St. Louis Rams: Quick Five - Post Game Analysis

The first game of the 2014 NFL regular season for the St. Louis Rams is in the books. The 34-6 loss at home to the Minnesota Vikings was ugly... No, REALLY! The Rams didn't look ready to play, and the visiting Norsemen took full advantage. 

Let's take a look at some highs and lows...


The St. Louis Rams offensive line lost the battle in the trenches. Billed as a "run first" team, it kind of goes without saying blocking is key. While I think the Vikings' defensive line is vastly underrated, the Rams starting quintet of Jake Long, Rodger Saffold, Scott Wells, Davin Joseph and Joe Barksdale looked outclassed. With a rather immobile quarterback like Shaun Hill, time for wide receivers to establish their route wasn't there. In the run game, the Rams' offensive line was pushed, shoved and batted around. Line coach Paul Boudreau has his work cut out for him, and things better get sorted out soon. Play like this against teams like Seattle will result in blowout losses. The Rams offense has to carry some of the load, or it won't matter how strong their defense can be...

"Thrown to the wolves..." is an apt line when it comes to rookie corner back E.J. Gaines. The Vikings went at him constantly, with Gaines giving up a touchdown to Greg Jennings in the end zone. Left on an island most of the game, I was impressed with the former Mizzou defensive back - for the most part. Lamentations aside, Gaines is in the NFL now, and even though a great deal is expected from him filling in for an injured Trumaine Johnson, he's officially found his way into the cross-hairs of every offensive coordinator the Rams will face this season...

Brian Quick has turned a corner I didn't think he'd even be able to find. OK, my bad, but today I saw a more physical Quick than ever before. Running solid routes, and fighting for position - let alone post catch yardage - is something I didn't expect. While his stats for the game weren't head turning by any imaginable degree, I liked what I saw today. Now, if the Rams only had a quarterback...

The Rams quarterback situation is beyond desperate. Shaun Hill left the game at halftime with a calf injury, and Austin Davis stepped in to... OK, he tried. But this is the FIRST GAME OF THE YEAR! The Rams are down to a 3rd string quarterback, and they haven't played a valid postseason contender yet. Reminded of the 2010 corner back carnage which haunted the Rams for an entire season, I'm beginning to get an queasy feeling? Case Keenum might not be on the Rams' practice squad long, eh?

The Rams defensive line did a respectable job. But any defense spending oceans of time on the field is going to fail. This is where I pin blame on the gooey-bad Rams' offense for failing to do anything. In an odd twist, the Rams actually had a higher time of possession total than the Vikings. But this happens when the other team scores at will, right? EVERYONE on the offensive side of the ball should be wearing a bag over their heads, with the possible exception of the previously mentioned Brian Quick. Right now, the Rams are half a team, so I give this down arrow to the man who wears the head coach hat. The buck stops with Jeff Fisher, and his team was ill prepared. Personnel questions abound, so Les Snead earned a bit of "arrow scorn" too. Sure, I could zero in on Brian Schottenheimer, but why bother, right?

Special Award Arrow goes to...

St. Louis Rams fans. Gutty, fearless and forever faithful, this group of fans will see their faint-hearted fellows disappear after this game. The true Rams fan never gives up. While it's true we may do a lot of crying out of public eye, we shake it off and prepare for next week. Call it wearing rose colored glasses, or being "glass is half full" kind of people. The again, it could be explained by drinking too much, and mental capacity somewhat missing from what could be considered "normal". Either way, I can't wait for next week my Rams brothers and sisters! Now... Can you guys please to me why being a Rams fan doesn't make me tax exempt?