Offense dealt with a blitzing Rams team and had mixed results. Was interesting to see both QB use the Wilson style read option even if the options selected to this point were vanilla.
The OL started out well and was assisted by short drops and quick decisions from Dak. As the game wore on the protection dwindled and Showers was running for his life.
Dak was money. His accuracy continues to impress me. So far he places the ball better than Romo does and that is saying something. His mechanics seem much more comfortable out of the shotgun. Every pass from under C was play action and/or rollouts; I want to see regular 3 and 5 step drops. That being said he would hit that back foot and the ball would be out. Helps that his first options were giving him easy reads. Still it was nice to see him throw to the middle of the field, place the ball well and execute when he can see pressure bearing down. Also of note was his ability to run the play fake. I was fooled twice and so was the defense and camera man. All in all a very auspicious beginning.
Showers is hard to evaluate his protection was so bad. Plays repeatedly broke down because of it. His improv is admirable and I cannot fault his decisions but I am still not sure what to think. Might make sense to put him in early so he can play with people that can give him a pocket. I think he had maybe a single decent one all night.
Nothing much to note from the starting OL but I don't think I won't ever get tired of watching Fred run combo blocks. Also I felt that Doug Free's punch was more jarring than I can ever recall. I used to say that he was punching like kittens with mittens and not so today.
Chaz Green was much maligned by Sham and Gruden but I don't think he played as poorly as it might seem. The first two penalties were total BS. On the first the DE tried to submarine him and he just fell on top of him. That is the first time I have ever seen that call. The clip simply wasn't as the shoulder got the front of the body. His issue was fatigue. His technique went out the window when he got tired. It was reminiscent of one Jeremi Parnell who ended up quite nicely. What I saw early was a guy with quick feet and decent hands that could stone rushers. He got tired stood up and couldn't move. Conditioning is a matter of will.
The OL after that were various shades of awful until the Rams put in their third string and it abated somewhat. What really struck me was how poorly Leary played. He has always struggled with quick lateral moves but he whiffed several times. Everyone else seemed like 50/50 guys when they need to succeed 95% or better.
Swaim dropped two passes not looking the ball all the way in but I am not too worried about that. What pleased me was his blocking in space. That is something that all of our TE even Witten have been inconsistent or worse with. His picking up and rerouting a hard charging Ram is what sprung open Lucky to make his moves. He was cracking back in line legally, sealing and peeling and generally able to to get targets out on the second level and the perimeter. He lacks the ideal leg drive but he plays with leverage and has the strength to hold on. He should get stronger lower body over time. His ability to play H and Y will allow formations with Witten to be more dynamic and easier to disguise. Hanna and Escobar are more 1 dimensional.
Dez didn't seem to have issues holding onto the ball. I want to see the motioning into bunch formations and the moving around I hear they have been practicing but I don't expect to see that until the real games begin.
Was nice to see Beasley getting the ball further downfield. Still has his quickness.
TWill had a nice sluggo and deep in but until I see him winning on fades, comebacks, and outs consistently I am still going to want more.
Lucky with a drop but did catch a standard route in the second half. The speed and vision was apparent on the jet and the return. I think you can put the idea of Jackson winning return duties on the back burner.
Smith kept running short of the sticks on third down and dropping the ball. Disappointing debut but there is time left.
Mayle did a nice job helping Showers out when he got into trouble.
Morris' vision is as advertised and he is best described as slippery but he plays with good power as well. The screen success was encouraging as Murray and DMC were awful at the play fake.
Jackson looked confident and decisive running the ball and he wasn't running to darkness which after watching his college tape I was concerned about. His work on special teams was not special. He also looks indecisive in pass protection.
In the FB battle, Rod catches passes while Keith shows up covering kicks. Neither one shows up blocking. Rod Smith's pass protection is particularly troubling.
Defense faked blitzes much more often than they ran them. The Rams had the ball out quickly on short drops. The Rams OL does a good job keeping their head on a swivel and helping each other out. The OG were very disciplined in helping out on inside moves and flubbed only one stunt by my count. The Rams also ran a fair amount of crossing routes to rub man receivers to a fair bit of success. Because most of the throws were short it put tackling on display and there will be coarse words in meeting rooms and on the practice field in Oxnard this week.
Our DL struggled with their screws, as Marinelli likes to call reads, and the LB often looked lost running in their fills. The two seem to feed into each other. Our DL shift a lot and are supposed to penetrate. The LB has to read the dynamic in front of them changing at full speed. Throw in stunts, twists, blitzes, and OL that shift and it is no easy task. If the DL are uncertain it has a cascading effect. It wasn't pretty and got uglier as the game went on.
The drops and reactions in zone coverage were actually quite good. That looked competent; it was the gap discipline and tackling that was atrocious.
Russell had a rough game. Playing RDE, Robinson owned him and the the second string came in and there he was getting turned inside and surrendering the edge, a cardinal sin on the weakside. It's only year 2 but I didn't see much improvement over what I saw last year maybe even regression. There was a time or two he mounted a decent rush but the ball was consistently out quickly. Fisher attacked him relentlessly.
Crawford was inconsistent. He mounted several nice rushes isolated on guards but OTOH he was hooked from behind and taken for a ride more than once. Need better backside awareness playing inside on run downs.
Thornton looked indecisive and would compound matter by trying to change his gap. Ended up getting shoved back and trapping LB because of it. Still not as weak as Hayden despite the uncertainty.
Irvin is tough to keep mitts on and he was doing a good job dictating the OT. He keeps OL off him with those long arms and plays with power. Even with those quick throws he was almost getting home and while Fisher was mostly content to attack the other way, he was able set the edge and shed to make the tackle when he needed to. He keeps this up and he will win the starting LDE outright.
Wood lacks the strength to play 1T. I don't know what the point is.
Coe was getting pushed around.
Jenkins was beating up on the 3s. Would like to see an improvement in competition.
Okoye and McAdoo didn't even make my radar. Overall the Rams seemed to want it more in the second half which was disapointing.
Wilber is a great ST player who has a role but he is inconsistent at best in base defense. Missed tackles at the point of attack make me unhappy.
Hitchens and Nzeocha were up and down early. They looked competent in zone but it was keystone cops confusion filling against the run. They ran into each other and got trapped several times.
Hitchens was pulled early but Nzeocha stayed in and in the second half the LB kept showing up making plays.
Nzeocha struggled taking on blocks at Wyoming but he had no issues this game. I think he ends up starting at SAM. He was all over the place beating or going around blocks and making tackles against both the run and pass. The pick was nice but the tip was right to him. Needs to secure the ball better. I think what was most impressive to me was on KO was him take on a block that was trying to turn him inside to double team him and create a lane down the sideline. He was having none of it and kept the edge, turned the run back inside, and got in on the tackle. Speed and power he has in spades.
Muamba made a nice play that led to the Nzeocha interception but the twist resulted in a free lane because of the DL work. Not sure who that was. He kept on making plays though. Consistent tackling stood out this game. He would make a play and the TV producer would show him but Gruden kept on talking about someone else. Was odd to watch.
Morris also registered. He plays with an edge and is a consistent tackler. Also was one of the few people worth a flip covering kicks.
Claiborne wasn't tested much.
Carr was and the WR got away with a hold multiple times . Did a good job to fight through that. Seems stronger in the upper body.
Brown tackled alright but would like to see tighter coverage.
Olatoye does a good job playing through contact and making a play on the ball. His interception was an exceptional win off the jam. Consistently tight coverage and plays with ball skills.
Church looked good beating a play to the perimeter. Remains a good tackler. Was not challenged in space. If Nzeocha is SAM then it will be easier to keep it that way.
Jones did nothing of note.
Wilcox started off well taking good angles and tackling. He whiffed in space and seemed to fall apart a bit missing several tackles. Made a nice play in coverage downfield but his NFL clock is ticking.
McKinnon was around the ball a lot in the second half.
KO blocking looked good. Wilber, Nzeocha, Swaim, and Hitchens all had nice blocks. PR couldn't block the gunners and I didn't see who that was. Coverage was bad. Nzeocha, Church, Moore, and KSmith all showed up but there were far too many lanes given up. Bisaccia cannot be pleased.
