Inconsistency Leads to Rams Loss

Preseason Pick: LOSS 23-20, 3rd in NFC West (3-7)
Actual Results: LOSS 27-13, 4th in NFC West (3-6-1)

I should've known better. No game is an "easy win" for the Rams. Not anymore. The young thriving defense from earlier this season has quickly transformed into a trailing group of ho-hum talent. Offensively, the team seemingly tries to avoid getting into a rhythm. The Rams came out with a great first drive, but little to nothing after that. Questionable coaching was once again present and the injury bug also hit a few times. Basically, the Rams fell right into the Jets' trap game. Hard.

I still believe Sam Bradford can bee this franchise's quarterback. He hasn't lived up to his number one overall draft selection, however, and certainly never will. But Bradford can certainly be efficient when needed, but consistency has been a problem. Bradford threw some really nice anticipation throws last week against the Niners. This week, he was off on his deep balls and went to covered receivers on his dinking and dunking. It seemed that the Bradford of Thursday Night Football against the Cards was back. Granted, the receivers hardly ever get separation underneath on crossing routes. This is why Danny Amendola is so critical to this team. He is the only receiver that can operate his hands and body in space. Even when he's being tagged by a defensive back, he can still target the football without missing a beat. His ankle injury was of concern today, but he seemed alright afterwards. Steven Jackson is playing his hardest, and a passionate player like that is hard to come by these days. Daryl Richardson once again had ball control issues, as well as blocking issues. Hopefully the Rams find a way to use Pead or some other strong back to help block for Bradford, because Richardson is looking more and more like strictly a scatback. The O-line was average once again. Needless to say, that's a compliment considering expectations going into the season. However, they must continue to stay healthy and mesh.

Defensively, the Rams have always had weakness in the secondary. Mark Sanchez and the Jets successfully exploited this before committing to the run against the tough Rams front. The D-line has been looking somewhat stagnant the past few games. They're certainly tough, but they overpursue a lot. Frequently Chris Long and Robert Quinn are chasing down some runner or quarterback who has escaped the pocket with only a linebacker or two ahead of him. The linebackers have been tough this season but unimpressive in pass coverage. Because of that, a lot relies on the secondary, which hasn't necessarily been al that good. Jenkins and Finnegan are fairly average corners. Mikell and Dahl get fooled by certain route-runners. The defense will need to shore up this problem, because seam routes, out routes, and even certain hitch patterns are all the opposing receivers need to run in order to record a catch.

Special teams has become a source of anonymity on this Rams team. They all have high expectations, particularly Greg Zeurlein and Johnny Hekker. But now that the Rams have been offensively challenged, the kicking duties are mostly regulated to punts. Hekker did a pretty good job on an onside kick late in the game, but the Rams left no one back to catch the bounce just in case. Oh yeah, and they did a fine job of handling that Tebow guy too.

Overall, this game was sloppy and terrible. The coaches made a few questionable calls, the offense was terrible, and the defense was exploited. I thought this would be an easy win, considering the state of the Jets (even though I picked a preseason loss). That being said, the Rams have pretty much followed my preseason record for them, even though I expected much better results. A loss like this is not acceptable. This Rams team is starting to look like the one of old...inconsistent as hell. Perhaps an influx of youth and maybe a few veterans will change this team next year.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Rams face Arizona for the second time this season. We all remember what happened back in Week 5, and the Cardinals haven't really changed much since then. However, they gave the Falcons a run for their money today, ultimately losing. In the preseason I predicted a close Cardinals win. After the performance today by both teams, I'm sticking with that.