Posts tagged AlSaunders at FanHouse

Seriously, the Rams suck ... and they have only handed the ball to arguably their best offensive weapon 27 times in two weeks. Obviously, you can attribute some of that to being far behind in the games and having to throw the ball in order to catch up. That doesn't, however, tell the whole story. Offensive coordinator Al Saunders has been a bit conservative with Steven Jackson because he doesn't think his body was ready yet, after a lengthy holdout:

"Steven's a special back," Saunders said, "but I don't care who you are, it takes time to get into the flow."

There are more touches coming Jackson's way, however, in the upcoming weeks.

"We have to get the ball to our best player, No. 39," Saunders said. "He hasn't run the ball enough, and we need to make sure that we establish our run" so that opponents can't tee off in obvious passing situations.

Well, that would be a start.

Seriously, the Rams suck ... and they have only handed the ball to arguably their best offensive weapon 27 times in two weeks. Obviously, you can attribute some of that to being far behind in the games and having to throw the ball in order to catch up. That doesn't, however, tell the whole story. Offensive coordinator Al Saunders has been a bit conservative with Steven Jackson because he doesn't think his body was ready yet, after a lengthy holdout:

"Steven's a special back," Saunders said, "but I don't care who you are, it takes time to get into the flow."

There are more touches coming Jackson's way, however, in the upcoming weeks.

"We have to get the ball to our best player, No. 39," Saunders said. "He hasn't run the ball enough, and we need to make sure that we establish our run" so that opponents can't tee off in obvious passing situations.

Well, that would be a start.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: Marc Bulger is coming off an injury-riddled, subpar at best, season. For the first time in his career he threw more picks than touchdowns, and his yards per attempt were nearly a yard lower than his previous career-low. Much of this can be attributed to the brutal offensive line play in front of him, but that may not change if Orlando Pace isn't completely healthy. Overall, though, Bulger will have a much better season and Trent Green is a fine backup. Heat Index: 6

With the news of Steven Jackson's signing holdout concluding yesterday, I'm sure Rams fans and SJax's fantasy owners alike are toasting to the renewed hope in the dangerously-close-to-being-lost 2008 season.

As a guy who once coached my alma mater would say: "Not so fast, my friend."

The Rams still have offensive concerns. Let's sort through them.

The Offensive Line
Orlando Pace has missed practices with soreness in the surgically repaired shoulder which ended his season after just one game last year. One of the main reasons the Rams offense took such a hit last year was the absence of Pace. You could even argue -- I certainly would -- that's what led to Marc Bulger's injury problems, considering Pace is his backside protection and the injuries were to his dome and rib-cage.

Guard Mark Setterstrom and tackle Brandon Gorin are already out for the season. They were slated as backups, but the line durability and depth was a major concern heading into the season, as they Rams used 13 different starters for the five slots last year.

With the news of Steven Jackson's holdout concluding, I'm sure Rams fans and SJax's fantasy owners alike are toasting to the renewed hope in the dangerously-close-to-being-lost 2008 season.

As a guy who once coached my alma mater would say: "Not so fast, my friend."

The Rams still have offensive concerns. Let's sort through them.

The Offensive Line
Orlando Pace has missed practices with soreness in the surgically repaired shoulder which ended his season after just one game last year. One of the main reasons the Rams offense took such a hit last year was the absence of Pace. You could even argue -- I certainly would -- that's what led to Marc Bulger's injury problems, considering Pace is his backside protection and the injuries were to his dome and ribcage.

Guard Mark Setterstrom and tackle Brandon Gorin are already out for the season. They were slated as backups, but the line durability and depth was a major concern heading into the season, as the Rams used 13 different starters for the five slots last year.

The Rams featured one of the worst offenses in the NFL last season, and, apparently, a new offensive coordinator and an old tight end will fix things. Huh. According to SI.com's Bucky Brooks, Randy McMichael, who caught just 39 passes last season (his worst effort in his six-year career), will be the impetus for change, courtesy of Al Saunders' delectable schemes. In theory, anyway.

Saunders was the OC in St. Louis under Dick Vermeil, so he's had some success here, but after a forgettable two-year stint in Washington, his reputation as an offensive mastermind has taken a hit.

"He has the ability to put up big numbers in that offense," said a NFC scout. "I'm not saying that he is a better player than Chris Cooley, but he is a better athlete and he'll get enough opportunities to be a problem for the defense." ...

Under Saunders' direction, the starting tight end has averaged 72 receptions for 900 yards and six touchdowns. Saunders, who undoubtedly learned how to utilize the tight end while as working as an offensive assistant on Don Coryell's staff with the Chargers during the Kellen Winslow era, builds his attack from inside-out, using the running back and tight end in prominent roles.

Since Joe Gibbs announced his retirement, and Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato took a more prominent role in personnel decisions, the Redskins, surprisingly, have made a series of not-insane moves that should make them better heading into 2008.

The head coaching search was a little shaky early in the proceedings, but by all accounts, Jim Zorn, the guy who eventually got the job, is perfectly suited to run the team. There's still the little issue of implementing the West Coast Offense, which Zorn picked up while working in Seattle under Mike Holmgren.

Former NFL personnel dude Mike Lombardi thinks the WCO is the exact wrong fit for a team comprised mainly of Joe Gibbs players.

Some of the assets he has on offense, like Santana Moss and Clinton Portis are not best highlighted in the west coast offense. Moss is an explosive player, who is best running over routes and deep comebacks, not slants and snags. When the Jets ran the west coast with Paul Hackett, Moss was the change of pace wide receiver he was used for specific routes as Laveranues Coles was the number one wide receiver.

Portis is best when he can run the zone scheme and is not very effective when it comes to pass protection--something the west coast tailback will have to handle.

I agree that Moss is probably better as a deep threat, but the Redskins did draft pass catchers with their first three picks -- two wideouts (Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly) and a tight end (Fred Davis). There's no reason to think Moss couldn't take on the role he had with the Jets when he played alongside Coles.

The Rams have plenty of needs, but running back isn't one of them. I suppose you could make the argument that St. Louis doesn't have much depth behind Steven Jackson, but there's absolutely no depth in front of him. Rams quarterbacks and the 48 sacks they suffered in 2008 can attest to as much.

Which is why the Marc Bulger thinks Jake Long would make sense as the team's No. 2 pick. And given the defensive issues last year, Chris Long is also an option. But running back is out ( at least if Bulger was running things):

I don't think we're going to pick (Darren) McFadden ... " Then he paused. With a smile, Bulger added, "I hope we don't take a quarterback."

Bulger is coming off a particularly frustrating season; St. Louis finished 3-13 and Kurt Warner's former backup, according to the Post-Dispatch, had career lows in "completion percentage (58.5), touchdown passes (11) and passer rating (70.3), and for the first time as a starter tossed more interceptions (15) than TD passes."

There's still no chance the Rams draft a quarterback -- at least with the second pick -- especially after signing Bulger to a shiny new deal last off-season. New offensive coordinator Al Saunders should help things next year (Redskins fans might disagree; duly noted), but ultimately, it all comes down to the offensive line actually, you know, pass blocking. Drafting Jake Long would be a good start, and if somebody could tell Alex Barron that leading the league in false-start penalties is a bad thing, that might help too.

I know that I've got about as much credibility in medicine as Dr. Nick, so maybe I should just acquiesce to the doctors who have cleared Trent Green to play football again, but it seems pretty obvious to me that he ... um ... shouldn't. Two brutal concussions have already left him Eric Lindros-ed, how long will it take before he gets Evander Holyfield-ed?

Yet Green has made two free agent visits -- New Orleans and St. Louis -- and he's all about returning to the Rams.

"I'm trying to be as impartial as I can," Green said. .. ."So I'm trying to take the emotion out of it, although it is very difficult. Because I do think fondly of the city and the fans here. And I have great memories of the organization. All those things weigh into it."

More than winning, I would think "best chance to keep remaining brain matter" would be high on the priority list for Green. In that sense, I don't think St. Louis is the best place to land, if Green is really deadset on being on a 2008 roster.

St. Louis is his hometown, where he was starter before Rodney Harrison (who else?) cheap-shotted Kurt Warner to stardom, and the new home of his former offensive coordinator Al Saunders; it's also got a terrible offensive line and a quarterback who himself is damaged. If last year is any indication, Green will have to step onto the field for the Rams at some point, and who knows what kind of damage a relatively minor sack could produce? New Orleans is a much more stable situation, but I still think it's in Green's best interest to retire.

In a somewhat surprising development, quarterback Todd Collins will stay in Washington as the Redskins' backup QB. Collins will continue to be second string to Jason Campbell.

Last season, Collins took over for an injured Jason Campbell and led the Redskins on a four-game winning streak and a playoff berth. He made his first NFL start in 10 years.

In a remarkable showing, Collins completed 67-of-105 passes for 888 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions to close out the regular season.

It isn't shocking that he stayed, just a bit surprising. Many experts had Collins at the top of a very, very, very poor free agent class of quarterbacks. With openings around the league, you'd figure someone would throw a shot at a starting gig in front of him. The fact that he waited ten years between starts and then played so well led many to believe that he wanted one last shot to be the man before he hangs 'em up.

Also, Al Saunders is now gone in Washington and one of the main pluses of Collins was that he knew Saunders' offensive system like the back of his hand.

For the Skins, this is a big get. Collins is exactly the veteran leader this team needs, especially in a time of a coaching and offensive philosophy changeover.