Let’s not crown Rams yet
August 31st, 2007 | by Kevin Morris |
By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
The Rams have a promising future. They’ve compiled impressive talent on
offense, and they’re slowly adding pieces to improve the defense. Coach Scott
Linehan is more comfortable and confident as he enters his second season. The
warring factions at Rams Park have disappeared, and the organizational harmony
is humming along. In short, it’s a good time to be a Ram.
So why am I hesitant to join around 99 percent of the fans and my media
brothers and sisters in chugging the Kool-Aid with both hands?
Understand, I’m not going negative on the Rams, or anyone else. I’m just
preaching a little caution.
I’m being pragmatic.
Are you convinced that this defense will be substantially better? Well, I’m
not.
Are you convinced that the special-teams coverage units will be better? Well, I’
m not.
After all, this is the Show-Me State. I just want to see it.
First of all, let’s clear up a couple of myths.
A lot of people seem to be under the impression that the Rams need to be a
middle-of-the-pack defense (read: mediocre) to make this a successful season.
It depends on how you define success. Is it reaching the playoffs? OK, you
might be able to get there with a suspect defense. The 2000, 2003 and 2004 Rams
did so.
But if you want to make it to high places, you’d better bring a quality
defense. The 1999 Rams ranked fourth in points allowed and seventh in yards
against. The 2001 Rams permitted the third-fewest yards and the seventh-fewest
points. Their destination was the Super Bowl.
If barely making the playoffs with a productive offense and wasting all of
those yards and points by getting prematurely blown out of January’s tournament
is your idea of a successful season, that’s fine. I don’t see it that way, but
we’re all free to set our own standards.
This Rams defense is very much a work in progress.
It’s sort of like the rebuilding of Highway 40, only slower.
Rookie Adam Carriker will be an active, tough player at defensive tackle.
Thankfully, Carriker is no Jimmy Kennedy — but he isn’t Bob Lilly, either. I
think it’s terribly unfair to the kid, that media and fans are all but pinning
the hopes of this defense and the season on him.
I don’t see much heft at linebacker, and teams will try to pound the ball
again. The Rams are awfully inexperienced at cornerback; it’s an area of
concern. These CBs are athletic and have bright futures, but I don’t think
anyone will be afraid to pass the ball against St. Louis. The reality is, the
Rams have one guy on defense, end Leonard Little, who strikes any fear in an
opponent. And with all due respect to Little, he’s been to one Pro Bowl in his
career, and he turns 33 in October.
If this defense gets smooshed, defensive coordinator Jim Haslett will get
ripped by inattentive fans and media, but there isn’t much he can do until this
organization drafts, signs or cultivates game-altering forces on defense.
As for the special teams, I certainly appreciate the addition of Dante Hall,
who will perk the return game. But did Linehan hire the best possible
special-teams coach out there when he enlisted Al Roberts? I hope so; we’ll
see. But Roberts has a lot to prove. I think it’s fair to put Linehan and
Roberts on the spot for special-teams play this season. The Rams can’t go on
like this, getting busted for long returns.
That’s why, again, I put the onus on the Rams offense.
It isn’t fair to demand more of the team’s strongest unit, but that’s life when
you have such glaring concerns on defense and on coverage units.
This Rams offense is being compared to “The Greatest Show” era, and while I
agree with that to a point, this is not the same thing. This offense has more
power and bulk, is more methodical and has less speed and quick-strike
capability than the 1999-2001 Rams. The 2006 Rams had the edge in time of
possession and cranked out a lot of long drives, but at the end of the season,
they finished 10th in points.
And that was disappointing. When your QB (Marc Bulger) has a 24-8
touchdown-interception radio, when you have Steven Jackson galloping for the
most yards from scrimmage in the NFL, when you have Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce
at wideout, when you turn the ball over only 18 times, you have to get into the
end zone more often. You just have to. Especially to offset this defense. Maybe
tight end Randy McMichael and wideout Drew Bennett will make a difference in
the red zone. But the scoring must be punched up. The Rams were checked to 20
points or fewer in eight of their games last season, and they were only 12th in
the NFL in touchdowns scored.
For the Rams to rise to the playoff level, their offense will have to spark up
and score more TDs.
A ball-possession game that leads to a bunch of Jeff Wilkins field goals just
won’t do it until the Rams can finish building a defense.
