominoes in motion. Sack City has already been hard-counted and play-faked by a rookie QB in his 2nd game tonight. Nothing for Justin Hunter on the smoke route; McLeod sniffed it out; Janoris Jenkins made a good tackle. But then ANOTHER BIG RUN for Sankey, popping off the left side for 19. Quinn and all 3 LBs got blocked. The Rams are just getting blocked out of all these big runs. Titans at the Ram 25 in no time at all. Sankey gets 3 on a counter, tripped by Westbrooks. Williams brings the house on 2nd-and-7, blitzing all 3 LBs, and Laurinaitis dogs his way to Mariota to force a throwaway. Since QBs barely have to move at all to get "outside" the tackle box, Anderson's no-call for grounding is probably right. Oh, and PENALTY NUMBER THREE, personal foul, Quinn, who took a pretty dirty shot at Mariota's head as Laurinaitis was holding him up. NOTHING IS FREAKING CHANGING WITH THIS WORTHLESS TEAM. Quinn deserves a hefty fine for that cheapshot. What a wonderful group of guys this is to root for, huh. Ogletree does a good job running a Mariota bootleg out of bounds and gets away with a mistake in coverage on 3rd when Dexter McCluster makes a McCluster out of a TD pass. NO pass rush at all because Williams idiotically brought only 3 and dropped Westbrooks in coverage. Titans settle for 3. 10-0 Tennessee
Pead makes the 27 from about 3 deep. The Titans PERFECTLY sniff out the same play Austin hit big on against the Raiders last week and Foles has to throw it away. Another strong play by Sensabaugh, jumping Austin's route. Mason's back, but only gets a couple to the right side, another play blown up by Sensabaugh. Time runs out on yet another preseason quarter to forget in Rams Nation.
SECOND QUARTER
Sorry for the windiness, I'll try to tighten things up more while begging Jeff Fisher to do the same. Someday. Ever.
The Rams' big 3rd-and-7 play is a 3-yard arrow route to Jared Cook. Just as uninspired is Hekker's RANCID TWENTY-THREE YARD PUNT. What the blue hell is wrong with Hekker?
So the Titans already start at their 44. Mariota beats the Rams with another play-action bootleg pass, hitting Dorial Green-Beckham to the Ram 44. Good thing the QBs in the Rams' division rarely use misdirection! Lewan mauls/holds Quinn to open a lane for David Cobb's 5-yard run. Mark Barron's blitz helps blow up a quick screen to Wright, though another blown McLeod tackle let him get back to the LOS. Williams blitzes a couple on 3rd-and-6 (yay, blitz down) and Barron mistimes his jump and blows an interception. Nice sand wedge by Brett Kern pins the Rams inside the 5.
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| St. Louis Rams |
Titans from their 38. Zach Mettenberger in at QB with 9:00 till halftime. McCluster sweeps right for 8, most of it after Joyner's no-wrap shoulder tackle. At least four blown tackles by Rams starters so far. Nick Fairley stuffed a run, but the Rams' defensive momentum lasted no longer. With Williams blitzing all 3 LBs and a safety, Mettenberger and Nicks turn a quick out into a 40-yard gain after Marcus Roberson slips in (terrible) coverage and Barron opts to tomahawk at the ball instead of tackling, doing neither. Maybe some of these jokers should just try to start a brawl and get this game suspended. Cobb draws through a GIGANTIC hole the Rams basically left in the middle of the formation and gets inside the 3. Jo-Lonn Dunbar was the only front seven player who could have made a play, and he got blocked. Joyner and Dunbar make run-stuffs but Mettenberger hits TE Chase Coffman in the back of the end zone. Barron got inside-outed and then Dunbar crashed into him as Mettenberger threaded the needle. 17-0 Titans
Fisher's Rams are about 1/1,000th as prepared to go tonight as his Titans were when the Rams played there in August of 2000 and got embarrassed on national TV 30-3. For the second straight week, a preseason game will accomplish squat for the Rams. (I do believe that last drive was Titans' starting o-line vs. the Rams' twos, though)
Chris Givens from the goal line to the 22. Case Keenum in with 4:20 till halftime, and immediately has to throw away a screen pass. Still, stick a fork in Austin Davis, I suppose. Not even getting a chance at QB2. Pead gets 4 off left tackle. Keenum sticks a sweet throw to Bailey in traffic on a crossing route that gets 30.
After the 2:00 warning, Fox shows Tennessee's fans offering Fisher a standing ovation after a scoreboard tribute. Yeah, don't expect any of those in the Dome next weekend.
Pead gets the Rams a first down at the Titan 33 off nice blocks by Corey Harkey and Andrew Donnal, who can run-maul. Looks like Rhaney got the whole first half at center. Search me, I've seen nothing so far that says Tim Barnes shouldn't have the job. Screen to Pead loses a couple after Bailey gets beat on his block. Good initial pop but didn't sustain. Keenum ends up throwing the next two passes away. Washington let a blitzer through untouched on 3rd down. After Burkhardt talks up Greg Zuerlein, he misses pretty badly from 52. In honor of Dexter, the Rams have been a complete McCluster in all three aspects of the game tonight.
PENALTY NUMBER FOUR: roughing the passer, Eugene Sims, a personal foul magnet who should know better than to hit the QB helmet-to-helmet. I think it was offset by Titans OPI. Mettenberger picks on Cody Davis three straight times, twice with DGB, to get the Titans in easy FG range. Imoan Claiborne also blows a tackle on DGB. Maybe he should just hit him in the face next time. After a false start, Mettenberger misses Hunter open vs. Barron at the goal line and the Titans settle for another FG. 20-0 Titans at halftime
HALFTIME SUMMARY
Completely uninspired and worthless performance by the Rams. Uninspired defense getting fooled by a rookie, starters still do not have a sack, run D gashed repeatedly by solid Tennessee blocking, secondary missing all kinds of tackles. Kicking game that is supposed to be Pro Bowl-quality was little but pathetic. Foles didn't play like a difference-maker at QB, instead making big mistakes behind an o-line that still has a long way to go. We're two games from the start of the regular season and I still have no idea what Foles can do. On the o-line, Washington is a big liability, Rhaney almost as big. They tried more running right this week but didn't get much of anywhere behind the rookies. Starting receivers didn't accomplish anything. The only good news is that penalties are down - just three accepted so far, but the entire team is still about as disciplined as Charlie Sheen at a cocaine party.
THIRD QUARTER
Daniel Rodriguez only makes the 12 from about 5 deep on the opening kick return. Keenum stays in. Trey Watts cuts back for 8 off blocks from Garrett Reynolds and Barrett Jones for a 1st down. A screen to Watts gets 33, another nice play by Keenum to beat a blitz. PENALTY NUMBER FIVE: delay of game. Reynolds lost his shoe and Anderson wouldn't give Keenum a timeout. Givens drops a third down deep crossing route to send in Michael Palardy for a 35-yard punt, fair-caught at the 10.
When I say that last drive was hard to watch, I mean physically, because Fox has become much more interested in interviewing Marcus Mariota than showing the game. This whole broadcast has been almost completely focused on Mariota; as far as Fox is concerned, the Rams are just the Washington Generals tonight. Except playing much worse.
Charlie Whitehurst at QB for Tennessee. Antonio Allen stiffarms Jacob Hagen to the ground like a little, um, girl on a 9-yard gain. 6 more left as Matt Longacre and Louis Trinca-Pasat get washed out. Somebody called Phillip Supernaw gets deep behind Keshaun Malone for a huge gain but it comes back for illegal formation. The Titans are actually out-penaltying the Rams tonight, believe it or not. Christian Bryant's big hit saves the Rams from giving up a 1st down on 3rd-13. Oh, for crying out loud, Ken Whisenhunt is challenging the play, up 20 points in the 2nd half of a preseason game. That is a party foul. The call stands. Sgt. Dan tries to swing wide with the punt return but doesn't get much.
And, ha! Tennessee tried soft coverage on Givens but he burned past everyone for an 80-yard TD bomb anyway. I wondered about Keenum's deep ball last week, but he uncorked a perfect 50-yard throw here with DT Mike Martin taking a free run at him. I think both ends of this play just locked up spots on the team. Also, great protection on the right side by Treetop Bond and Donnal. Titans 20, Rams 7
Bryant makes a big hit on Supernaw to force a fumble but the Titans recover. PENALTY NUMBER SIX: offsides, Trinca-Pasat. And SEVEN: offsides, Martin Ifedi. We are officially in garbage time, though the Rams have been in it since the coin toss. Tennessee struck back with more penalties, Lynch broke up a pass to Coffman and Hagen shut down a quick slant to force the punt. PENALTY EIGHT: facemask on Bryant during the return. Viva preseason!
Keenum STAYS IN, and Watts pops off the right side for 18 off a Steven Baker block. He weaves left for another 12, off good blocks by Bond and Isiah Battle. Looks like we have our Rams "MVP" here. Watts up the middle for ten more, with Bond again sealing the middle really well.
FOURTH QUARTER
From midfield, Watts breaks a tackle on a bubble screen to gain another 8. Titans blitz and run over Watts as Keenum's pass is tipped. Watts turns a loss into a 3-yard gain with a spin move. Guess who'll be returning to the team in October. Watts has outplayed not only Pead but Cunningham tonight. Keenum's 3rd down pass is behind Damian Williams incomplete. The Rams go for it on 4th down and Williams gets 9 on an out route. They don't get much closer, though, leaving Palardy to leave a 46-yard attempt wide left.
The number of Rams who haven't sucked tonight is in single digits, I'll tell you that much.
Keshaun Malone might make that short list, though. He's made a couple of plays, including a run stuff. And now here's Montell Garner, undercutting the feared Supernaw to hold a pass to a short gain. And Trovon Reed breaks up the 3rd down pass (by getting there too early). Rodriguez takes the punt inside his 5 and sweeps right again for about 10.
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| (St. Louis Rams) Warmups are about the only action Austin Davis gets |
Trinca-Pasat sheds his block nicely to blow up a 2nd-down run, which pays off on 3rd down when the Titans settle for a swing pass. Sgt. Dan heads upfield with the return this time, and gets a good 20 yards, but PENALTY NINE is holding on Bryant. Aagh.
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| St. Louis Rams |
Which is wasted by a stupid blitz call on 3rd-and-11 (non-blitz situation), and somebody called Alex Tanney hitting Preseason Hall-of-Famer Coffman for a 56-yard TD, as he ran through a poor-looking tackle attempt by Jay Hughes, who may have been trying to make a play on the ball. All the same, the Rams wish Jay Hughes the best in his future endeavors. Tennessee 27-7
Sgt. Dan decides not to come out and takes a knee just inside the goal line. Hurry-up time with 1:45 left. Mannion to Brown for 8. 10 more to Alex Bayer, who's having a much quieter preseason than last year. Dumpoff to Brown for 7, who gets decleated and dehelmeted but hangs on to the ball. Perfect and legal hit, though.
The game finishes with a play for the highlight reel: the Titans try to clock Brown on a dumpoff pass again, but he spins off this one, heads up the sideline, breaks an ankle tackle and sprints away for a 54-yard TD. 27-14 final score Nice backside block by Justice Cunningham, and awesomely, Sgt. Dan running with Brown for 40 yards, looking for someone to block.
Jeff Fisher has basically a week to get 85 guys to make the effort those three guys did on that play. I wish I liked his odds.
-$-
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