Rams 19, Colts 17, Two Views Of A Game

Here are two views of the Rams / Colts preseason game -- the Colts' view, followed by the Rams view

Colts View:

OPENING UP

By John Oehser - Colts.com

Colts Lose to St. Louis Rams in Preseason Opener

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Colts’ preseason ideal is to win.
That doesn’t necessarily mean winning on the scoreboard, Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy said this past week. Sometimes, it means winning segments of the game, in particular key phases when starters and prominent reserves play.

The Colts didn’t win their preseason opener.

Still, they had their share of solid moments – particularly early, before the reserves and rookies entered in the second quarter. The result was mixed emotions from Dungy following the preseason opener – a 19-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams Thursday night in front of an announced 60,620 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

Yes, the Colts very much wanted to win, which they haven’t done in the preseason since 2004.

But no, the scene afterward wasn’t all disappointment.

“We’re kind of in the same mode we were in ’05,” Dungy said, referring to last season, when the Colts went 0-5 during the preseason before winning their first 13 regular-season games.

“We did some good things, but not enough to win. We’re disappointed not to get the win. We’d like to give ourselves a chance at the end, but there were some positive things.”

The Colts had a chance late despite playing without five defensive starters, including safeties Mike Doss and Bob Sanders, defensive tackle Montae Reagor, cornerback Jason David and three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney.

Middle linebacker Gary Brackett left the game with a knee injury, but Dungy said it isn’t expected to be serious.

“We didn’t have a lot of defensive players, and we kind of wore down with the guys that did finish, but there were some positive things,” Dungy said.

The Colts not only started well against the Rams, moving 59 yards in seven efficient plays on the game’s first series, reserve quarterback Shaun King continued to show a knack for making key plays, rallying the Colts from a nine-point second-half deficit.

King, who last Saturday rallied the offense to victory in the team’s annual Blue-and-White game with a last-play touchdown pass, on Thursday played the entire second half. Late in the half, he nearly led the Colts to victory.

The Colts, who struggled offensively in the second, third and early fourth quarters, cut the nine-point second-half deficit to two when King threw deep to wide Levon Thomas.

Thomas, a first-year veteran from Georgia Tech, outwrestled a Rams defender for the ball, then dived into the end zone for the touchdown with 10:50 remaining.

Indianapolis regained possession, but after a punt, the Rams ran out the clock.

The Colts began in the fashion they hoped – with an efficient drive from the first-team offense.

The Colts surprised the Rams with an onside kick on the opening kickoff, and after cornerback Von Hutchins recovered, Indianapolis had possession on its 41.

With quarterback Peyton Manning, the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2003 and 2004, throwing accurately, the Colts moved 59 yards in seven plays, with Manning capping the drive with an 8-yard touchdown

pass to tight end Ben Utecht.

Manning completed three of five passes on the drive for 50 yards, including a 31-yard stop-and-go completion to six-year veteran Reggie Wayne. Dominic Rhodes, who started at running back, had 10 yards on four carries, playing only the first quarter.

Joseph Addai, the Colts’ first-round selection in this past April’s NFL Draft, played much of the second quarter, and finished with three yards on three carries.

Manning said he expects the duo to share carries – and for each to work extensively with the first team – throughout the preseason.

“It’s only fair if you give both of those guys equal reps with the first unit,” Manning said. “It’s really the best way to get a good evaluation and to be fair to those guys. I think we’ll give Joseph more opportunities to get in there with the first unit and get in the normal flow of the offense.”

Addai said no matter when he played, the experience of his first NFL game was valuable.

“It was cool, though,” Addai said. “It was a good learning experience, I think. Now, it’s going out and watching the plays, learning from it and trying to get better next week.”

Addai said he wasn’t disappointed with his carries.

“I understand how the preseason goes,” he said. “You’re trying to get everybody in the game and understand what’s going on. I understand it. I just try to make much of what I get.

“I’m more comfortable and relaxed now. Now, I understand what it takes in a real game.”

Defensively, the Rams played seven and eight defenders near the line of scrimmage. That helped keep the Colts’ running opportunities to a minimum, Dungy said.

“They’ll be fine,” Dungy said of Rhodes and Addai. “I don’t think people will want to play us like that all the time. We’ll take our chances if they do.”

Said Manning, “The Rams threw a lot at us early on.”

After the opening series, the Colts’ offense managed just 65 yards offensively in the half, with a 53-yard field goal by newly-signed kicker Adam Vinatieri later in the quarter giving Indianapolis a 10-5 lead.

The Rams, who pulled to within 7-5 on a safety and a 33-yard field goal by Remy Hamilton, took a 12-10 lead with 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The lead came on a 7-yard touchdown run by Travis Fisher.

With backup quarterback Jim Sorgi playing the second quarter with the Colts’ reserves, the Rams extended their lead to 19-10 on a 1-yard run by veteran running back Mo Williams.

Dungy had said this week it was tricky preparing for the Rams because St. Louis had a new coaching staff under first-year Head Coach Scott Linehan. That meant there was no game tape available, which made game-planning difficult.

“They blitzed us a lot, and if you can’t make them pay in the passing game, it’s going to be a tough day,” Dungy said. “Our first drive we did, and Shaun hit one, but overall, we didn’t make enough plays against the blitz.

“It was tough for us, not knowing exactly what type of defense they were going to choose. We couldn’t get a lot of tape on them.

“But all in all, some things we can build on.”

Rams View

Rams Edge Colts in Linehan Debut
Thursday, August 10, 2006
By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

An inauspicious beginning to the Scott Linehan era turned into the type of power running/dominant defensive performance that Linehan hopes to instill in the new era of Rams football.

Tony Dungy wasted no time welcoming Linehan to the NFL. After the Rams won the coin toss and elected to receive, kicker Adam Vinatieri booted an onside kick that the Colts recovered and subsequently scored on.

“You expect anything during the preseason,” Linehan said. “Maybe it was a little indoctrination into the head coaching ranks by Coach Dungy, but I understand it. It worked. Hats off to them.”

By the time the Rams had settled down, their starters were off the field, but the second and third units came through with a powerful rushing attack complemented by a suffocating defense.

Ultimately, it was Linehan who got the last laugh as the Rams overcame the special teams blunder and hung on to beat Indianapolis 19-17 Thursday night at the Edward Jones Dome.

Soon after his hire, Linehan made it clear that the running game would be a big part of the team’s offense, something that hadn’t been the case in the previous regime. If his first go at being a head coach in any indication, Linehan is a man of his word.

St. Louis finished with 40 rushes for 202 yards and two touchdowns divided among a group of five running backs. The defense chipped in with four sacks, an interception, a safety and held the Colts to 249 yards, 38 of which were rushing yards.

“A couple of things I was very happy about was our ability to run the ball and stop the run,” Linehan said. “It’s an easier game when you are able to do those two things. We have obviously got players that can do a lot of things not only in the running game, but in the passing game. It certainly makes you feel in a rhythm and a lot better about what you are doing on a consistent basis when you feel like you can go to the run game.”

And, though the Rams blitzed fairly often, Linehan said that is a product of the way the system is going to be. It didn’t hurt that it came in response to an onside kick to start the game.

“You didn’t see 85 percent of Jim Haslett’s blitzes tonight,” Linehan said. “That’s how we play. Some teams are vanilla type of team. We are going to be multiple. We have things we have to work and things we have to prepare for. We have to get better at it. Multiple blitzes and onside kicks, I don’t know how you be too critical of either one.”

The Rams used a balanced attack in the first two series with the starters on the field, but soon after, it became predominantly a rushing attack that ran over the Colts.

Backup Tony Fisher proved his worth as the No. 2 to Steven Jackson, showing elusiveness previously unseen on his way to five carries for 33 yards and what would prove the touchdown that put the Rams ahead for good with 19 seconds left in the first quarter.

That 7-yard run and the ensuing extra point gave the Rams a 12-10 lead they would not relinquish. On their next possession, the Rams added to their lead as Ryan Fitzpatrick took over at quarterback.

Fitzpatrick, involved in a battle for the third signal caller job with Dave Ragone, promptly made his case for the job by marching the Rams 80 yards on the way to Moe Williams’ 1-yard touchdown run.

Fitzpatrick’s evening came to an end in the third quarter as he ended the evening eight-of-11 for 51 yards.

Williams, signed last week to compete with Fisher for the No. 2 running back job, made a strong case for himself as well. He finished with seven carries for 17 yards with a touchdown and had three catches for 19 yards. His touchdown plunge made it 19-10 Rams.

Those touchdowns helped erase the memory of the first quarter in which the Indianapolis starters outplayed the Rams’ first-unit. After the onside kick recovery, Peyton Manning took the Colts down the field quickly before hitting tight end Ben Utecht for an 8-yard touchdown to give Indianapolis a 7-0 lead.

“We have to be a little bit tighter in coverage, put a little bit more pressure on him,” Linehan said. “I was very happy with the way the defense came back out and never let it affect them. I know our defense is growing and becoming a tight unit and I’m really satisfied with where we are at right now.”

The Rams’ defense responded with its first points of the Jim Haslett era after Matt Turk’s punt pinned the Colts at their 2. On second down, cornerback Fakhir Brown made his first impression as a Ram, blindsiding Jim Sorgi and forcing a fumble that was recovered by the Colts in the end zone for a safety. That score made it 7-2.

On the ensuing possession, the Rams marched to the Indianapolis 15 before settling for Remy Hamilton’s 33-yard field goal to make it 7-5 Indianapolis. That drive was highlighted by Jackson’s 23-yard run and brought the first-team offense’s night to an end.

Jackson finished with 41 yards on five carries for an average of 8.2 per attempt. Quarterback Marc Bulger was three-of-six for 51 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. More important, though, is the fact that Bulger made it out of the game healthy after taking some shots from the Indianapolis defense.

The Colts made a late run at the win as Shaun King hit Levon Thomas for a 40-yard touchdown to make it 19-17 Rams. The St. Louis defense held serve, though, and the Rams escaped with the first preseason win of Linehan’s young career.