Rams Starters Struggle Against Falcons in Preseason Home Opener

As good as the St. Louis Rams looked at times in their preseason opener last week against the New York Jets, the starters sure laid an egg at home Friday night against Atlanta.

It was the Edward Jones Dome debut of rookie head coach Steve Spagnuolo, and his team did not make it a pleasant beginning.

The Falcons scored on the opening drive of their 20-13 victory, riding Michael Turner the whole way. The former Charger and second-year Falcon scored on a one-yard plunge on a third-and-one.

He got in the end zone virtually untouched by the right side of the Rams defensive line despite quarterback Matt Ryan falling down as the hand off was made.

The score was set up by a 43-yard Turner gallop on the second play from scrimmage.

The Rams (1-1 preseason) were without defensive tackle Adam Carriker, but that doesn't exactly excuse their inability to stop the run.

"Without looking at the tape, I'm not sure where the holes were," Spagnuolo said. "No matter where the holes were, you've got to tackle. That's defensive football."

Turner finished with 65 yards on just seven carries. Atlanta's other two backs, Jerious Norwood and Jason Snelling, both averaged better than four yards per carry. Norwood had 36 yards on eight attempts. Snelling gained 61 yards in 12 carries, including a 23-yard scamper off the left side that set up a Jason Elam 27-yarder to give Atlanta a 20-13 lead with 3:23 remaining in the fourth.

The pass defense also left a lot to be desired, unable to generate much quarterback pressure. They struggled containing a mobile quarterback like D.J. Shockley and Ryan was able to carve the secondary apart.

Atlanta (1-1) went to the air on its second possession, moving the ball seemingly at will against the Rams secondary. Ryan completed five consecutive passes on the drive, capped by a 14-yard toss to tight end Tony Gonzalez. The former Chief and future Hall of Famer got Tye Hill turned around before hauling in the pass from Ryan.

"We would have liked to have started the game better," Spagnuolo said. "I think our guys realized that, but that's a good football team. When you play a good team like that, you've got to come out and take it to them."

It's a no-brainer the St. Louis offense suffered without a few of its key players. Quarterback Marc Bulger, wide receivers Donnie Avery and Tim Carter, guard Jacob Bell and tackle Alex Barron all sat out Friday's contest.

No matter which unit was on the field, they struggled to move the ball with any kind of consistency against the Falcons. All three Rams scores were set up by turnovers inside Atlanta's own territory.

The Rams' first play from scrimmage was a nine-yard Steven Jackson run off the left side behind guard Mark Setterstrom and tackle Adam Goldberg. The drive stalled a few plays later, with Samkon Gado dropping a screen pass on third down.

Gado shined in the 23-20 win over the Jets last week, gaining 93 yards on just six carries, including a 77-yard touchdown run. Against the Falcons, it was a different story and Gado's fumble late in the second quarter squandered a red-zone opportunity.

St. Louis' second possession was highlighted by a 20-yard pass from Kyle Boller to former Falcon Laurent Robinson, but still ended in another punt.

Boller was able to pick up a first down with his feet, an aspect Bulger is unable to provide. But the former first-round draft pick was just 9 of 16 through the air for 91 yards and a quarterback rating of 72.7.

Robinson was one of the few high points for the Rams against his former club. He was acquired by St. Louis in a draft-day trade after being deemed expendable by the Falcons.

With Avery on the shelf, Robinson is St. Louis' No. 1 option at wideout, and he took advantage of the opportunity.

"I was excited to play against them," said Robinson, who finished with five catches for 65 yards. "Nothing against them, it was just an opportunity to play, and it felt good."

The Rams first-team defense looked good against Atlanta's No. 2s. One play after linebacker Will Witherspoon nearly picked off a Shockley pass, Marty Booker had a pass go right through his hands and into the hands of St. Louis' rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis at the Atlanta 26.

St. Louis was unable to move the ball, and instead settled for a Josh Brown 43-yard field goal.

The Rams had four red-zone possessions, and came away with zero touchdowns. Two ended in field goals, one ended on Gado's fumble and the final offensive play was a Keith Null pass to the end zone that was picked off by Atlanta's Eric Brock.

"When you get into that area of the field, everybody's got to be focused and finish," Spagnuolo said. "We didn't finish, and that's something we're going to work on."

The Rams were finally able to capitalize on an Atlanta turnover midway through the third. After Larry Grant knocked the ball out of Shockley's grip, Hollis Thomas fell on it at the Atlanta 22. Two plays later, Brock Berlin found Derek Stanley open in the end zone for a 20-yard score.

Stanley looked pretty quick on his surgically-repaired knee, picking up 20 yards on a reverse that was later called back because of holding.

"Running that reverse felt good," Stanley said. "Last year that was the play I got injured on, so it was fun running that play."

He finished with 32 yards on a pair of receptions, and dropped a Berlin pass late in the third.

"I'm always overly critical of myself," Stanley said. "I started running before I got the ball in my hand. I saw a bunch of open field, and took my eyes off the ball."

Stanley left the field with his left knee wrapped in ice, but said it was just a precaution, and something he'd do normally anyway.

A handful of injuries came from the game, but none of them appear to be serious. Defensive tackle Gary Gibson, offensive lineman Phil Trautwein, and defensive ends James Hall and Eric Moore were all dinged up during the game.

As much as the Rams struggled stopping the Falcons from moving up and down the field, they did force three turnovers. The last of which was a beautiful, diving, one-handed snare by safety Todd Johnson early in the fourth quarter.

Following a pair of nice catches by tight end Billy Bajema, the drive again stalled in the red zone, and St. Louis settled for a 24-yard field goal from Josh Brown.

"It was a typical preseason game," Spagnuolo said. "There was some good, and some not so good."