St. Louis Rams vs. Tennessee Titans: Takeaways and Observations
35. Final. 14. 51. 27
The St. Louis Rams played their second of four preseason games on Sunday night, and it wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination. While we’re not supposed to get worked up about preseason games, Sunday’s performance provided cause for concern. While the Rams finally put their first touchdown of the preseason on the board in the late third quarter, the starting offense was held scoreless for the second straight game, and really did not show many signs of life throughout their action in the first quarter and most of the second. Here are a few key observations from Sunday night’s loss:
- Demetrius Rhaney, who got the start at center and played the entire first half, lived up to the hype as a very physical player who is not afraid to get aggressive. Some of that aggressiveness needs to be channeled a bit–on at least one occasion, he was very lucky not to get called for a late hit–but he seems to be a better fit for the Rams’ gritty, run-first offense than Tim Barnes and Barrett Jones. Whether he’s mentally polished enough and adept enough as a snapper to earn the starting role will be up to the coaches to decide. It might not be a coincidence that Rhaney got such an extensive opportunity–all the time with the ones in the first and second quarters, then a few series with the two’s–compared to the rather limited action that Tim Barnes and Barrett Jones got last week.
- The Rams better hope that Rodger Saffold doesn’t exhibit the same injury-riddled tendencies that he’s displayed over the past few years in 2015. Brandon Washington had some really weak moments filling in for Saffold, and it says a lot that he’s getting the starting opportunity ahead of former Atlanta Falcons starter Garrett Reynolds. We’ll have to see if Barrett Jones becomes an option as a backup guard if he ends up losing the center competition, but for now it looks like the Rams have some real depth concerns on the interior line.
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- Undrafted free agent Darrell Williams once again worked with the second string offensive line at left tackle and played well, showing a strong ability to get downfield quickly when necessary and block effectively. It’s still seemingly going to be a roster squeeze for Williams to make the roster, but it says a lot that the Rams are willing to let him anchor their second line when they have drafted players like Andrew Donnal and Isaiah Battle available to do the same.
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- With all due respect to Austin Davis, who picked the team up several times last season when they were in a tough spot, there’s not too much to learn about the former undrafted quarterback, who is in his fourth training camp with the Rams. He’s a solid backup type who has a flair for the dramatic at times, but he’s really not a guy you want starting at any point, and frankly he doesn’t seem to have any shot at making this team, considering the extensive opportunity as Case Keenum has gotten thus far. With that in mind, it’s pretty frustrating that rookie third-rounder Sean Mannion didn’t enter the game until there were just four minutes and 42 seconds left in the game. The Rams obviously think that Mannion has a certain level of starting potential–otherwise they wouldn’t have invested a third-round pick in him–so shouldn’t he be given more than five minutes of game experience? Mannion was efficient and got off nine plays while in charge, compared to Davis’s five, but it still probably would have made more sense to give the drive that Davis got to Mannion, since Mannion is less familiar with the NFL pace of play and seems to have more of a future in the organization.
- There are fewer legitimate NFL-caliber players on this 90-man preseason roster than there have been in a long time for the Rams. Unlike last season, where we saw guys like Michael Sam and Greg Reid not even make the practice squad after having very good preseasons, there doesn’t even seem to be enough talent on this roster to even assemble a group of 53 deserving players. In particular, there’s so little depth along the offensive and defensive lines and at wide receiver that there are several fringe players who don’t even seem to be facing any real competition for a roster spot.
- Running back Trey Watts had a good night, running six times for 53 yards. Why the former undrafted free agent, who will be at best a fourth-stringer this season, is even still on the roster after failing three drug tests within a time frame during which he knew he would be tested…that’s a different story.