2007 Rams Preseason Thread

[GatewaySnayke]

Finish this sentence: The Rams' offense will be the (1st-30th) offense in 2007.

I'll go conservative and say 4th since they still have their problems on grass.

[thrill]

3rd.

[Centreville]

4th. Grass and Bulger has to show me that he's not going to start the season off slow like last year.

[Cronos]

I'll also say 4th, just behind New England, New Orleans, and Indy(in that reverse order).

[thrill]

http://www.stltoday.com/blogs/sports-ar ... -back-job/

Third-round draftee Jonathan Wade, an All-American sprinter at Tennessee, is hot on the heels of veteran Lenny Walls for the nickel back job. Walls was the front-runner early in camp, but the Rams put Wade on a fast track, and he has responded.

After viewing the film of Saturday’s scrimmage, coach Scott Linehan was even more enthused about Wade, who converted to corner from wide receiver midway through his college career.

“Jonathan Wade showed me something,” Linehan said. “We knew he’s got great skills as a corner. We knew he had limited amount of snaps, being an offensive player that converted to corner. I guess the one thing maybe that we didn’t notice as much was how he tackles; his ability to tackle was something that really caught my eye.

“I was really pleased with how physical he played in the scrimmage. And he played the whole scrimmage and didn’t back down, which shows me something about his toughness. I thought he was a real bright spot.”

Linehan also had praise for nose tackle Clifton Ryan, a fifth-round draft pick from Michigan State.

“Clifton is a true nose tackle, which since I have been here we haven’t had,” Linehan said. “I think he had an excellent day anchoring and playing nose. When people try to run the ball at us, he’s a guy that we would be able to insert in the game and really hold up. ”

***

That's what I like to hear, although it is always hard to know what is just camp hype and what is real. Hopefully we have a diamond in the rough at NT. I'm also happy to hear about Wade's tackling ability. His speed has always been awesome, but if he continues to improve on tackling and techniques, he could be a steal.

[JCShutout]

I'll be honest here, I'm really excited about the team. With a little luck and health, I could see us sneaking into the NFC championship game. If the D holds up at all, we're going to have one heck of a team.

[Dillagii]

I watch football especially Rams football but I dont pay that attention to offseason. Can someone summarize to me how our offense became better? Also did our defense really improved? I remember last year they cannot even stop my grandma on the running game. Did they ever fix that issue?

[Tambourine Man]

I watch football especially Rams football but I dont pay that attention to offseason. Can someone summarize to me how our offense became better? Also did our defense really improved? I remember last year they cannot even stop my grandma on the running game. Did they ever fix that issue?

The O-Line is a year older and showed signs of being very solid at year's end, even with some injuries. The talent there is undeniable. The rest of the offense is entering it's 2nd year of running Linehan's offense, and they added Randy McMichael and Drew Bennett to further deepen the already formidable pass attack. Steven Jackson is peaking at the perfect time and his projected backup (I hope, but maybe not, over Minor), Brian Leonard, is drawing raves reviews at training camp for his versatility and work ethic.

The defense...still a huge question mark. A lot of the run defense success is going to hinge on how quickly (if) Adam Carriker develops. But a lot of the stuff you hear out of training camp is smoke and mirrors. I'll wait to see how things unfold once the season starts.

[Cronos]

The defense...still a huge question mark. A lot of the run defense success is going to hinge on how quickly (if) Adam Carriker develops. But a lot of the stuff you hear out of training camp is smoke and mirrors. I'll wait to see how things unfold once the season starts.

FWIW, John Clayton of ESPN has named Adam Karriker his 2nd biggest surprise out of training camps. He says he's amazed at how quickly Adam's picking up the nose guard position and that Adam's a bruiser, the types of which the Rams haven't had in a long, long time on the D-line. Early reviews on him are positive.

[Tambourine Man]

The defense...still a huge question mark. A lot of the run defense success is going to hinge on how quickly (if) Adam Carriker develops. But a lot of the stuff you hear out of training camp is smoke and mirrors. I'll wait to see how things unfold once the season starts.

FWIW, John Clayton of ESPN has named Adam Karriker his 2nd biggest surprise out of training camps. He says he's amazed at how quickly Adam's picking up the nose guard position and that Adam's a bruiser, the types of which the Rams haven't had in a long, long time on the D-line. Early reviews on him are positive.

Awesome. Thanks for the info, Cronos.

From PFW regarding Pace and Barron. Oh, please let this carry into the regular season.

Cautious optimism appears to be the prevailing feeling at offensive tackle. On the left side, we hear veteran Orlando Pace, who missed seven games with a left triceps injury last year (and another game due to a concussion), has looked very good for the most part, although he still needs to get full confidence back in his left arm, which is still subject to feeling pain on occasion, such as when he sleeps on it a certain way. Pace made a conscious effort to come to camp in good shape, weighing in at a career-low 321 pounds after typically having tipped the scales in the 340 range in previous camps. He also has benefited from frequently lining up in one-on-one drills opposite newly acquired DE James Hall, whose sneaky moves have provided a challenge. Meanwhile, at the other starting OT spot, we hear the fact that Alex Barron had yet to be called for a single false-start penalty one full week into camp — false starts have been a big problem for the third-year tackle — had Rams coaches smiling.

Link