Punt coverage reverts to old form
August 20th, 2007 | by Kevin Morris |
By
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
After a solid showing in the exhibition opener a week ago in Minnesota, the
Rams’ special teams reverted to their same old sorry status on coverage
Saturday night against San Diego.
Late in the second quarter at the Edward Jones Dome, Darren Sproles fielded a
53-yard Donnie Jones punt at the 19 and raced 81 yards for a touchdown.
Sproles’ score gave the Chargers a 14-0 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the
first half. As Sproles headed upfield, he found the middle wide open. He eluded
the only Ram in the vicinity — Oshiomogho “O.J.” Atogwe — and was off to the
end zone.
Many of the Rams’ regulars on punt coverage were on the field for the play.
However, two exceptions were the “gunners” — the outside players who race down
the field and are expected to be the first to reach the returner. In this case,
the gunners were wide receivers Markee White and Shaine Smith, two rookie free
agents who aren’t expected to make the final roster.
JACKSON CAMEO
Steven Jackson lined up with the starting offense on the first play Saturday
night. After Marc Bulger completed a short pass to Torry Holt, Jackson trotted
to the sideline and was done for the night. Second-round draft pick Brian
Leonard replaced Jackson and got a lot of work against the Chargers’ defense,
which kept most of its starters on the field the entire first half. Playing
early into the third quarter, Leonard gained 49 yards on 17 carries and caught
two passes for 18 yards.
HALL’S DEBUT
New return man Dante Hall returned one punt for 12 yards and one kickoff for 32
yards in his Rams debut. However, most of Hall’s kickoff return was negated by
a holding penalty.
INJURY UPDATE
Starting right guard Richie Incognito suffered an ankle injury in the first
half, but the injury was not thought to be serious. Wide receiver Drew Bennett
left with bruised ribs after a 34-yard reception in the second half.
SITTING OUT
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (ribs), WR Dane Looker (back), LB Tim McGarigle
(hamstring), OT Todd Steussie (neck), and WR Dominique Thompson (ribs) did not
play because of injuries.
BEATING THE HEAT
Linebacker Chris Draft and several Rams teammates will hand out bottled water
to area residents Sunday. The players will be at Fairground Park (near the
basketball courts) at 12:30 p.m., and at Forest Park (near the racquetball
courts) at 1:15 p.m.
Draft is trying to raise awareness during the heat wave about the need to stay
hydrated.
NEW TRIAL DATE
Rams TE Dominique Byrd originally was scheduled to go on trial this past
Thursday for unlicensed-driver and DUI charges in Los Angeles Superior Court.
But the trial has been continued to Oct. 16.
