It’s safe to say the St. Louis Rams obviously didn’t start the pre-season off with a bang. The Rams were beat soundly by the Indianapolis Colts 38-3. The last thing I want to do is sound flip after a loss, yet I must remind people this is only pre-season. Have we not learned already from last year’s 4-0 record during the exhibition season? Of course, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t some things in the game that were annoying.
Rams backup quarterback Kellen Clemens is in his 7th year in the league and is very versed in the new offensive scheme implemented by new Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. However, watching Clemens play, fans can only pray that starting Rams quarterback Sam Bradford never gets hurt – ever.
Clemens struggles pushing the ball downfield and he holds the ball far too long. His performance in pre-season opener was no different from what was seen during the scrimmage when targets were consistently over- and underthrown.
Isaiah Pead had some choppy moments as well. Pead definitely looked like a rookie coughing up the ball after a short run after a catch. He also was seen tip-toeing through running lanes provided by the Rams offensive lines. Pead looks good when running outside it just looks like he is thinking too much when running inside the tackles. He does have talent, he just needs as many touches as possible to become more comfortable in the offense.
Defensively, there seemed to be a lot of miscommunication in the game as the Rams secondary gave up several big plays. There wasn’t much of a pass rush from the front four. Defensive end Robert Quinn got close to Colts rookie quarterback Andrew Luck however close doesn’t equal a sack. Even when the Rams did bring extra people to put pressure on the Colts rookie quarterback Andrew Luck or even Drew Stanton, the Colts offensive line did a great job protecting their quarterback.
The Rams lace them up again this Saturday against the Kansas City Chiefs. I expect the Rams to improve from this loss. They will. This team is young. And this is the time for a lot of the young players on this team to get valuable game experience. Experience is always the best teacher. So for those who are freaking out, going crazy over a pre-season loss, let me remind you this is only an exhibition. If the Rams are losing like this in September then freak out at your own discretion.
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