Cause for concern for Rams and Jags
With nearly five weeks of practice in the books and heading into the third week of pre-season games, there is cause for concern for a few NFL teams. For the St. Louis Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars, their 2010 exhibitions have revealed glaring holes and things are going to go from bad to worse in the regular season.
Jags lose close one, but woes from 09 continue
The Jacksonville Jaguars are not loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. They do have one of the league’s most potent running-backs in Maurice Jones-Drew, but even the man they call “Pocket Hercules” isn’t built to carry an entire team on his back. He needs help and lots of it. This is why the Jags acquired free agent Aaron Kampman, form the Green Bay Packers and the franchise used their first two picks to select two defensive tackles in the NFL draft. But a few of these players have been dinged up.
Kampman underwent surgery in November to repair his knee, first-round pick Tyson Alual developed a calf injury, and third-round pick D’Anthony Smith suffered an Achilles injury at the beginning of training camp. Looks like they are back to square one. The Jags defence could not stop the Eagles in their first pre-season contest and they couldn’t stop the Miami Dolphins last week.
Although the Jags only lost by one point on August 13, Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick made a nice first impression at the expense of Jacksonville’s defence and ineffective pass rush. Last season, the team registered an NFL-low 14 sacks in 16 games. This type of productivity is simply not going to win you games, and opposing quarterbacks will shred any secondary if he has time to deliver an accurate throw. Miami quarterback Chad Henne proved that point by completing 11-of-14 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the first half last Saturday.
The defensive line is the main reason why the rest of the team is struggling and the secondary are getting torched. Jones-Drew continues to be the lone spark plug for this team as quarterback Davis Garrard has not lived up to his breakout season two years ago and has underachieved.
Rams rookie quarterback is in a slump
Despite adding rookie quarterback and number one overall draft pick, Sam Bradford to their roster, St. Louis is still not a high-octane offence that will be lighting up the score board and scoring at will.
Bradford as had a tough transition from college into the NFL in his two pre-season debuts. Bradford, the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner, did not impress in his first NFL exhibition, only playing a handful of snaps in a 28-7 loss to the Vikings. His second outing was worse as he went six 14 for 24 yards after replacing A.J. Feeley.
This is not a good sign for a team that has struggled in the past to move the ball effectively and with ease against opposing teams.
“Obviously, I'd like to have a couple more completions," Bradford said. "I expect to be able to go out there and tear it up every time I step on the field. Anytime you're not able to do that, it's a bit of a disappointment. When I look at the film, there will be a lot of things I learn from. It's not good enough in this league (to come close), you have to be able to get completions. I have to be better than that."
The Rams are an average team with a below than average offence with unproven talent at practically every positions. Bradford is still learning the system and it is too early in his career for St. Louis to expect him to be their saviour. After watching him struggle thus far, which was expected, he will need more time to develop into a NFL type quarterback.
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