Pros and Cons

Preseason football, you either love it, or you hate it. I am stuck on the fence for this one. First of all, I enjoy seeing football again. Who cares if it is the 198th pick trying to win a spot on the roster, he is still in a Rams uniform. That makes me want to watch the game.

As it gets closer to the first regular season game, I start to care less about Mr. 198th and hope the starters start playing like they are #1.

Secondly, I don't want anyone to get hurt. This is the dilemma of preseason football.

Fridays game was a combination of good and bad (I'll get off of my defensive horse later).

The Rams played the hapless Raiders and lost 20-10.

There are positive things that came out of this. The Raiders ran the ball 46 times for 172 yards. That is a lot of attempts for any team in the league. The Rams held them to a 3.7 yard average, not spectacular, but not like last year either. The Raiders starting running back Lamont Jordon, had 41 yards on 18 carries for a 2.3 yard average. That is impressive, but it is the Raiders.

The Rams 'D' had 4 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. That's good too.

Now the worst part, the pass defense was terrible. Tye Hill had 3 calls against him and the Rams had FIVE pass interference calls. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. This kept drives going that could have failed due to the Rams ineptitude, not the Raiders skill.

Now to get off of the 'D' horse. The Rams 'D' cannot stay on the field for that long whether it is preseason or not. The Rams starting offensive unit has only scored 3 points in 11 drives so far. I understand that Steven Jackson and Tory Holt aren't playing, but that is sorry. Next week the Rams final preseason game is against the K.C. Chiefs. The Chiefs will not win 4 games this year.

The Rams should start all of their first stringers for most of the game.

I see all the pros and cons of preseason, but I am ready to see what we are really capable of against Carolina when it counts.

"See you on the hit side" #21