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THE TITANS GAME. I sincerely
feel more confident about this team today than I did before the Titans game.
It's not being a homer or a eternal optimist as some may claim. When
predicting games we all talk about the statistics, the personnel, the individual athletes,
the stadium, weather, and so on. But there is something that is usually more
accurate & astute and that is "THE FEELING" we all refer to when speaking
about upcoming and past games. It's "THE FEELING" that I sincerely have, that
tells me this team is better than I believe I gave them credit for after their 1st easy 6
wins. They answered the one of the two questions I had for them yet to be answered. 1. How will they respond with their backs against the wall. I was pumped when Pam Oliver reported that Isaac Bruce was predicting a great comeback. This team is full of warriors and do the past legends of the horns justice. 2. They needed the reminder of a loss before they achieved the next plateau. I believe they will come out and win the next game in Detroit and prove this to be true. Before, I enjoyed the blowouts as much as anyone, but I also had an uneasy feeling about the season so far. NOW, though, I see we have players who are truly warriors who will battle the tough games. So for Loss # 1, we lose in a game that gave us many reasons that we can feel good about & here is how I see them (in no particular order). * Negatives: 1. The Rams beat the Rams yesterday. 2. Miller was jumping all right & the Rams coaching staff did a poor job in adjusting during the game. Would have been nice to have Ernie help out yesterday. 3. NO way Roland Williams was holding on Watson's long run, which really impacted the game. 4. Warner needs to keep ball tucked in tighter in traffic, he doesn't protect it well. 5. Isaac has obviously developed a reputation with his blocks downfield and needs to clean that up. 6. James Hodgins did nothing yesterday to make me forget Derrick Harris, which I had done previously. 7. Warner is still locking on too long for me & kept thinking that Trent could have made the difference yesterday. I know he hit 8 different receivers but I still feel he held the ball too long and didn't take advantage of the timing in the Rams pass routes. 8. The Rams coaching staff need to work the officials better than they did yesterday. 9. The coaching staff really blew it with their time management at the conclusion of the game. I was going nuts watching them take a full huddle & walking to the line when time was obviously working against them. 10. What happened to Tuten's directional punting. I felt there were too many touchbacks giving the Titans the ball at the 20. 11. The defense needs to create some turnovers---the plus/minus really hurt in this game. 12. Jeff Wilkens needs to make that kick & now gives me some doubt in the future if a similar situation occurs. He now has the "show me" tag again. Sure he has done well this year, but he needs to get that kick for the team who battled like warriors & HE KNOWS IT. Positives: 1. The Rams beat the Rams yesterday...not the Titans. They learned a valuable lesson, that will serve them well for the remainder of this season. 2. Marshall Faulk is easily the Rams most important player and we absolutely stole him from the Colts. I believe he is as mentally gifted as he is physically. 3. Kurt Warner battled the team back in tough circumstances. 4. The defense really held up & played really well after the Titans were spotted with 21 points in the 4th quarter. 5. I would have a hard time trading the Rams front four for anyone else's in the league this year as a group. 6. Taje Allen had some wonderful individual plays and gave me reason to feel much better about him as our nickel for the remainder of the year. 7. Grant Wistrom has lived up to the # 6 overall pick in my book. 8. The running game & pass protection will surely improve when Ernie makes the line-up. 9. The athleticism & depth on the defense will improve & the special teams will gain a gifted athlete when Leonard Little comes back in two weeks. 10. Torry had a good game, which will be critical as the season wears on , since teams are obviously doubling Isaac & Marshall. 11. Proehl & Hakim are as good as # 3 & # 4 receivers in the league as a tandem. 12. Home field advantage will be the difference in the playoffs for the Rams this year & have grown thankful for the remaining schedule. I don't care what the experts say about the opponents, all I care about is getting home field in the playoffs. 13. This team has shown as much as you can in defeat to feel good about. If the Titans would have held that lead and won by 21, I would have a real uncomfortable feeling for the remainder of the year. Sure, a win in that situation would have been great, but the sting of this loss can do more for this team than a win could of. They know they should have won that game. They know they were the better team. They know they can battle back form adversity. They know they have as much talent as anyone in this league. They know that they made some mistakes & will learn form it. They know that they hate the taste of losing even more this year, because of the sweet taste victory had given thus far. A loss last year could be chewed and swallowed much easier in my opinion (considering the circumstances) & a loss this year goes down like Dr. Sour' s home remedy...but it may be just what the doctor ordered for the remainder of the year. THE DEFENSE: The Rams defense was good enough to finish 9th last year even though their offense didn't help keep the other team of the field much. The only difference is that they are better this year in several areas: # 1. They have another year under Giunta & Bunting instead of something new. They also simplified the reads, allowing the guys to act more instinctively and aggressively, while last year they would get beat on mental breakdowns too often. # 2. With all due respect to Roman Phifer, Todd Collins has been an upgrade. He holds up the line of scrimmage wide and controls the behind the line sideline plays. # 3. Dexter McCleon is a upgrade over "future Hall of Famer" Ryan McNiel. # 4. London Fletcher has been everything we thought Eric Hill should have been against the run & has been a spiritual leader and relentless defender. # 5. Grant Wistrom is playing up to his first round status. Kevin Carter will finally get the recognition he deserves in the Pro Bowl. # 6. Farr & Agnew are their same solid selves, except they can pin their ears back and explode into the line more than they did last year, creating god inside pressure. # 7. Todd Lyght is playing like a "elite-shut down" corner this year. # 8. Billy Jenkins Jr. has really improved in the mental aspects of SS and has a much better backup in Devon Bush (than Gerald McBurrows) who is capable of winning the starting job. Keith Lyle is also playing like a serious Pro Bowl candidate again. # 9. Charlie Clemons is a force in nickel situations (especially rushing the QB) & Mike Jones has really done a great job, doing everything you could possibly expect from him. I believe Jones has played up to Phifer's level. # 10. The Rams overall depth is vastly improved with new guys like (Dre' Bly, Rich Coady, Mike Morton, Ron Carpenter & Troy Pelshak), plus some developmental new guys (Gaylon Hyder, Nate Hobgood-Chittick & Lionel Barnes), & the still solid veteran back-up (Jay Williams, Taje Allen, Lorenzo Styles & Jeff Zgonina). One of the Rams best defensive "impact" players and a future Pro Bowler, Leonard Little, will be back in the fold in a couple weeks also. |
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NEGATIVES AND POSITIVES, BY DK COX, THE COMMISH
(Oct 31)