Rams Beat Chiefs 17-9

The Rams capped a solid 3-1 preseason with a 17-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs Thursday night at the Edward Jones Dome. Quincy Butler intercepted Tyler Thigpen with 2:48 left in the 3rd quarter and returned it for a touchdown to put the Rams up 14-9. Quincy made a great break on the ball that was thrown a little late by Thigpen. The Rams once again won the battle of turnovers 3-1 and that was the difference. Basically the game was no more than a scrimmage and a tryout for many of the players left on both rosters. The Rams will need to cut 21 more players by this Saturday. After tonight's play the decision may just have gotten harder. Both Brock Berlin and Keith Null were 9 of 17, however Berlin did throw a TD to Daniel Fells. Their play has been about even. Berlin has more experience and costs more so it is just a matter of what coach Spagnuolo is looking for in a 3rd string QB. Kenneth Darby and Antonio Pittman each had just 3 carries each so I don't know how you can make much of that. The Rams spread the ball around to 12 receivers tonight. Derek Stanley stands out with his quickness but he still has the drops from time to time. Stanley only has 6 catches in the NFL so lack of experience is definitely an issue as well. Justin King and Quincy Butler each had picks in the secondary. All 5 DBs should make the team. Justin King did limp off in pain during the last series of the game. The Rams allowed two big runs early in the game by Larry Johnson and Dantrell Savage, but held the Chiefs to field goals both times. Early on Mike Vrabel was in the Rams backfield almost every play. The Rams must get solid play from their O and D lines once the season starts. Jason Smith is still over matched and getting beat on passing plays. I believe the Rams will start the season with Adam Goldberg at RT. I would also like to give props to old reliable Donnie Jones who was called on to punt 9 times tonight. Jones averaged 47 yards per punt with 7 downed inside the 20! We will now wait and watch for the news on who the Rams will cut, and who they may possibly pick up. Will the Rams bring in a veteran corner and wide receiver or go with who they have? We will find out shortly.

The Chiefs finish the preseason on a serious downward spiral. Matt Cassel was hurt during their 3rd preseason game and could be out for up to four weeks with a knee injury. New head coach Todd Hayley also fired offensive coordinator Chan Gailey. In addition Haley has also been into it with their top receiver Dwayne Bowe throughout camp. The Chiefs finish the preseason 0-4 with only 42 points scored. The Chiefs also received no scheduling favors from the league as they will play Baltimore, Philadelphia, Dallas, and the New York Giants all within the first 5 weeks of the season.

St. Louis Rams vs. Chiefs Pregame Thoughts

The St. Louis Rams will take on the Kansas City Chiefs tonight at the Edward Jones Dome. This game will be blacked out locally since it has not sold out. You can catch the taped delayed showing on Fox 2 at 10:30 CST in the St. Louis area. Both teams will be playing for the PFC (Private First Class) Cup, I mean Governor’s Cup. The Rams and Chiefs combined to go 4-28 lastyear, and a horrific 11-53 over the last two seasons. This is just another reason Rams PSL holders should be upset. The fact that season ticket holder are forced to pay full price for these preseason games is a joke. In addition it is upsetting that your casual fan can find tickets to the preseason games as low as $5 on Stubhub and other major ticket outlets. Teams are looking at the bottom half of their roster by game four of the preseason as well as being cautious with starters. We already know we will not see Marc Bulger or Matt Cassel do to injury and it is unlikely we will see much or any of Steven Jackson or Larry Johnson. This game is basically a try out. Below are some things we will be watching for.

There is a battle for the 3rd QB spot between Brock Berlin and Keith Null. I give the edge right now to Null who was drafted by coach Steve Spagnuolo, is younger, has a bigger upside, and is cheaper to keep.

There is a log jam for backup running back. Samkon Gado seems to have earned the #2 spot for now. Antonio Pittman or rookie Chris Ogbonnaya will probably be odd man out. I will project Pittman will be cut.

The Rams have quantity but not much quality at WR. Nate Jones is odd man out, but veterans Tim Carter and Ronald Curry will also be playing for a roster spot tonight. Do we really need to spend big money on Ronald Curry?

The O-line is pretty much set and has some versatile players on it as well. This is bad news for the likes of Renardo Foster, Tim Taltran, Mark Setterstrom and Eric Young. It will just come down to how many O-line the Rams plan to keep.

On the D-Line the emergence and play of Darell Scott and Gary Gibson could have veterans Adam Carriker and Hollis Thomas on the bubble at DT. I would not be surprised if Antwon Burton and Carriker are cut. Eric Moore has played well in preseason at DE but has it been good enough to earn a spot? With James Hall, Leonard Little, and Chris Long as a solid rotation how many backups will they keep? Adeyanju, Ah You, and Moore will battle for a spot or maybe two tonight.

Very excited about the Linebacker prospects with James Laurinaitis on the Rams. With Will Witherspoon back on the outside where he belongs who will be the other starting LB? Culberson has not played much at all in the preseason and I look for him to be cut. Chris Draft is a better coach and backup than starter. I expect to see a lot of Larry Grant tonight. I would love to see him win the other spot and then have the Rams keep Chris Chamberlain and David Vobora as backups and special teamers.

Now for maybe the most interesting part of tonight's game and roster decisions the Rams have to make. With Tye Hill being traded to the Atlanta Falcons early this week who will line up with Ron Bartell as the other starting cornerback as the 2009 NFL season starts? The Rams only have 5 corners on the roster so they may not cut any of them unless they pick up another player this week. I do not believe Jonathan Wade can be a starting corner he struggles playing nickel and was not good on special teams last year either. You know early in the season our opponents are going to try and match up T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Santana Moss, and Greg Jennings on Wade. I don't want to see that. Are youngsters Quincy Butler, Justin King, or Bradley Fletcher ready to start in the NFL, I don't think so. We are already forced to play one when in the nickel. I look for the Rams to pick up a veteran corner in the next week.