By: DR RAM
Follow on Twitter! @DR_RAM_

This week ROD forum members picked the subject of focus. People want to know what the hell is going on with the wide receivers and tight ends. This is what I found under my scope:

First possession – St. Louis Rams at 15:00
• 1-10-STL 20 (15:00) 39-S.Jackson left guard to STL 20 for no gain (91-R.Kerrigan). Missed the hole, the whole right side was sealed as was the left.
• 2-10-STL 20 (14:31) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson left tackle to STL 33 for 13 yards (30-L.Landry).
• 1-10-STL 33 (13:53) 39-S.Jackson left tackle to STL 33 for no gain (98-B.Orakpo). Needed to cut outside.
• 2-10-STL 33 (13:18) 39-S.Jackson left guard to STL 36 for 3 yards (23-D.Hall). Missed hole again, had left side sealed. Could have driven a truck through it from hash to sideline.
• 3-7-STL 36 (12:47) (Shotgun) PENALTY on STL-76-R.Saffold, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at STL 36 – No Play.
• 3-12-STL 31 (12:32) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 39-S.Jackson to STL 26 for -5 yards (52-R.McIntosh).
• 3-7-STL 36 (12:47) (Shotgun) PENALTY on STL-76-R.Saffold, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at STL 36 – No Play. Saffold and Kendricks jump on Bradford’s hard count. The hard count is designed to make the other team jump. Makes a 3rd and 7 a 3rd and 12.
• 3-12-STL 31 (12:32) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 39-S.Jackson to STL 26 for -5 yards (52-R.McIntosh). This was a screen to Jackson. The formation was a bunch – right, and all the receivers ran downfield to clear the area. This screen didn’t work, because nobody blocked Mcintosh. One of the two screeners should have turned around, but they both put their heads down and raced to block one guy (22) K. Barnes. Bad play design or execution, hard to tell, but with a tweak it could have worked.
• 4-17-STL 26 (11:59) 5-D.Jones punts 37 yards to WAS 37, Center-44-J.McQuaide. 16-B.Banks ran ob at WAS 42 for 5 yards (50-B.Kehl).

Second possession – St. Louis Rams at 09:36
• 1-10-STL 11 (9:36) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 10-M.Sims-Walker. 2 TE, 2 wide formation, Sims-Walker on the left, Gibson on the right after motion, Every receiver and TE ran the same route, a short speed out. This was Sims-Walker’s first drop. The ball was a little high, but catchable. It was a 3-step drop, ball came out on-time.
• 2-10-STL 11 (9:32) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson left tackle to STL 16 for 5 yards (30-L.Landry).
• 3-5-STL 16 (8:59) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short right to 10-M.Sims-Walker (23-D.Hall). Bunch – right, Gibson wide left. Kendricks on the wing ran a short in, 3-yds shy of marker. Pettis from the slot, ran a go. MSW the farthest outside of the bunch ran a dig route. There was no hesitation, play was to MSW, Hall was in tight coverage and basically wrestled the ball out as MSW tried to secure it, MSW has to win this battle, but it was probably ruled as a PD. This may have been short of a FD.
• 4-5-STL 16 (8:51) 5-D.Jones punts 54 yards to WAS 30, Center-44-J.McQuaide. 16-B.Banks to WAS 31 for 1 yard (49-B.Miller).

Third possession – St. Louis Rams at 03:06
• 4-G.Gano kicks 63 yards from WAS 35 to STL 2. 35-Q.Porter to STL 15 for 13 yards (19-D.Stallworth).
• 1-10-STL 15 (3:00) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 49-B.Miller to STL 18 for 3 yards (23-D.Hall). Naked boot right, B. Miller came across the formation into short right flat. Hall came up and made a nice tackle. Kendricks tried to clear zone, but Skins were in zone, so they saw the action. Would have been for more yards if Skins were in man. Ball on-time and perfect.
• 2-7-STL 18 (2:24) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 88-L.Kendricks pushed ob at STL 29 for 11 yards (91-R.Kerrigan). Left slot with MSW, and DX wide left. MSW runs short dig–open, DX runs a 9, but there is a huge cushion, so he runs hard then slows down—open. Kendricks from the right wing runs a 12-yard out and Sam hits him perfectly out of his break—perfect route and throw.
• 1-10-STL 29 (1:56) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson up the middle to STL 32 for 3 yards (30-L.Landry; 91-R.Kerrigan).
• 2-7-STL 32 (1:23) 8-S.Bradford pass short middle to 84-D.Alexander to WAS 43 for 25 yards (20-O.Atogwe). Uh Oh motions into FB position, play action fake to SJ39, the pass was to DX, who ran a 8 route (post) throw was perfect and on-time, Sam almost got touched from behind. DX catches the ball then gets about 13-yards of RAC, dragging players. He jumps up and makes the X.
• 1-10-WAS 43 (:41) 39-S.Jackson left guard to WAS 40 for 3 yards (94-A.Carriker). I seriously think SJ39 may be blind in his left eye. Missed hole left.
• 2-7-WAS 40 (:03) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford sacked ob at WAS 40 for 0 yards (Team). Kendricks runs a wheel route from the left wing. Gibson a 9 from w-left. DX is w-right and runs a 9? SJ39 releases out of the backfield into the r-flat. MSW was the intended target, ran a dig and fell down, luckily Sam saw this before he threw it. He then, looked left and Wragge had been pushed back and close to Sam, so he backed up, to get space, but almost tripped, so he scrambled with 4 Skins in pursuit. Couldn’t see the receivers.
• 3-7-WAS 40 (15:00) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete deep left to 10-M.Sims-Walker. This was just a perfect pass into MSW’s basket in tight coverage that would have been a touchdown. He dropped it at the 8-yard line with Barnes on his hip, no PI, no PD. It was 10 route (stop and go) with Bradford pump faking the stop, which allowed MSW to drop one defender. This was the only option on the play.
• 4-7-WAS 40 (14:55) 5-D.Jones punts 30 yards to WAS 10, Center-44-J.McQuaide, out of bounds.

Fourth possession 2Q – St. Louis Rams at 13:42
• 1-10-STL 29 (13:42) 39-S.Jackson right tackle to STL 32 for 3 yards (98-B.Orakpo).
• 2-7-STL 32 (13:07) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to 39-S.Jackson (96-B.Cofield). Slot left/wing right. Gibson w-left, 9 route big cushion. MSW slot left, short speed out. Hoomanawanui runs a deep out, and Kendricks runs a deep wheel route. Most routes are covered, but SJ39 runs a short post and is wide open. It appears as if SJ39 doesn’t know it’s to him and he turns his head and pulls his arms back before the ball arrives. It looks on-target from my angle. It had some pepper on it, this is the first time I thought Sam could have used a little touch.
• 3-7-STL 32 (13:01) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 18-A.Pettis [52-R.McIntosh]. Twins left, Gibson and Pettis. Gibson cleared the zone with a post and Pettis ran some kind of dig and fade. Hard to see it, but it took too long to develop.
• 4-7-STL 32 (12:55) 5-D.Jones punts 46 yards to WAS 22, Center-44-J.McQuaide. 16-B.Banks MUFFS catch, and recovers at WAS 24. 16-B.Banks to WAS 26 for 2 yards (15-D.Curry).

Fifth possession 2Q – St. Louis Rams at 09:52
• 1-10-WAS 44 (9:52) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete deep right to 86-M.Hoomanawanui. WAS-23-D.Hall was injured during the play. Bajema on the r-wing behind Hoomanawanui stayed to block. Gibson? W-right ran a simple out. Big Mike released straight into the seam and Sam threw a strike to his numbers, he dropped it. Hall hit him low and he wasn’t looking, then he hit the ground head first.
• 2-10-WAS 44 (9:47) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson right tackle to WAS 38 for 6 yards (34-B.Westbrook).
• 3-4-WAS 38 (9:29) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson right tackle to WAS 35 for 3 yards (72-S.Bowen).
• 4-1-WAS 35 (8:47) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 18-A.Pettis to WAS 31 for 4 yards (22-K.Barnes). This was a very inventive play. DX and Pettis are twins left, but Pettis goes in motion and ends up as a tailback. MSW clears the zone on a 9 route and Bajema performs a dig route to the outside after faking inside. Bradford rolls out and has 3 options, but Pettis is open and Bradford throws a nice pass. Pettis secures the pass and takes the FD. He doesn’t try to do anything else but catch it.
• 1-10-WAS 31 (8:10) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 10-M.Sims-Walker. This is a play action pass, max protection. DX w-right runs a post and MSW w-left runs a deep out. I can’t see MSW’s pattern, until the end, but he is covered so he got no separation. DX is slightly open, because he has his guy pinned to his outside, but Sam reads the safety on his side and goes with option 2. The ball bounces off MSW’s extended hand. Not the easiest throw to catch, but exactly where it needed to be. Mcintosh grabbed Sj39 when he tried to go out in a pattern.
• 2-10-WAS 31 (8:03) 8-S.Bradford pass short left to 39-S.Jackson to WAS 28 for 3 yards (72-S.Bowen). This was the same look that the Rams gave on the incomplete to Pettis on the dig & go, but they ran a screen this time. If Wragge would have blocked his guy—unsuccessful cut, or Brown not tripped over Smith’s feet, then this would have yielded some yards. Nice looking screen—not executed.
• 3-7-WAS 28 (7:20) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 18-A.Pettis (94-A.Carriker). This was going to be a dig to Pettis, who ran a nice route, but it was a jailbreak. Skins overloaded our right side and Jackson, tried to help Smith with Kerrigan, who blew past Smith, but the Skins, followed that with sending a blitzer through Smiths’s inside gap, who SJ39 should have picked up. This was a 2 second play and Sam didn’t have 2 seconds. Ball tipped amidst mass confusion. Smith grabbed Kerrigan’s face mask as he blew by him. PENALTY on STL-77-J.Smith, Personal Foul, 15 yards, enforced at WAS 28 – No Play.
• 3-22-WAS 43 (7:14) 8-S.Bradford sacked at 50 for -7 yards (91-R.Kerrigan). FUMBLES (91-R.Kerrigan), RECOVERED by WAS-96-B.Cofield at STL 47. 96-B.Cofield to STL 44 for 3 yards (76-R.Saffold). The play was to the right, it was a stop (hesitation) and go pattern to Gibson, Sam pump faked, trying to get the corner to bite, he didn’t–huge cushion, but it was one on one, no safety help. Kendricks ran a wheel route or seam route and was just coming open, he would have been the target, Landry was outside him by a few yards. It would have been a race to the end zone, if Kendricks would have caught it, but Sam got hit in 2.2 seconds–he needed 3 to 3.5. Because of overload on Ram’s left side Saffold hesitated, then had bad angle on Orakpo, who muscled him backwards into Sam’s face. Kerrigan knocked the ball out backside, he was being blocked by Pettis, Smith chose to help Brown instead of Pettis.

Sixth possession 2Q – St. Louis Rams at 05:42
• 4-G.Gano kicks 63 yards from WAS 35 to STL 2. 18-A.Pettis pushed ob at STL 25 for 23 yards (4-G.Gano). PENALTY on STL-84-D.Alexander, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at STL 21.
• 1-10-STL 11 (5:37) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson up the middle to STL 14 for 3 yards (52-R.McIntosh).
• 2-7-STL 14 (5:11) 8-S.Bradford pass short left to 11-B.Gibson to STL 28 for 14 yards (26-J.Wilson). This pretty much an standard I right pro set with Gibson on the w-left running a post and Sam hitting him with a laser beam. Gibson almost dropped it, but concentrated and made the catch.
• 1-10-STL 28 (4:30) 39-S.Jackson right end to STL 29 for 1 yard (52-R.McIntosh). Penalty on STL-77-J.Smith, Illegal Formation, declined.
• 2-9-STL 29 (4:08) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 47-B.Bajema to STL 33 for 4 yards (91-R.Kerrigan). Bajema on the r-wing runs a hesitation out, and MSW on the outside runs a deep in. Bajema was the right choice, Mcintosh dropped into zone underneath MSW. No going to get much after the catch from Bajema, he’s nailed like a tackling dummy for no additional yards.
• 3-5-STL 33 (3:26) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 88-L.Kendricks to STL 41 for 8 yards (23-D.Hall). This was a quick dig route to Kendricks who was a good two to three yards shy, but ran hard for the FD. MSW on the w-right ran a 9-yard buttonhook and was open in the zone past the marker.
• 1-10-STL 41 (2:52) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short right to 39-S.Jackson to STL 47 for 6 yards (23-D.Hall). Right wing formation, both tight ends release to clear zone and Bradford hits Jackson on the backfield post, same route that was missed earlier. Looked like lone option on the play.
• 2-4-STL 47 (2:19) 39-S.Jackson left tackle to STL 45 for -2 yards (50-R.Jackson).
Two-Minute Warning
• 3-6-STL 45 (2:00) (Shotgun) PENALTY on STL-88-L.Kendricks, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at STL 45 – No Play. Kendricks and Gibson jumped on Bradford’s hard count. Dahl was having a long discussion with the zebra and pointing at the Skins, who were said to have been mimicking the snap count in the Cowboy’s game, which is illegal.
• 3-11-STL 40 (2:00) (Shotgun) PENALTY on STL-60-Jason.Brown, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at STL 40 – No Play. Another false start, this time false snap, all on Brown. Sam pumps his fist in displeasure.
• 3-16-STL 35 (2:00) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete deep left to 84-D.Alexander [91-R.Kerrigan]. Redskins showed blitz, same look on the fumble earlier. Bradford called Gibson over into a bunch right for max pro. DX was w-left and Sims-Walker w- right. I think that they both ran stop and go’s. Sam basically threw it away. Skins were in a deep cover 3. DX would have to have broken his pattern off to have a completion. Orakpo, appeared to have hit Saffold in the neck and Saffold folded backwards. Smith appeared to make the wrong decision, as he let B. Gibson take on Kerrigan. No match, not close to the same weight class. Bradford got hit from both sides.
• 4-16-STL 35 (1:54) 5-D.Jones punts 65 yards to end zone, Center-44-J.McQuaide, Touchback. Play Challenged by Replay Assistant and Upheld. This was the amazing play by Curry that the officials took away from him.

Seventh possession 2Q – St. Louis Rams at 00:34
• 1-10-STL 18 (:34) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford sacked at STL 16 for -2 yards (sack split by 98-B.Orakpo and 72-S.Bowen). Spread formation, Redskins playing way off again, think prevent, but Kendricks running right down the middle of the field is breaking open, even after he is blatantly grabbed and held by Fletcher, Bradford was going that way but got sacked—didn’t have time. DX was open on a deep out on the left sideline. Everyone else on the right was covered. Orakpo got underneath Saffold’s pads and lifted him off the ground almost in an amazing show of strength. I did think the Rodger didn’t do a good job with his setup point, and yes, Orakpo was very wide right. Bowen sacked Bradford, officially.
• 2-12-STL 16 (:23) (Shotgun) 39-S.Jackson right tackle to STL 17 for 1 yard (91-R.Kerrigan).

At the end of the half Bradford dropped back 20 times, was hit 6 times, sacked 3 times, and fumbled once. Except for the drops, the receivers for the most part had separation and ran crisp routes. One of Pettis’ routes was questionable, but i couldn’t see the play. The underneath receiver was the focus of McDaniel’s game plan in the first half, that was very clear, as on most plays it was designed to be open and not a progression read, but perhaps a pre-snap read by Bradford. I thought the game plan was very solid. The Rams got into trouble by making mistakes–jumping offsides, holding, dropping passes. When they were in 3rd and longs, the Redskins just brought it.

Bradford’s 1st half of this game was almost flawless with the time he had to work with. I rated his performance an average of 4.2 out of 5. A 5 is a good decision, very accurate throw that is thrown on time, not late. Whether the ball was completed or not did not factor in. I gave him a 3 on the play that Sims-Walker fell down and he was the obvious target. Sam scrambled, and was officially sacked O-yard gain team sack, but if he wouldn’t have tripped he had a player open.

These were the miscues in each drive:
1st possession – false start made it 3rd and 12
2nd possession – 2 drops
3rd possession – sack, primary receiver fell down, and a drop
4th possession – player not attempt catch, QB hit, bad route?
5th possession – 2 drops, facemask penalty, sack and fumble
6th possession – holding, illegal formation, false start, false start, QB hit
7th possession – sack

Questions? I’m debating analyzing the 2nd half. It seems much of the same to me. Mistakes, sacks, drops. I feel dirty now, the doc needs to scrub up.

By: DR RAM

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By: DR RAM
Follow on Twitter! @DR_RAM_

Rams vs. the Ravens in week 3.

Coaching - In three full seasons for John Harbaugh as head coach of the Ravens, Baltimore has earned the playoffs in each (marking a franchise first for three consecutive postseason berths). “Coach Harbs” has helped guide the Ravens to 32 regular season wins during this span, tied (New Orleans) for fifth most in the NFL. Harbaugh has also compiled a 4-3 playoff record and is the first coach in NFL history to win a playoff game in each of his first three seasons. Impressively, the Ravens’ top three records for fewest turnovers in a season have all occurred during Harbaugh’s tenure. In 2010, the Ravens set a franchise single-season record for fewest turnovers (20), breaking the previous mark of 21 from 2008. Baltimore also threw a franchise-low 10 INTs in 2010. Offensive coordinator, Cam Cameron, is among the most respected and highly regarded coordinators in the NFL, is in his fourth season leading the Ravens’ offense. He has guided a unit that has made significant improvements during the John Harbaugh Era (2008-10). Over that span, the Ravens have rushed for 133.5 yards per game and scored 53 rushing TDs, both fifth most in the NFL. In addition, Baltimore, which set a team record with only 22 turnovers in 2010, has committed only 63 turnovers, tied for the NFL’s third-fewest, since 2008. Defensive coordinator, Chuck Pagano, who spent three seasons as the Ravens’ secondary coach, was named defensive coordinator in January, 2011. Pagano, Baltimore’s fifth defensive coordinator in team history, leads a veteran group that finished 2010 as the NFL’s 10th-ranked unit. The vaunted defense has finished as the NFL’s No. 3 scoring defense (fewest points allowed) each of the past three seasons (2008-10). Baltimore has given up a league-low total of 16.1 points per game and permitted only 80 TDs (tied with Pit. for NFL best) in the last three years.
DR’s rating – B

Offense – The Ravens’ offense has experienced success during the Harbaugh Era. In 2010, QB Joe Flacco became the franchise’s all-time leading passer, finishing with career highs in passing yards (3,622) and TDs (25). Baltimore also ranked 16th in NFL scoring, averaging 22.3 points per game. In 2009, the Ravens were the NFL’s ninth best in scoring (24.4 ppg), up from 24th in 2007, also setting franchise records for most total TDs (47) and most rushing TDs (22). Among other notable stats in 2009, Baltimore produced the top three offensive total yards games in team history. In his first season in Baltimore (2008), Cameron built a creative offense that ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing (148.5 ypg), first in time of possession (33:10) and 11th in points per game (24.1 ppg). Cameron brought his unique offensive mind to Baltimore after one year as the Miami Dolphins’ head coach. DR’s rating – C +

Quarterback - The team’s 2008 first-round draft pick, QB Joe Flacco, became Baltimore’s all-time leading passer in 2010 (878 of 1,416 for 10,206 yards, 60 TDs and an 87.9 rating). Among starting NFL QBs, Flacco is second (Peyton Manning, 38) with 36 wins (including playoffs) since 2008. He is the arm of this body, and a very strong arm he is. Flacco posses a rocket arm and a super quick release, he can and will make every throw on the field. Joe, also has pretty good touch on the ball, when needed. The doc was impressed watching him throw the ball, he is a natural thrower of the ball, it comes out effortless. 2011 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: Started his 50th-career game and went 15-of-32 for 197 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs in game 2 at Ten. (9/18) Completed 17 of 29 passes for 224 yards, 3 TDs and no INTs for a 117.6 QB rating in the 35-7 victory in the season opener vs. Pit. (9/11)…Led the Ravens on 6 scoring drives (4 TDs and 2 FGs) against the Steelers. Flacco doesn’t posses the best footwork, but he is pretty mobile in the pocket with great awareness. He’s above average at the play fake, and can roll out left or right. DR’s rating – B +

Offensive line - Andy Moeller was promoted to offensive line coach in January, 2011. He spent his first three seasons as the team’s assistant offensive line coach. Injuries in 2010 reshuffled the O-line, but it still protected QB Joe Flacco, who set career highs, including a single season team record for passer rating (93.6). In 2009, the Ravens set a team record with 22 rushing TDs and also tallied Baltimore’s three best offensive total yards games. In 2008, Baltimore was the NFL’s fourth-ranked rushing team (148.5). The Titans were getting pressure with a 3 and 4 man rush. Ray Rice doesn’t need but a crack and Yanda, Grubbs (questionable) and Birk (probable) provide that, they are the meat of the team and every one of them can get downfield and run. Bryant McKinnie was a great acquisition for the Ravens. He is massive and durable, but not very athletic. He uses his bulk to get between the tackler and the ball carrier. He doesn’t appear to be in very good shape and doesn’t like to block backside, downfield, and doesn’t like to get dirty. He went to the Pro-Bowl in 2009. Micheal Oher is getting better, and his technique is improving. DR’s rating – C +

Tight ends - Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta are both pass catching move type TE’s. They don’t line up on the line very often, and are not real involved in the run game. Dickson had 5 catches and 1 TD against Pittsburgh. DR’s rating – C -

Running backs – Ray Rice and Vonta Leach, both Pro-Bowler’s. Leach is a better receiver than you’d think and he’s a load, but he makes his money blocking for Ray Rice. Rice is off to a good start to the season and is just as dangerous as a pass catcher as a runner. He runs low to the ground and is extremely quick, fast and powerful. He needs very little space to get a big gain. Last week he took a screen pass, juked a few guys, and ran one guy over. Ray Rice is the heart of this team, and while he beats, they are in the game. DR’s rating – A

Wide receiver - Anquan Boldin, Lee Evans, and Torrey Smith. Anquan, clearly the hands of the team is a perennial Pro-Bowler, who does everything well in the passing game. He is physical, has great hands, is tough as nails, and runs crisp routes. Lee Evans will be out for this game, and that really hurts them, because there is very little experience behind him. Torrey Smith will get some PT, and he is very fast, but needs to learn to run routes in the NFL. He comes into this game with zero catches. DR’s rating – C -

DR’s Offensive Scouting Keys: Joe will throw a couple passes that make absolutely no sense every game, the Rams need to take advantage of those throws. Look to strip the ball from behind, Joe will drop the ball too low when passing the ball, it can be knocked out of his hand. Get Oher and McKinnie moving by running stunts and blitzes. McKinnie doesn’t like to move. Speed rush both of them. The offensive line is pretty dinged up, and they need to give the Rams a heavy dose of Ray Rice. Stay close to Ray Rice on screens and flares, he is the favorite of Joe Flacco, and he will be the primary and the outlet on many passing plays. Both tight ends line up from the wing, slot, and wide, and the doc recommends accounting for them this week. Ravens run a lot of shotgun, but are very effective out of play action. When they run the ball, they still like to spread it out, then run in-between the tackles, I don’t see them going outside very often.

Defense – New defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano inherited a talented experienced group of players. Everyone knows about this defense, and they are very good, if not great. But…they are very weak in the secondary and the Titan’s exploited that.DR’s rating – B+

Defensive line - (92)Haloti Ngata and (62)Terrence Cody are the back, legs, and butt of this team. These two guys are massive. Ngata, a 2-time Pro-Bowler, disrupts everything with his bull rush. He is a powerful dude, and a pretty good pass rusher. Cody’s job is to keep Ray Lewis clean, and he does that by eating space. (97)Aurthur Jones rotates in and is no slouch; he plays hard and is very agile for his size. He backs up Redding and Cody, so he sees a lot of PT. (91)Brandon McKinney is a veteran, another massive guy that provides quality depth. DR’s rating – B+

Defensive ends – (55)Terell Suggs, another Pro-Bowler, been there 4 times. He is a beast and their 3-4 rush linebacker. He can beat you any ways, has many moves. Saffold and Smith will have to be at the top of their games. Their 5-technique guy is (93)Cory Redding and he has compiled over 360 tackles in his 9 year career. He is stout at the point of attack. Aurthur Jones get time a DE and is a solid player. Don’t be surprised to see (90)Pernell McPhee, the Raven’s 5th round draft pick, they are pretty high on him. DR’s rating – A

Linebackers - (52) Ray Lewis provides the brains and lungs so that this team can think and breathe. Another perennial Pro-Bowler, Ray is the unquestionable leader of the team. (53)Jameel McClain had 91 tackles as his first season as a starter for the Ravens. He flashes sideline to sideline all game long. He is a very good tackler, who wraps you up. (95)Jarret Johnson is the team’s Sam backer, he is very versatile, experienced and has good size. He will line up on the line a rush the passer occasionally. DR’s rating – B

Cornerbacks - Finally, no Pro-Bowlers and a perceived weakness. This is the Ravens achilles heel. Very similar situation to what we saw last week, except Brian Rolle played a lot of nickel corner for Giants, which I predicted. (21)Lardarius Webb is a very good tackler and likes to step up in run support. He had 9 tackles last week. He will probably pick up kickoff duties as well as punt duties with D. Reed being out. He struggles in pass coverage and in a straight line will get beat and ran away from. (29)Cary Williams and (24)Domonique Foxworth are the other corners. Foxworth likes to press, but you can run right by him. Williams will play up on you, but sometimes let you run free with no bump. He is good in run support, also. Kenny Britt burned him badly. Sometimes these guys just give you a huge cushion; they play a lot of man coverage. They will need safety help.
DR’s rating – D+ No depth.

Safeties - Back to the Pro-Bowlers (7-times), Ed Reed is a gem, and still playing at a high level. He is the eyes of the team, and he excels at all phases of the game. He has seen it all and done it all, but he looked worn out and frustrated last week. He has very little help in the secondary. Tom Zbikowski is the SS, and he is a solid tackler and run support guy, but he struggles in coverage. He is a very straight-line player and when he is forced to cover, he has a hard time changing directions. DR’s rating – B-

DR’s Defensive Scouting Keys – Matt Hasselback absolutely picked them apart last week. They are stout in the middle, like the Giants, but their linebackers are better as a whole. The middle is still open on this team, because they are over-aggressive on play action and their linebackers don’t drop very deep into coverage, if they drop at all. They also fall for misdirection plays and will lose contain on the backside. The Ravens will give you a lot of looks on the front, 3-man, 4-man, and 5-man fronts. They blitz a lot, but mostly with their linebackers, but still account for their safeties on passing downs, Zbikowski will blitz. Corners give up too much cushion and still get beat, and they peek into the backfield too much, double moves will kill them.

DR’s Prescription to beat the Eagles – On offense - Spread it out and attack their corners and Zbikowski. Take your shots deep with Danario, Sims-Walker and Gibson. I don’t think they can run with any of these guys. Even with a big cushion they allow you to run by them. Stay away from Ed Reed. We have to try to establish a running game, so that the play action will work. Get the ball out fast and be decisive in your reads. A quick tempo works well against them, catch them with all that beef on the field and wear them out with the “no huddle”. No more silly mistakes and penalties, we need to move past that. Execute in the red zone, implement a fade pass, give Gibson a shot in the slot, and minimize Salas in the passing game. Run misdirection and screen plays. Cutback on the stretch play, they tend to be too aggressive and lose contain.

On defense – Contain and stay close to Ray Rice, he will get 25 or more touches in this game. Cover Boldin with our best corner, Bradley Fletcher, to minimize his impact in the game. Put pressure on Joe Flacco, whatever it takes as long as you don’t forget about Rice. I think Sims and Quinn can both speed rush and get pressure. Chris Long can and will beat Oher. Flacco makes silly throws and mistakes when pressured, win the turnover game and capitalize. Don’t let the tight ends beat you.

DR’s prognosis for winning: Fair to good if the Rams play relatively mistake free football.

By: DR RAM

Because of the obvious problems this week in the red zone, I made it my focus and placed it under my microscope. This is what I discovered…

Rams in the Red Zone:

• 3-11-STL 31 (10:55) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass deep left to 84-D.Alexander to NYG 1 for 68 yards (34-D.Grant). This was a very nice pass. Bradford, looked left, then right, briefly to hold the safety, then threw a nice ball to Danario. This was a 9 route, Danario took an outside release on Ross who had press coverage and then outran Ross and Grant. Danario high pointed the ball, and then fell backwards, but his momentum flipped him over and he landed on his feet. He was aware enough to know he wasn’t touched and started running to the goal line. He was tackled at the 1.

• 1-1-NYG 1 (10:14) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short right to 88-L.Kendricks. This was GL 3 TE formation with M. Hoomanawanui on the left wing. Hoomanawanui released straight and was mugged by 2 Giants defenders. He was grabbed once just past the goal line, then handed off to Grant stepped in front of him and hit him. Bajema was on the left, also, but never released into a pattern. Brit Miller got shucked and didn’t get very deep, but he was open in the flat short of the goal. There was a token play fake and the throw to Kendricks was just off the mark and out of his reach. Rolle had the coverage and grabbed Kendricks at the waist momentarily, but perfectly, as Kendricks didn’t really even get his arms up to catch the ball.

• 2-1-NYG 1 (10:08) 33-C.Williams left tackle to NYG 2 for -1 yards (53-G.Jones, 34-D.Grant). Same exact formation as the previous play. It was an off-tackle play with zone blocking. It appeared as if Cadillac could have scored if he committed to the outside and raced for the corner. Nobody was there; they all came up the middle, and Hoomanawanui had Rolle blocked at the edge. This play got blown up when Bajema got blown backwards. Brit Miller had to take Bajema’s man, because he ended up being the first force, which is the fullbacks responsibility on this type of play. He wasn’t the only force, which was the problem. There were too many Giants and they overpowered the Rams. The backside cutback wasn’t an option on this play, because Dahl, Smith, and Kendricks, who tripped over Smith, fell down.

• 3-2-NYG 2 (9:24) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short right to 87-G.Salas [34-D.Grant]. The Giants brought 8 men on the blitz and Grant got through delivering a hit to Bradford as he released it. G. Salas and B. Gibson were “twins right” and ran a crossing pattern. Salas, the outside twin, faked inside, and then came underneath to the flat, B. Rolle did to him as he did to Kendricks earlier in the series, he grabbed him at the hip, impeding his momentum and then he lets go right when the ball is on you. It’s a brilliant veteran move if you can get away with it, because he holding you back and you are fighting through it, when he releases you, it throws you off balance and you have to use your arms to regain that balance. On both of these plays, our receivers couldn’t get their hands in the air to attempt to catch the ball. This ball went right over Salas’ head. Salas ran all the way to the official on the sideline, but the ref just signaled incomplete.

• 4-2-NYG 2 (9:18) 3-Josh.Brown 21 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-J.McQuaide, Holder-5-D.Jones. Ouch, 3 points again.

• STL 3 NYG 0 Plays: 9 Possession: 3:19

Giants in the Red Zone:

• 4-10-NYG 21 (8:16) 5-S.Weatherford punts 40 yards to STL 39, Center-51-Z.DeOssie. 87-G.Salas MUFFS catch, touched at STL 39, RECOVERED by NYG-71-D.Tollefson at STL 38. 71-D.Tollefson to STL 38 for no gain (37-J.Butler). Rookie jitters. Salas never got a chance to return a punt in the preseason and he was pressed into duty on Monday Night Football, but still, catch the damn ball.

• New York Giants at 08:04
• 1-10-STL 38 (8:04) 27-B.Jacobs right tackle to STL 39 for -1 yards (55-J.Laurinaitis).

• 2-11-STL 39 (7:28) 27-B.Jacobs left tackle to STL 32 for 7 yards (55-J.Laurinaitis).

• 3-4-STL 32 (6:46) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete short right to 88-H.Nicks (91-C.Long). Long batted this down and was pumped about it.

• 4-4-STL 32 (6:37) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass deep left to 88-H.Nicks pushed ob at STL 9 for 23 yards (32-B.Fletcher). Penalty on STL-32-B.Fletcher, Defensive Pass Interference, declined. This is what ticks people off, they don’t call clear interference on the Giants, but Fletcher just gets close and is flagged. It was an amazing catch by Nicks, who got two feet in, and the Giants probably would have reviewed it anyway.

• 1-9-STL 9 (6:30) 27-B.Jacobs up the middle to STL 3 for 6 yards (27-Q.Mikell). Rams defensive line had pretty wide splits for this play. Bannan was double teamed and pushed over and back. All the linebackers filled holes, but Jacobs got through the hole that one of the split fullbacks made on the right side. They had more men than we did. Dahl lined up wide to help King with Manningham, but saw the play and reacted, but took a bad angle (too wide) and ran himself out of a chance to make a play. Mikell made a tough tackle to prevent the sure TD.

• 2-3-STL 3 (5:53) 10-E.Manning pass short left to 88-H.Nicks for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Not much to comment on here. Fletcher’s style of coverage is to play the man, not the ball. Nicks took a few hard steps to sell a fade, and then stopped and turned around to find the ball that was thrown perfectly, Fletcher never saw it. If Fletcher would have peeked, he could have had a 100 yard touchdown.

• 9-L.Tynes extra point is GOOD, Center-51-Z.DeOssie, Holder-5-S.Weatherford.

• STL 3 NYG 7 Plays: 6 Possession: 2:17

Rams in the Red Zone:

• 3-5-NYG 41 (4:20) (No Huddle) 8-S.Bradford pass deep right to 88-L.Kendricks ran ob at NYG 15 for 26 yards. The “no huddle” was working great; Giants players were running off the field when this play was snapped. Giants ran a safety blitz to Bradford’s blind side, Saffold tried to cut block him and missed, but it slowed him down, Bell dropped back and picked him up, it was a great play by Bell, probably saving a sack. Kendricks was lined up wide right and was single covered by the Giants best corner—Webster, who was tight on him. The ball was thrown perfectly, and no other pass would have resulted in a completion. Kendricks high pointed the ball over Webster’s outstretched arm.

• 1-10-NYG 15 (4:04) (No Huddle) 33-C.Williams right tackle to NYG 7 for 8 yards (34-D.Grant, 59-M.Boley). NYG-34-D.Grant was injured during the play. Well-blocked stretch play to the right. Caddy got what was there. Giants were trying to run defensive players on the field and couldn’t get them in so two players faked injury “on cue” from instruction from their sideline. Grant faked it the best, so their linebacker, Williams just stood back up. Doctors hate fake injuries. Sam was desperately trying to get this play snapped, as he should have when the Salas catch/drop was reviewed a couple plays later. Bradford was yelling and gesturing for his lineman to get set and even shoved J. Brown down into the snapping position. When the play was whistled dead, Sam, clearly frustrated, threw his arms down in disgust, and yelled and gestured something towards the actor, Grant who was lying on the field.

• 2-2-NYG 7 (3:37) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 10-M.Sims-Walker. Sims-Walker was the inside man in a “twins” with B. Gibson. Gibson crossed underneath and was wide open. Sims-Walker was locked up with Webster literally, who was holding his left arm. Right before the ball arrived, Webster with his other hand, faceguarded (it’s legal), then brought his hand down on Sims-Walker’s facemask, knocking his head down (not legal)…again thwarting our receivers a chance to reach for the ball.

• 3-2-NYG 7 (3:29) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short left to 87-G.Salas to NYG 4 for 3 yards (31-A.Ross). New York Giants challenged the pass completion ruling, and the play was REVERSED. (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 87-G.Salas (31-A.Ross). “Trips” left, the other 2 receivers cleared the zone for Salas to make the catch for the first down. He was open the ball was “on time” and Salas didn’t secure the catch. Ross came up and hit him and he lost the ball. Webster scooped it up and the Coughlin as Webster was running by, gestured for him to keep going, even though the play was dead, which was pretty crafty, since it gave him more time for his staff to see the replay and challenge the play. The play was in on-time, but by the time the ball was spotted and then the Rams ran motion, the refs stopped the play. Should have tried better to get it off, but the ball should have been caught.

• 4-2-NYG 7 (3:25) 3-Josh.Brown 25 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-J.McQuaide, Holder-5-D.Jones. Damn, another wasted opportunity.

• STL 6 NYG 7 Plays: 10 Possession: 2:26

Giants in the Red Zone – 2nd Quarter:

• 1-10-NYG 47 (:39) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass deep left to 82-M.Manningham to STL 22 for 31 yards (27-Q.Mikell). A. Harris and Q. Mikell were confused on the coverage. Harris checked Manningham, but let him run by him, he acted as if he had a short third. Both players had their arms in the air before the play. Manningham juggled it or it would have been an easy touchdown.

• Timeout #2 by NYG at 00:29.

• 1-10-STL 22 (:29) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass deep middle to 87-D.Hixon for 22 yards, TOUCHDOWN. C. Dahl on the coverage turned his head too late and the ball went right over it, he never saw the ball as it went to Hixon, who juggled then made the catch.

· STL 6 NYG 21 Plays: 8 Possession: 2:37

Rams in the Red Zone – 3rd Quarter:

• 2-10-STL 49 (13:58) 8-S.Bradford pass deep left to 84-D.Alexander to NYG 16 for 35 yards (31-A.Ross). This was another 9 route, Danario took an outside release and just outran his man—Ross. Ross grabbed Danarios’s jersey under his right arm right before the catch, but Alexander focused and made the catch

• 1-10-NYG 16 (13:23) 33-C.Williams left tackle to NYG 13 for 3 yards (26-A.Rolle). Well-blocked, but Rolle knifed in and made a nice play. Gibson was blocking him outside shade.

• 2-7-NYG 13 (12:39) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short middle to 87-G.Salas to NYG 9 for 4 yards (26-A.Rolle) [71-D.Tollefson]. This was basically the same formation and play that Salas dropped earlier.

• 3-3-NYG 9 (12:03) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 84-D.Alexander (59-M.Boley). Boley just read Sam’s eyes, dropped right into his throwing lane, and batted the pass down. Danario had single coverage on him, ran a slant and got inside A. Ross by a couple of yards. Would have been a TD.

• 4-3-NYG 9 (11:54) 3-Josh.Brown 27 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-44-J.McQuaide, Holder-5-D.Jones. 3 points, again.

• STL 9 NYG 21 Plays: 8 Possession: 3:11

Giants in the Red Zone – 3rd Quarter:

• 3-6-STL 41 (7:46) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete deep middle to 84-B.Stokley. PENALTY on STL-21-J.King, Defensive Pass Interference, 17 yards, enforced at STL 41 – No Play. This one hurt, but King did hold him and Stokely held King. We brought 6, but didn’t get any real pressure on Eli.

• 1-10-STL 24 (7:38) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass incomplete short right to 88-H.Nicks. 4 man rush, no pressure, Eli overthrew nicks over the middle.

• 2-10-STL 24 (7:33) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning sacked at STL 32 for -8 yards (94-R.Quinn). Hall slid down on this play and Quinn came in. D. Stewart lined up between them and blitzed. They picked up Stewart, but Quinn got a free rush to his first official sack for the Rams.

• 3-18-STL 32 (7:08) (Shotgun) 10-E.Manning pass short left to 44-A.Bradshaw to STL 9 for 23 yards (27-Q.Mikell). Hall and Quinn busted through the same hole, but it was a screen. J. Laurinaitis read it, but got blocked. Nobody else saw it. Hall gave chase. But was too slow to catch Bradshaw. Mikell brought him down from behind and almost pulled the ball loose.

• 1-9-STL 9 (6:27) 27-B.Jacobs left tackle for 9 yards, TOUCHDOWN. G. Gibson got blown backwards and fell to the ground, essentially the huge hole that he left, Jacobs ran through it. Everyone else filled, Poppinga dove in the hole from the side, but was partially blocked. King was there. But couldn’t rip free from Nick’s grasp in time.

• 9-L.Tynes extra point is GOOD, Center-51-Z.DeOssie, Holder-5-S.Weatherford.

• STL 9 NYG 28 Plays: 10 Possession: 5:30

Rams in the Red Zone – 3rd Quarter:

• 4-6-NYG 30 (1:56) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass short left to 10-M.Sims-Walker pushed ob at NYG 19 for 11 yards (37-M.Coe). Very nice throw to Sims-Walker who was lined up wide left. Good pass protection on an all-out blitz. Bradford took his time setting up his protections, and flushed the Giants out with a fake snap. Bradford is already noticeably better at doing this in his second game.

• 1-10-NYG 19 (1:34) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to 84-D.Alexander. Danario came diving back for the ball. Can’t help but think that he ran the hot route incorrectly.

• 2-10-NYG 19 (1:30) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to 84-D.Alexander. Sam pump faked on this throw sending defenders leaping into the air with their arms up. The pass was really low and hot. 2 defenders bracketed DX.

• 3-10-NYG 19 (1:24) (Shotgun) 8-S.Bradford pass deep left to 84-D.Alexander for 19 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Danario ran a slant and go, beat Coe and just high pointed the ball for a TD. Nice throw by Sam, putting enough air under it for DX to go get it. Very tight coverage, Coe had an arm on Danario. Alexander looked like an All-Pro talent out there on this night.

• 3-Josh.Brown extra point is GOOD, Center-44-J.McQuaide, Holder-5-D.Jones.

• STL 16 NYG 28 Plays: 13 Possession: 5:01

There were no more red zone appearances by either team. The Giants ate a lot of clock running the ball.

Rams Red Zone appearances – 4
Result – 3 field goals and 1 touchdown = 16 points.
Giants Red Zone appearances – 3 = 21 points. (Defense scored a TD on the lateral recovery)
Result – 3 touchdowns, no field goals.

DR’s prognosis of the game:

QB - Regarding the batted passes, they game planned for this, they jumped in the air on almost every passing play. They saw that we like to throw line drives and short to medium passes in the middle of the field. More teams will do this now. One knockdown was a screen. One, Sam was getting sacked and threw it away. Doc doesn’t see it as a mechanical issue or a slow release, but Sam needs to work on not staring his receivers down. In the 4th Quarter he pump faked to get them in the air, so he made an in game adjustment, which is good to see. Sam made some good throws and made some smart plays. His red zone throws would have been on-target if not for the defensive holding (not called).

Offensive line - J. Smith was 100x better today, his footwork/technique was noticeably better, and he didn’t always drop to pass block, where he struggles. Some plays he just blocked his man at the line, like he did to J. Tuck on one play. The rest of the offensive line blocked pretty well in this game; particularly in pass pro against a very good group of d-lineman. The Saffold hold was iffy at best; he just overpowered a tired Tuck. The Rams cut blocking completely blows…they have to either get better or abandon it all together. Doc diagnosed this in the preseason and game 1—this has to improve. One of the batted passes was because the fire out blockers missed his block.

Running backs – Jerious Norwood was non-existent and must be hurt. I saw him run one play. The Doc liked Quinn Porter on the kick returns, despite the one fumble, and hope he starts to get worked into the game. Cadillac got hurt at some point in this game. Doc thinks that he may have missed seeing the outside on a couple plays, but won’t ding him for hitting the hole hard. Caddy also performed excellent in pass protection—in both picking blitzes up and calling them out.

Tight ends - Bajema was just wasted space today, he couldn’t catch the ball again this week, it hit him in the face again. Can’t block Tuck or any DE’s in this league. He gave up sacks and may have cost us a TD on the one run attempt where he got blown backwards. Kendricks and Hoomanawanui didn’t really factor into the game, but Big Mike was rusty in his blocking—he was having a hard time sticking. Lance had one really nice catch and probably would have had a touchdown or PI if it was called.

Wide receivers - Greg Salas struggled all night, dropped a punt, and made a bad decision on two other punts. Salas dropped a first down at the 3-yard line and had at least 3 other drops in the game, some of them big one’s. Mike Sims-Walker had 6 catches for 92 yards. Brandon Gibson had 4 catches for 52 yards and no drops. Danario had 3 catches for 122 yards and the only TD. If it weren’t for Salas’ horrid performance, this group would have had a hell of a game.

Linebackers - JL played great, had 9 tackles, he was everywhere. Poppinga played pretty good. Leber was a non-factor. Kehl closed out the game for him. As a group they need to improve, but the d-line is killing them by leaving huge gaps and not keeping them clean. It may be time to start looking at an overhaul or at least a tweak here and there. Release the Jabara?

Defensive line - Our ends were just average and had a hard time getting pressure in a 4-man rush. Robert Quinn recorded his first sack. The defensive interior line is not playing well at all; they aren’t providing any pressure and are losing gap control, too often. This was a good offensive line. Gary Gibson has to play stouter, two weeks in a row he got beat so bad that he took other defenders out with him—this can’t happen.

Secondary - Craig Dahl, who had a bunch of tackles last week, only had two this week. He, like last week when he gave up the big run, took bad angles, either too wide or too flat; he also gave up the TD to Hixon. Dahl has to play better. King played pretty well again in run support with 8 tackles, but his coverage needs some work. His penalties really hurt the team; he needs to watch tape on how Rolle and Webster can hold on every play and get away with it. Fletcher had a tough matchup this week against Hakeem Nicks and got beat for the TD, but provided good run support. The Giants scouted us well and knew how we like to cover when in man, and they definitely took advantage of it. Butler played, but he didn’t flash once. Harris played, but only flashed on the blown coverage.

Coaching – Doc thinks the game plan was pretty solid but was not well executed. Execution is one of the coaches’ biggest responsibilities. The coaches have to put players in a position to succeed, and if they are not succeeding, they need to replace them. The “no huddle” offense was scary good and will get even better. Jason Smith’s improvement impressed me, so I will give the coaches some credit for this, but which Smith will we see next week? It would have been a good opportunity to see Gibson in the slot more. The coaches put Salas in a very tough position this week, and he was obviously not ready. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back and how long the leash will be for him. Is it Austin Pettis’ turn now? I’m trying to get Danny ready to play sooner than later. We didn’t put enough pressure on Eli, and I don’t envy the coaches looking for ways to fix the defensive line—it’s a bleeding gash that needs a tourniquet. The stuff in the secondary can be ironed out with some coaching techniques, bandages if you will. Our young players need to learn the plays; there were a few mental gaffes out there. Too many costly penalties, this is one thing that we didn’t think we would have to worry about. Now it almost tops the list.

The Doctor is Out for now…

By:  DR RAM
Follow on Twitter! @DR_RAM_

Coaching - Long regarded as one of the NFL’s premier head coaches, Tom Coughlin is one of the most successful coaches in the 87-year history of the Giants. He ascended to the pinnacle of his profession in the 2007 season when he led the Giants to a victory in Super Bowl XLII.  The Giants, heavy underdogs entering the game, scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to defeat the previously-undefeated New England Patriots, 17-14.  Steve Spagnuolo was the defensive coordinator for the win, and it helped him to land the Rams head coaching job. Kevin Gilbride is in his fifth full season as the Giants’ offensive coordinator. His unit was ranked seventh, eighth and fifth in the league, respectively, in the last three seasons.  The Giants’ defensive coordinator is Perry Fewell, hired in 2010. With Fewell’s defense leading the way, the Giants were first in the NFL with 39 takeaways.  The Giants held their opponents to an NFL-low 31.7 success rate on third down conversion attempts (66 of 208).  They allowed 263 first downs, the second-lowest total in the league (San Diego, 247).  The Giants held their opponents to fewer than 100 rushing yards in nine of 16 games. They were 9-0 in those games.  DR’s rating – B 

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Offense – In 2010, the Giants gained a franchise-record 6,085 yards, the first 6,000-yard season in their history.  The previous record was 5,884 yards in 1985. The Giants scored 48 touchdowns – every one of them by the offense – which was tied for the third- highest total in team history.  DR’s rating – C +

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Quarterback - The brain of this cadaver is Eli Manning. Manning was the MVP of Super Bowl XLII after completing 19-of-34 passes for 255 yards, two TD’s and an INT. It was the 2nd year in a row that a Manning won the award. Of course, Peyton was the other MVP. Eli is an ironman, he hasn’t missed a start in 111 games.  In 2010, Manning started all 16 games for the 6th consecutive season and completed 339-of-539 passes ata 62.9 % rate for 4,002 yards, 31 TD’s and 25 INT’s.  He had four 300-yard passing games.   He was 1 of 4 players to have thrown every 1 of his team’s passes in 2010.  The others were Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning, Houston’s Matt Schaub and St. Louis’ Sam Bradford.  In game one, a loss for the Giants, Eli went 18/32 for 268 and 1 INT.

DR’s take: Good arm, not great, mobile in the pocket, with good pocket presence,  not a big scrambler or big threat to run, but is sneaky athletic.  Eli, can key in on one receiver and he’s not real accurate.  He does tend to bounce back after a big loss and can play in a big game without pressure getting to him.  He will be ready.  DR’s rating – B -

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Offensive line - The Giants have had one of the NFL’s most dependable offensive lines in the last few years. They have had at least two linemen selected to the Pro Bowl in each of the last eight seasons. Five players – center Shaun O’Hara, guards Chris Snee and Rich Seubert, and tackles David Diehl and Kareem McKenzie – have been mainstays on the line the last four seasons.  The group started 38 consecutive regular season games from 2007-09, then the largest such streak by five line- men since the 1970 NFL merger.   They gave up for sacks in game one to a team that was ranked 31st in total defense last year. 

DR’s take: They are physical, experienced and talented.  This is the back of the team, hoping to carry them to victory. They will be looking to bounce back and establish dominance on the weak interior defensive lineman of the Rams. DR’s rating – B

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Tight ends - Jake Ballard and Bear Pascoe. These are both young inexperienced tight ends, but Ballard had 2 receptions for 59 yards last week. He has good size and is a willing blocker. Pascoe started 11 games last year and had a total of 9 receptions, he is mainly a blocking H-Back, who played fullback last year. It was a blow to New York to lose Kevin Boss in free agency. DR’s rating – C -

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Running backs - Ahmad Bradshaw, Brandon Jacobs and Danny Ware.  This stable of backs constitutes the legs of our body, and upon further examination, these legs are pristine.  The Giants would rather do little else than to run these backs down the Rams throats.

DR’s take: Expect a high dose of stretch plays, Coughlin is no dummy and he knows that the Rams have a hard time containing the backside. Bradshaw will push the edge and Jacobs will pound the middle. Rams defensive lineman will have to play better if they expect to win. DR’s rating – B+

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Wide receiver - Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, and Domenik Hixon. Hakeem is coming into the game a little dinged up (bruised knee), but I expect him to start. Hakeem had 7 receptions for 122 yards.  He is a big, fast, talented target, and Manning’s favorite.  Mario had 4 receptions for 44 yards and is very quick out of his breaks, he has relinquished his PR duties to Hixon, who has real good size and athleticism.

DR’s take:  This is an underrated and competent receiving corp.  They have good size and speed. Even though they will drop some balls, they are still the arms of my patient. DR’s rating – B

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DR’s Offensive Scouting keys: The Giants want to pound you to death; they wouldn’t throw a pass if they didn’t have to, sound familiar so far? Look for the stretch play that every team will run on us now, because we have done a poor job defending it.  This is the difference between us and them… Hakeem Nicks.  Eli will take his shots out of the shotgun and under center and throw the ball deep.  They opened their second series going deep to Nicks, and then the third series took another shot and a 3rd and long.  You can’t just account for Nicks though; Eli will also throw deep to Manningham if he feels he has the matchup advantage.  Don’t get suckered by the play fake.  They will try to sneak their tight end down a deep seem once or twice.

Defense – Perry Fewell’s first year with the Giants was marked by significant improvement in many statistical categories.  This defense comes limping in, literally, with Osi Umenyiora out and Justin Tuck questionable, but don’t feel sorry for them, they still managed 4 sacks against the Redskins. James Pierre-Paul had two of them.  This is still a very big physical defense. DR’s rating – C+

Defensive line - Chris Canty is a giant, at 6’7” and 320 lbs.  He will tip passes, and is a force inside against the run.  Linval Joseph is a second round draft pick and a second year player.  He managed 3 combined tackles and 1 PD in the Giants loss.

DR’s take: These are both big, tall DT’s, get leverage, or get beat. DR’s rating – C -

Defensive ends - This is this teams strength, even though they have some injuries. Osi Umenyiora is out, but they have Jason Pierre-Paul at his RDE spot. Pierre-Paul is a comer, he is a relentless pass rusher with exceptional athleticism. He had 2 sacks in his opening game, Saffold will have his hands full.  Justin Tuck (neck) is expected to be back.  Tuck is one of the best defensive ends to play this game and had 11.5 sacks last year.  This is the heart of the defensive team.

DR’s take: The Doc is worried shitless that Tuck will man handle Adam Goldberg the whole game, and hopes that he nuts up and wears his big boy pants to the dance. DR’s rating – A

Linebackers - Mathias Kiwanuka one of the biggest linebackers that you will ever see, but they still like to use to rush the QB in passing situations.  Their starting middle linebacker is the rookie from Michigan St. Greg Jones, who had 4 tackles in the opening game.  He replaced the IR’d, Jonathan Goff (Knee).  Michael Boley is the teams weakside linebacker; he is a very good player, and he has good size.

DR’s take: The Giants like to pound you with these guys, they are very physical. DR’s rating – B -

Cornerbacks - The Giants have been ravished by injuries in the secondary this year, losing corners, Terrell Thomas, to a torn ACL, and Bruce Johnson to an achilles injury. Prince Amukamara had already broke his foot in camp.  Veterans Corey Webster with 4 INT’s will lead the way, with Aaron Ross starting at the other corner.  Let’s just say that this is the achilles heel of this team.  

DR’s Take:  There is no depth here, and Grossman just tore them apart. DR’s rating – C – But no depth.

Safeties - Antrel Rolle and Kenny Philips are both good safeties and solid tacklers. Rolle is more of their free, but they are pretty interchangeable and both good at the LOS and in coverage. These guys combined for 16 tackles last week. 

DR’s take: They will be pretty concerned with helping Ross, find a way to take advantage of that.  DR’s rating – B

DR’s Scouting Tidbits: This team likes to be physical; they like to impose their will on you.  Bradshaw will use his speed to get to the edge, but he’s not as elusive as McCoy was, and doesn’t cut back as much.  He will also run it right up the middle, he is a well balance back.  Jacobs likes to pound it straight at you and is pretty powerful, he will run up the middle and off tackle, but will also push the end if it’s there.  They will take their shots downfield to both receivers.  Hakeem Nicks always has a mismatch–he’s just that good.  Manning will throw deep out of shotgun and under center and the down and distance doesn’t matter.  The Giants will run no-huddle offense if they are behind. Watch for designed cutback plays, because based on tape, that is a big weakness for the Rams.

******

DR’s Prescription to beat the Giants: Defensively, match force with force, our linebackers will really be key in this game stopping Bradshaw, and Jacobs.  Our defensive tackles need to keep them clean. Frontside contain is important, but watch the backside.  Read Eli Manning’s eyes, and more often than not he will show you where he is throwing.  Don’t let Nicks and Manningham get behind you.  Put Fletcher on Nicks.  Use safety help over the top.  Don’t fall asleep on Hixon, he has great size and is elusive.  And last, but not least, get to Eli with pressures, hits, and sacks.  He’s hard to rattle, but we want him rushing so he doesn’t sit back there and pick us off deep.

Offensively, they have a rookie middle linebacker, please take advantage of him, by using effective play action and making him cover our tight end.  Go after Aaron Ross, whether it’s Sims-Walker, Gibson, or Alexander.  Get him in a matchup and attack him.  Spread them out, who’s going to play nickel and dime?  They will probably use Rolle and bring Tyler Sash in to play safety.  This could be an opportunity for Salas to shine.  The Giants were 9 -0 when then held opponents to under 100 yards rushing last year. Keep Bradford clean, New York already stated that they will go after his finger.  Adam Goldberg will have to play the game of his life.  Run the ball like we did last week, we consistently got to the next level with our blockers. Wax up the Caddy and let him shine.  Be better on special teams.  Donnie Jones has to do a better job of pinning the Giants down when given the chance; he was horrible last week.  Josh Brown needs to make his kicks, this game could be won with a field goal.

DR’s prognosis for winning: Fair

By: DR RAM

1st Quarter
Opening drive by the Eagles, Michael Vick opened up in a shotgun/spread with McCoy split to his left. Rams showed blitz, but only rushed 4, James Hall was singled up on LeSean McCoy.  Hall decided to go inside of McCoy and got sealed–containment lost, Vick scrambles for big yardage. It’s something that happened way to often.  Later in the drive that was stalled, LeSean McCoy took a direct snap and the Eagles pulled the house right, Chamberlain took on two blockers, leaving James Laurinaitis clean, but McCoy made a cut, turned up field, and ran right by Laurinaitis in the hole.  The Rams got out of that drive by making a few outstanding plays, one by Quintin Mikell, who chased and tackled McCoy all the way to the opposite sideline after he reversed field, causing Ben Leber, Brady Poppinga and Fred Robbins to miss. Then, James Hall made a spectacular play beating Pro-Bowler, Jason Stevens to the inside, and making a tackle for loss as he was being held.  And finally, on a double corner blitz, Bradley Fletcher hit Vick blindside and almost took him down, but slippery Vick managed to stay up momentarily before Chris Long slammed him to the ground. LeSean McCoy picked up Bartell, almost literally.  He wrapped both arms around him…no flag was thrown on the play.

2nd Drive 11:13 Vick opens up with an incomplete pass, Long and Hall converge to hit Vick as the throw cam out.  2nd and 10 shotgun, Rams rush 4.Vick throws deep pass to DeSean Jackson who got between Bartell and Dahl for a 40 yard gain. 1st and 10 Vick swing pass to fullback, incomplete. 2nd and 10 power sweep to the right side, Laurinaitis plays it perfectly, 1 yard TFL, Fletcher also there.  3rd and 11 Vick drops back and rolls left, throws back to the right side to Avant, King on the coverage was turned around.  Ball at the Rams 10-yard line after a personal foul on C.J. Ah You, not his fault he was less than a step away.  1st and Goal Shotgun draw to Ronnie Brown.  Leber makes the tackle, initial contact in the backfield.  2nd and Goal at the 8.  Play action pass over the middle intended for Avant.  Laurinaitis breaks it up.  3rd and Goal from the 8.  Drop back dump off to McCoy, who cut up the middle and scored.  JL saw it, but went to the outside and couldn’t catch him.  Robbins got double teamed and pancaked.  Ah You took an extreme outside rush next to Hall, abandoning all gap responsibility.

1:07 left in the 1st Quarter, Rams showing blitz, but only rush 5.  Darian Stewart on the delayed blitz, no factor as he was picked up easily.  Gibson and Ah You are the DT’s and get no push, Chris Long gets held by RT Herremans—no flag.  Vick, out of shotgun, throws a 7 yard sideline pass to DeSean Jackson, Bartell makes the tackle immediately.  2nd and 3, Vick, under center hands off to rookie 5th round pick out of Pitt, Dion Lewis who counters right then cutbacks left, this is a designed cutback (this play was in my scouting report), the line slants right, and walls off Darrell Scott who bit left.  Clay Harbor coming from the opposite wing kicks out on Sims, who was in a good position and crashed down on Harbor, trying to pinch the hole while maintaining contain.  Lewis was able to squeak through the hole, but James Laurinaitis fought off his block and made the tackle for a short gain.

2nd Quarter
Still Eagle’s ball. Vick is under center in a tight bunch formation. Sprint out left handoff, stretch play the Eagles newly acquired left guard, Kyle DeVan blows Gibson off the line and man handles him, and screens Leber, while the other guard, Evan Mathis is doing the same to Darell Scott.  James Hall gets pancaked by Peters, who then turns his attention to Brady Poppinga, who had his man beat and had good contain.  As the play continues, Laurinaitis is in good position, but Gibson, still getting pushed almost all the way to the Eagle bench screens him from the play.  Chris Long, crashing down hard, makes the backside tackle.  Mikell and Fletcher had contain after Long gave it up, preventing the McCoy cutback.  2nd and 7, Vick in the shotgun trying to throw a quick our to his fullback, but Poppinga comes free on the blitz and Vick throws the ball away.  Dahl was in position to make a tackle.  3rd and 7 shotgun spread, Vick has to rush his throw again, Leber and Justin King blitzed, from the slot, King came free and put a hit on Vick forcing an incomplete pass and a punt.

Next possession 10:10 left in the half. I formation play action pass deep down the left sideline to Jackson, who had a step on Bartell. It’s a well-thrown ball and Jackson drops a would be touchdown.  Dahl was behind on the play and not in position to make a play on the ball.  2nd and 10 Vick drops back and is forced to scramble by Chris Long who bull rushed Herremans, and then took on McCoy and almost got Vick, but he gave up his feet and reached, missing the sack.  Vicks pass fell incomplete, barely missing Avant streaking down field.  3rd and 10 Showing blitz, but rushing only 4, Vick from shotgun completes a pass to Jeremy Maclin who ran all the way across the field through the Rams zone.  Dahl makes the tackle.  Chris Long was chipped by Celek, then held by Herremans first on the collar, then when Long broke free, Herremans just put both arms around him—no flag.  1st and 10 Sprint out stretch right, Chris Long stayed to flat and lost contain.  McCoy cut back and got the edge easily, but Justin King stepped up and re-set the edge, forcing McCoy back inside where King and Laurinaitis tackle him for a short gain.  2nd and 9 Vick under center, the line slants right, and Vick bootleg left, but not naked, he has Harbor with him.  The d-line goes with their reads, but Scott and Robbins, this time, don’t get hooked and reverse field to regain gap integrity.  Eugene Sims, from the RDE spot stays at home maintains contain, then rushes upfield to pressure Vick, forcing him to take off.  Sims, who is being blocked pursues Vick and tackles him from behind along with Darell Scott.  This was a phenomenal play by Sims, and the Rams DT’s did a great job regaining their gaps.  3rd and 6 Shotgun, Rams showing blitz, force a timeout by Vick.  Showing blitz, but rush only 3,  Jackson, from the left tight, runs a 10-yard hook and the ball is on time.  Easy pitch and catch into zone coverage.  From the shotgun twins left, Avant runs a 10-yard hook for another easy first down.  James Hall is thrown down on the play by Peters.  Justin King in man coverage fell down.

Shotgun spread, Rams showing 8 men on the line, blitz all 8, but Ah You lined up as the RDT, blows his gap responsibility and ends up on the outside next to Hall, leaving a huge gaping hole for Vick to run through.  Ah You jogs behind Vick. Dahl makes the TD saving open-field tackle.  From the Rams 15-yard line, Vick under center, stretch right.  McCoy runs for a short gain.  Hall with nice backside pursuit and Sims, playing the LDE, did a good job of not getting hooked.  Dahl came up and took a gap, and King came up and made the tackle.  2nd and 7 from the Rams 12-yard line.  Play action pass.  The Rams run a double safety blitz, and Mikell from the backside hits Vick and forces a fumble. Laurinaitis recovers it.

After a three and out by the Rams, the Eagles start the drive at their own 34-yard line.  They attempt a screen, but Gibson and Chamberlain sniff it out.  2nd and 10 After a timeout Vick completes a slant to DeSean Jackson on Fletcher.  A safety blitz flushes Vick out of the pocket, but there is nowhere for him to go.  Gibson, Bannan, and Hall strung the play out nicely. 2nd and 9 Shotgun, quick pass to McCoy, Sims is there, but fails to wrap up, allowing McCoy a short gain.  3rd and 1 a quick sprint pass with Hall bearing down on him complete to Avant to barely get a 1st down.  Corner blitz by the Justin King forces Vick to throw the ball away.  3rd and 10 Vick in shotgun formation.  Rams rush 3, but Ah You breaks through misses a sack then Vick tucks it and runs free for a 1st down. Darian Stewart tackles him from behind. From the Rams 15, 45 seconds from the shotgun, Vick gets rid of it just as Long hits him, he beat Herremans badly on an inside move.  The pass is dropped by Avant. 2nd and 10 4 man rush, pass incomplete to Brent Celek.  3rd and 10 shotgun, Vick hits Celek up the middle, Justin King flashes in front of him and barely misses an INT. Dahl on the tackle. Eagles rush up to the line and down the ball. 2nd and 10, 15 seconds to go. Shotgun, Rams rush 7, but the Eagles pick them all up. Vick throws the ball into the corner of the end zone to a streaking Jackson. The ball just gets by the diving Fletcher’s fingertips for a TD. Perfect throw, but Jackson drops it. Eagles kick a field goal. Eagles 17, and the Rams 10 to end the half.  PHI 17 STL 10.

DR’s prognosis of the 1st half:
Missed tackles, missed assignments, lost containment.  The Rams lost containment on the first play of the game. How can that happen? Rams had Vick dead to rights and he constantly got away, the Rams need to finish tackles. Too many times I saw the legs stop, once they got hold of somebody. You have to keep your legs moving until the play is dead. I saw and called out containment problems all preseason and the Eagles went right after it. I only saw a couple stretch plays the whole game that the Rams played correctly. This has to stop. Part of the problem is that the defensive lineman are getting blown up so bad that they are washing other players out of the play, but there were still plenty of times that containment was just given up, and I saw plays where the DT’s just gave up all gap responsibility and ran themselves out of the play. There were some positives. Long played a good first half, Sims is coming along, and flashed some amazing talent. Hall had his moments, but some mistakes. Mikell, King and Fletcher all had their moments, but King was a monster, constantly harassing Vick on the blitz, setting the backside edge in containment, and making lots of tackles. DR gives the Eagles props for doing their homework and attacking Rams weaknesses.
switched format here.

3rd Quarter

• Philadelphia Eagles at 09:14
• 1-10-PHI 37 (9:14) 25-L.McCoy left end pushed ob at PHI 43 for 6 yards (32-B.Fletcher). Sims and Scott did a good job of stringing out the stretch play, Justin King came up and made the initial hit and Fletcher pushed him out of bounds.
• 2-4-PHI 43 (8:45) (Shotgun) 25-L.McCoy up the middle to PHI 48 for 5 yards (21-J.King). King makes the tackle coming from the slot. Ah You runs himself out of the play again (overaggressive), Robbins gets good penetration turning the play upfield.
• 1-10-PHI 48 (8:12) 7-M.Vick scrambles left end ran ob at STL 41 for 11 yards. PENALTY on PHI-68-K.DeVan, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at PHI 48 – No Play. Rams overload the left side. Chris Long crashes down hard, while Leber and Laurinaitis come off the left edge, flushing Vick. Long forces hold. Hall had lost outside containment. He was forced that way, head scratcher.
• 1-20-PHI 38 (7:58) 25-L.McCoy right end to PHI 42 for 4 yards (59-B.Leber). Robbins in great position to make play clearly gets held by DeVan, Robbins throws his hands up in the air is disgust. Herremans has a hand outside and inside of Chris Long’s shoulder pads.
• 2-16-PHI 42 (7:16) (Shotgun) 7-M.Vick scrambles left end ran ob at STL 40 for 18 yards (21-J.King). AH You and Hall perform a twist, both guard and tackle block Ah You. Hall is free in the seam upo the middle, but center grabs him, he has a free shot at Vick. Ah You starts to come free, Peters has left him, the guard, wraps both arms around him and touched hands, Ah You flails his arms up in the air, trying to get attention. There is no right side contain, they are all on the left. Vick scrambles running downfield, but there is finally a penalty called. It is on Fletcher for defensive holding on Avant, who was blocking him for Vick who had already passed the LOS. PENALTY on STL-32-B.Fletcher, Defensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at STL 40. Spagnuolo sent tape of that play to the league office.
• 1-10-STL 35 (6:45) (Shotgun) 7-M.Vick pass short middle to 10-D.Jackson ran ob at STL 9 for 26 yards (43-C.Dahl). Penalty on STL-27-Q.Mikell, Illegal Contact, declined. Couldn’t see this call.
• 1-9-STL 9 (6:22) (Shotgun) 7-M.Vick pass incomplete short right to 18-J.Maclin [43-C.Dahl]. PENALTY on STL-24-R.Bartell, Illegal Use of Hands, 5 yards, enforced at STL 9 – No Play. Good call here, Bartell fouled him twice. What you didn’t see was the Mikell safety blitz, who flew through the air and almost sacked Vick.
• 1-4-STL 4 (6:14) Direct snap to 34-R.Brown. 34-R.Brown up the middle to STL 6 for -2 yards (21-J.King). King and Chamberlain crashed hard and smashed into Brown almost simultaneously.
• 2-6-STL 6 (5:48) 7-M.Vick pass short left to 10-D.Jackson for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN Vick rolled to his left and made an accurate throw to Jackson, who was lined up in the slot and got an inside release on Mikell, who couldn’t stay with him. Never give up an inside release on the Goal line.
• 6-A.Henery extra point is GOOD, Center-46-J.Dorenbos, Holder-8-C.Henry.
• PHI 24 STL 10 Plays: 7 Possession: 3:33

• Philadelphia Eagles at 01:09
• 3-Josh.Brown kicks 70 yards from STL 35 to PHI -5. 28-D.Lewis, Touchback.
• 1-10-PHI 20 (1:09) (Shotgun) 7-M.Vick scrambles up the middle to PHI 37 for 17 yards (92-E.Sims). Jailhouse blitz, Leber and Mikell have a shot at sack, but slippery Vick escapes and scramble immediately. Sim makes a very athletic play chasing him down from behind. PENALTY on STL-24-R.Bartell, Illegal Contact, 5 yards, enforced at PHI 37.
• 1-10-PHI 42 (:44) 25-L.McCoy right guard to PHI 44 for 2 yards (95-J.Bannan). Bannan makes a great play, then I wonder, how many snaps did he play? Not a lot. End of Quarter.

4th Quarter
• Philadelphia Eagles continues …
• 2-8-PHI 44 (15:00) 7-M.Vick pass incomplete short left to 18-J.Maclin [20-D. Stewart]. Vick, being hit while he throws, by J. King, J. Laurinaitis also there on the blitz. Stewart covered half the field to make the tackle showing incredible range. Fletcher was being blocked on the play while the ball was in the air to Maclin, and was flagged. They picked up the flag, however. Pick play. Explanation was that the contact occurred at the LOS. No, not even close to it. The alleged PI occurred 5 yards down field.
• 3-8-PHI 44 (14:56) 7-M.Vick sacked at PHI 38 for -6 yards (21-J.King). Wow, unbelievable play by King, he blitzed from the left side and simply ran Vick down from behind, something rarely seen, forcing the punt.
• 4-14-PHI 38 (14:25) 8-C.Henry punts 33 yards to STL 29, Center-46-J.Dorenbos, downed by PHI. This was the play where they blatantly ran into Danny Amendola attempting a fair catch. There was a hand on him by Butler, but only because he flashed in Butlers path. He literally put his head down and barreled into Amendola and the ball wasn’t even close to being there. Flag picked up.

• Philadelphia Eagles at 10:46
• 1-10-PHI 15 (10:46) 7-M.Vick pass incomplete short left to 10-D.Jackson [59-B.Leber]. Leber with hit on Vick.
• 2-10-PHI 15 (10:43) 25-L.McCoy left end to PHI 26 for 11 yards (43-C.Dahl). J. Hall was doing a good job extending the play and maintaining contain until (68-K. DeVan) reached up and grabbed him by his neck. Q. Mikell got got caught peaking into the backfield and lost any hope of contain.
• 1-10-PHI 26 (10:07) 25-L.McCoy right guard to PHI 43 for 17 yards (43-C.Dahl). This was the same stretch play that they opened up with and ran all day. Darell Scott got blown up and pancaked. Sims at the LDE got sucked in and hooked, and Dahl on the blitz took a very bad (too wide) angle to be a factor, but he chased the play down. The linebackers got washed out by our d-line getting manhandled.
• 1-10-PHI 43 (9:30) 34-R.Brown left end to STL 49 for 8 yards (55-J.Laurinaitis). STL-24-R.Bartell was injured during the play. He stuck his head in and hit the left thigh pad of R. Brown. He went down immediately.
• 2-2-STL 49 (8:56) (Shotgun) 25-L.McCoy up the middle for 49 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Inside handoff from the gun. Bannan gets destroyed on this one, Hall has contain on the cutback but can’t crash down soon enough. Dahl is standing 3-yards outside of Hall is watching the play, but takes a couple false steps forward as McCoy goes through the hole, then Dahl is in chase mode. Bad angle and position plus, poorly played by Dahl.
• 6-A.Henery extra point is GOOD, Center-46-J.Dorenbos, Holder-8-C.Henry.
• PHI 31 STL 13 Plays: 5 Possession: 2:00

• Philadelphia Eagles at 06:04
• 1-10-PHI 36 (6:04) 7-M.Vick scrambles right end to 50 for 14 yards (59-B.Leber).
• 1-10- (5:23) 25-L.McCoy left tackle to STL 32 for 18 yards (32-B.Fletcher).
• 1-10-STL 32 (4:36) 34-R.Brown right tackle to STL 34 for -2 yards (99-C.Ah You).
• 2-12-STL 34 (3:55) 28-D.Lewis left end to STL 30 for 4 yards (98-F.Robbins).
• 3-8-STL 30 (3:08) 7-M.Vick pass short right to 28-D.Lewis to STL 33 for -3 yards (21-J.King).
• 4-11-STL 33 (2:21) (Shotgun) 7-M.Vick pass incomplete short middle to 87-B.Celek [27-Q.Mikell]. Really?

• Philadelphia Eagles at 01:45
• 1-10-PHI 20 (1:45) 7-M.Vick kneels to PHI 19 for -1 yards.
• 2-11-PHI 19 (1:05) PENALTY on PHI-62-J.Kelce, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at PHI 19 – No Play.
• 2-16-PHI 14 (1:05) 7-M.Vick kneels to PHI 13 for -1 yards.
• 3-17-PHI 13 (:34) 7-M.Vick kneels to PHI 12 for -1 yards.

End of Game.

DR’s prognosis of the 2nd half:
Bad Zebras, bad play, and lost hope.   The officiating was horrid this half, and it all seemed to go against the Rams. I won’t elaborate any further, you saw it, and you read my analysis. More lost containment if this half, and then some poor play towards the end.  One thing that really jumped out at me was the poor showing by our defensive tackles, especially, Ah You, Gibson, and Scott.  Bannan visibly wore out during the game.  Dahl made a lot of plays in this game, but made some bad mistakes at costly moments. Laurinaitis played fairly well, but the poor D-line play often got him tangled up. Didn’t see much out of Poppinga and Leber, but the Rams played a lot of Dime.  Fix the problems that you can, like gap integrity and containment.  Keep looking for DT help.  DR gives Howard Mudd props for throwing an offensive line together, and having them do a better job of looking like a cohesive unit than the Rams. DR is concerned that the Rams didn’t fix the problems that were diagnosed in the preseason, like gap responsibility, and containment issues.

The DR is Out for now…have injured players to attend to.