There has been plenty of activity going on with the St. Louis Rams since the preseason began.
Following the loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Rams announced that starting linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar will be suspended the first four games of the season because he failed a test for PEDs (performance enhancing drugs).
Recently-signed Will Witherspoon has moved up on the depth chart and is going to start in the place of the suspended Dunbar.
Coach Jeff Fisher was very irritated with Dunbar, saying that it was selfish on his part because in the end you are hurting the team. And to make matters worse, two of the Rams’ first four games will be against division rivals Arizona and San Francisco.
Then, you have many fans and media alike wondering what is going on with Isaiah Pead. All eyes were on him during the open practices out in Earth City. Sometimes, he looks like he’s nervous and unsure, and then the next thing you know he’s blowing up a defender while picking up the blitz. The clock is ticking.
Rookies Benjamin Cunningham and Zac Stacy look better every time you see them on the field. And second-year man Daryl Richardson is making big strides, benefitting from being in this offense for a second straight year.
Then we have Bernie Kosar disrespecting Rams’ receivers coach Ray Sherman and backup quarterback Kellen Clemens while working as commentator on the Cleveland Browns Broadcast Network. Kosar drew the ire of Rams coach Jeff Fisher who kindly returned serve to Kosar.
So, once all of that drama was out of the way, the Rams played their second preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. The Rams lost again. And it was just a sloppy-looking game. Everything about the game was sloppy. The Rams had nine penalties, a lot of missed tackles, dropped passes and a few turnovers.
However, there were some nice moments. Rookie Tavon Austin caught four passes, and tight end Jared Cook had a 37-yard run and catch, showing off his 4.49 speed. Chris Givens caught another pass of more than 50 yards from Sam Bradford.
The defense gave up some big plays, but they didn’t let the Packers into the end zone until the fourth quarter. The Rams defense did bend but didn’t break.
And that was mainly because of the constant pressure of linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong. Armstrong, a converted safety playing linebacker, got plenty of playing time and was a constant nuisance to the Packers. He played with a reckless abandon and tons of energy.
Armstrong is exactly what the Rams are going to need next week against the Denver Broncos and going forward, especially with the Dunbar suspension. Let’s see how he progresses in the next two games.
The next game is the so-called dress rehearsal for the regular season opener. The Rams will be in Denver facing the Broncos and Peyton Manning.
Still, no time to get frazzled because of the 0-2 record in preseason. Clearly, the Rams have a couple of more games to get the kinks out. Just the little things, like cutting down penalties, dropped passes, turnovers, and missed tackles.
