Rams win it in the trenches

by Ryan Van Bibber on Sep 27, 2010 11:42 AM CDT in 2010 St. Louis Rams season

Kenneth Darby #34 of the St. Louis Rams rushes against the Washington Redskins, running through a gap opened up by the Rams offensive line.

There was plenty to like in the St. Louis Rams 30-16 win over Washington yesterday. Sparkling individual performances combined with inspired play from each unit that made this the team's sweetest win since Super Bowl XXXIV, well, maybe not quite at that level, but pretty satisfying nonetheless. Anyway, I want to comment on a few things that happened in the trenches that made a big impact for the Rams.

With Steven Jackson out of the game, I suspect more than a few fans were ready to concede. How could they not be after an offseason of commentary pointing out just how doomed this team would be without Jackson? Instead, the coaches and Sam Bradford shifted some of Jackson's tremendous burden to the offensive line, asking them to step up, dig deep and find just a little bit more to give. A unit featuring a rookie and a second year offensive tackle responded positively. One tactical move that made a huge difference was the decision to bring in John Greco for some work at right guard.

The largest of the Rams guards, Greco's career to this point had been working in relief of boneheaded Richie Incognito. He missed a good bit of the preseason and with it his chance to earn a starting job. Working in rotation with Adam Goldberg, Gerco mauled Washington defenders to open holes in the middle, allowing the Rams to keep that weapon at their disposal even with Jackson on the sidelines.

Will we start seeing a rotation of Goldberg and Greco based on the matchups going forward? I hope so.

Pass blocking deserves praise too. Though it wasn't perfect, Washington sacked Bradford just once and he was hit just twice. That should not imply that Washington did not managed to pressure the QB; they did. However, the Rams handled the pressure quite well, especially Bradford who seems to make things happen when he rolls out of the pocket. Funny, in a post prior to this game I linked to a discussion about how dangerous McNabb was when pressured.

The offensive line took some heat after last week's game. This week, the unit lived up to its potential.

Perhaps more satisfying: the line's play flew in the face of all the Adam Carriker is great talk in the press this week.

Tweet Comment 8 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

How about that number 34!

He stepped up in a big way as well. That 4th down play!!! man oh man and of course the TD run the line gave him a 4 lane highway to run through but I didnt know he had that kind of speed and quickness. It was like he was possessed!

Great game Darby!

by leadhead on Sep 27, 2010 12:27 PM CDT reply actions

Message to Adam Carriker:

The coffee tastes damn good this morning.

"The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall." - Vince Lombardi

by VTramsFan on Sep 27, 2010 1:05 PM CDT reply actions

+1

by Brawnwitch on Sep 27, 2010 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions

I like my Coffee like I like my Edward Jones Dome.

Full of the tears of under achieving Defensive Ends that were first round picks.

by Terminus Est on Sep 27, 2010 2:12 PM CDT up reply actions

dont forget the donut

The only thing comparable to a Rams win is a 49er loss!

by DevsLaRams on Sep 27, 2010 2:13 PM CDT via mobile reply actions

I like our Offenisive line, but

Roger Saffold is gonna have to clean up those penalties or he will be just another Alex Barron. As much money as the Rams give Jacob Bell and Jason Brown they need to do a better job pass blocking . They are very inconsistent especially early on in the first 3 games .

by MiKeRamzFan on Sep 27, 2010 11:18 PM CDT reply actions

i have seen the same thing

Bell doesn’t really surprise me because he has always been just average, but Brown does. I wonder what is up (if he has some nagging little injury none of know about maybe) because has always played better that he has so far these first few games.

by stlfan2004 on Sep 28, 2010 9:24 AM CDT up reply actions

I think your mistaking Saffold with Jason Smith, Smith got the 2 penatlies, i thought saffold had a really good game, he shut down orakpo all game, except for the one sack he got when bradford ran the one bootleg which wasnt his fault at all, all and all i think our online played really well, anybody else who watched the game see when they zoomed up on saffold smiling at orakpo before the snap, then push him around like orlando pace ?

by LP.Ram on Sep 28, 2010 2:49 PM CDT reply actions