 NEWS AND NOTES, BY FAST EDDIE (Sept 16) |
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THIS FROM VERMEIL: Some
things that came out of Vermeil's press conference [Sept 13] that I found very
interesting... Vermeil said that on Warner's first INT, the one in the redzone in which Ray Lewis came from behind Ricky Proehl and snatched the ball, that it was a "coaching mistake". He said the play called for a post pattern in the endzone along with the short crossing pattern by Proehl directly in front of it. On the post pattern, Hakim was wide open in the back of the endzone. The problem was that the coaches gave Warner the wrong read progression. The crossing pattern was supposed to suck the linebacker down off the goalline and that's exactly what it did, freeing up Hakim. But the reads were backwards. The post should have been the primary read. Vermeil also mentioned that the Rams were killing theirselves with Kurt Warner's own hard count. I mentioned how well he used it in the Detroit game to sustain drives courtesy of Porcher. The risk of the hard count is always that if your own offensive players aren't disciplined enough, then you shoot yourself in the foot. I think that's what went on in the first half, although it began to work later in the game. Mitchell was just plain horrible. Vermeil said that the Rams would not have been able to take the same risks rushing the quarterback if the Ravens had played Banks instead of Mitchell. ROLAND WILLIAMS AND CHAD LEWIS: For all practical purposes they are playing different positions. You've got Roland Williams, lining up next to the tackle, blocking, and then releasing down the center of the field, or running deeper slant patterns, often as a decoy to draw the double coverage away from the wide receiver underneath like the one he scored the touchdown on Sunday. On the other hand, from what I've seen, they've rarely used Chad Lewis as a traditional tight end up on the line of scrimmage. He's offset in the backfield like an H-back and he's slipping out into the flats where he has alot more time to make that catch and turn upfield before the linebacker can close... I don't mean to knock Lewis' talents as a receiver, I just don't really know how well he would handle the things that Williams does. And I'm a big Roland Williams fan. By the way I guess I was a bit mistaken in my post about Roland's touchdown on Sunday. I said Ike was probably the primary read on the goalline and it was beautiful the way the play drew the double coverage down from the endzone and Warner floated it over the top to Williams fading to the corner. Just like it was drawn up on the chalkboard I said. Well evidently it wasn't exactly. Vermeil verified that Ike was the first read, but he said the Rams had never thrown that ball to Williams in that pattern in practice, and the coaches were very impressed that Warner got that far in the progression that quickly. DTS: I like our starters on the defensive line and I think they have a solid rotation in the middle with Hyder and Zgonina. Barring a trade for Mark Smith, I question whether this position can be upgraded so easily. SHOULD THE RAMS KEEP LEE?: Yes. Amp Lee was the Rams only consistent playmaker on offense over the past two seasons. You don't cut that guy. I think Martz wants to put him in the single back set with Faulk in the slot... a nightmarish formation for any linebacker corps. ATLANTA GAME: I think the Falcons game is a very important test for the Rams early. I don't believe they have to win it necessarily, but they need to compete respectively to keep the confidence building. No 200 yard career days for the dirty bird mostly. And if they do win, if they hold Jamal down and Kurt has another good game... look out baby cuz' the sky's the limit! |
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