Um yeah, that didn’t go well. The Rams were beat in almost every faucet of the game from offense to defense. While they looked competitive in the first half and some of the third quarter, they were thoroughly beaten by the fourth quarter which resulted in the lopsided 28-0 loss. Looks bad, is bad.

However, I am not one for overreactions. I’m not going to judge this team, this season, or this new coaching staff based on a poor performance on the road during opening weekend. The team and the staff deserve more time to make this work, and I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt before I go throw them on the bus. So here’s what I thought about the game.

The Negatives

The Wide Receivers: Bulger had time to throw the ball most of the time. However, his receivers just weren’t getting open. I can remember two or three times at least Bulger had good time and a good pocket, but took a sack simply because all of his receivers were covered. This mainly falls on Donnie Avery and Laurent Robinson. Avery has to realize he’s the number one guy now and won’t just be getting deep routes looking for an explosive play. He is the guy now, and he needs to start running routes like he is the guy. Robinson finally started getting loose in the second half, but he needs to find ways earlier than that if the Rams are going to be successful.

Offensive Line, Run Blocking Division: These guys were not creating holes for Steven Jackson all day. Only once did Jackson have a run of 15 yards or more, and he more or less did that by himself. I would fault Jason Brown the most on this, as he hardly ever made any sort of room in the middle for Jackson to pick up 3-4 yards, often getting drug to the ground after a gain of one. However, the unit as a whole needs to pick it up, and create more room for the best offensive player on the team.

Defensive Ends: The run defense was decent most of the day (save for Julius Jones’ 62 yard TD run where he went untouched), but the Defensive Ends never got on their pass rush game. Matt Hasselback had all the time in the world whenever he wanted throw, and that helped the Seahawks for 8/15 on third down. Chris Long and Leonard Little especially will have to start getting to the quarterback, otherwise the Rams will continue to suffer on third down situations on defense.

Richie Incognito: 35 yards of penalties in one game by one player. Two drive killing penalties. Two boneheaded plays. Spags needs to get him straightened out.

Pat Shurmur’s Playcalling: I have no idea why the Rams were so content to just chuck the ball over and over again in the first half. The defense was playing well and the Rams were locked in a 0-0 slugfest. It was the perfect situation to just pound the ball over and over with Steven Jackson. Not only would it have worn out their D-Line, but it would have given the Rams a massive advantage in TOP. I know the run blocking was subpar, but you’ve got to utilize your best player on offense better than that. Jackson also had no receptions and was only targeted once, that needs to change.

Whomever was Supposed to Cover John Carlson: I’m going to lay this blame on an outside linebacker. A TE especially should never just run straight through the middle of the defense like Carlson did at times on Sunday. The Rams have to get a body on him.

Having 12 Men on the Field, Blocking a FG, Scoring a TD off the Blocked FG, Gaining all the Momentum going into the Half, and Losing it on a Penalty Because of the 12th Man: I’ll let this one speak for itself.

Josh Brown: First miss inside 40 yards since 2006 with the Seahawks. Um, make those Mr. Brown, that’s why we pay you.

The Positives

The O-Line, Pass Blocking Division: Bulger had time to throw Sunday, the first time he’s consistently had it in three years. But as mentioned before, he had no one to throw to thus negating the decent pass blocking the line did. The sacks Bulger took were almost all coverage sacks, and not because of breakdowns in the pass blocking. Barron finally seems to have gotten his act together a little bit as he had a decent game with no false start penalties in the loudest stadium in football.

James Laurinaitis: The dude is an NFL MLB, there’s no denying that. He had a game high in tackles and was just all over the place. Did he make some rookie mistakes? Of course, but every rookie is going to. Laurinaitis is the real deal and looks to be the Rams solution at MLB for years to come.

The Safeties: James Butler and OJ Atogwe played well on Sunday. Forced turnovers, helped out in coverage, and generally didn’t make any big mistakes. No complaints here.

Things I’m Going To Reserve Judgement On

Marc Bulger: I’m going to take the receiver excuse for one game before blaming Bulger for anything. He did look rusty due to missing 3/4 of the preseason and needs to get better going through his options. He’s only going to get better at this through practice and continuing to learn Shurmur’s system.

Steven Jackson: Had no lanes to run through and didn’t get many opportunities to make plays. The playcalling will improve and the gameplans from here forward must include him more. He will start making plays.

Ron Bartell/Johnathan Wade: Seemed to play well for a bit, but then got gassed in the second half and the Rams got killed in the intermediate passing game. This will happen to any defense that has an offense that can’t stay on the field, but these guys must cover better to give the Rams a decent chance to win the game in the second half.

Spags: I’ll give it to ‘em, the team had a much better competitive spirit then in the Linehan days. However, they disappeared once again in the second half and had numerous discipline issues throughout the game. I think the players buy into what he is teaching, but they need to start playing a full 60 minutes instead of a full 30 minutes and a half-hearted second 30 minutes.

Overall, I’m still somewhat optimistic about this team. The offense can only get better, and even then the Rams were only a couple plays and a couple penalties away from making the game very different. The defense played with more heart than we have seen in three years, and that’s nothing but a good thing. Marc Bulger will get better with his receivers and Steven Jackson will at some point get more involved in the games. Look for marked improvement in Week 2.