First Reactions: Rams 17, Titans 16

Well, it wasn’t the prettiest thing, and the final score doesn’t really matter in the big scheme of things, but the Rams still managed to pull out the 17-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans on a game-winning field goal as time expired by Josh Brown. There were some good things, there were some bad things. Some guys looked very impressive, and some not so much. Here are my first impressions from the game.

The Good – When Sam Bradford connected with Brandon Gibson for an 83-yard TD pass on the first play of the game, I started making my plans for the Super Bowl this season. I’m joking, but that was pretty exciting. I’m not a big Gibson guy, but he just keeps impressing and he looks to be in the process of locking down a roster spot. I thought the secondary play was pretty solid for most of the game, both the starters and backups. The final group on offense looked outstanding on the final drive of the game, and although they did it against a bunch of guys who probably won’t make the team, it was still impressive.

The Bad – I guess saying the rush defense was awful would be a huge understatement, but there are only so many words I’m allowed to use. The worst part wasn’t that the Titans were running at will, but instead that they were doing it against our starting unit and doing it with a third-string rookie and a guy who almost certainly won’t be on their roster when the season opens. That’s not good enough, plain and simple. I don’t like to overreact to preseason games, but the run defense will be something to watch closely next week. While we’re at it, the offensive running game wasn’t much better. That’s two weeks in a row we haven’t been able to run the ball, but until SJ39 goes full I think it’s too early to be concerned. More after the break…