St. Louis Rams Post-Game Roundtable: Preseason Game 1 vs. Saints

5. With the Rams’ first pre-season game out of the way, what do you expect to see from the Rams in games two and three? What are the main things you’d like to see them work on, or which players would you most like to see in action?

Aug 8, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher during the game against the New Orleans Saints at Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony K.: Well, the obvious answer is that I expect to see the Rams build toward getting their full team on the field for the third pre-season game. I’d like to see the offense get at least a full quarter with the entire starting offensive line, as well as Bradford, Stacy, Britt, Austin, Quick, Givens, Cook, etc. Same with the defense–I’d like to see the starting defensive line and regular defensive line ‘rotation’ in action for at least a full quarter. I’d also like to see Laurinaitis and Ogletree on the field with Jenkins, Johnson, and McDonald backing up that regular defensive line rotation. Once we’ve seen everyone in action, we might be able to get a better sense of how all the pieces fit together this season.

Nathan K.: To be honest, I don’t really expect to see much more in Week 2, aside from a series or two from the offensive and defensive starters. Jeff FIsher will undoubtedly keep the ‘game planning’ conservative, and force the coordinators into a more scripted style of play calling. However, Week 3 is traditionally the most ‘real’ of the preseason games, and will likely feature Sam Bradford and Co., as well as most of the healthy starters on defense, for most of the opening half. When that happens, I think most of us would like to see a more balanced offensive attack that includes passes to more than just the tight ends. Defensively, you’d like to see a little more of the rumored ‘defensive aggressiveness’ from Gregg Williams, as well as some more solidified play against the run.

Blaine G.: I would expect that the starters get more playing time, although I’m not sure just how much they will give Bradford and Long coming off of their ACL injuries. I’m not even sure if they will get a full quarter of action. What I really want to see, though, is Kenny Britt and Brian Quick getting the ball downfield at some point. We’ve been hearing about them all camp, let’s see it on the field.

Like we mentioned earlier, the tackling needs to be fixed, but aside from that, the second and third team offensive line needs to do a better job in both run-blocking and pass protection. There were times when Austin Davis and Garrett Gilbert didn’t have a lot of time to throw, and then on the missed fourth down attempt, they got absolutely no push at all. I need to feel better about out depth on the o-line.