Pre-season games should never give a fan too much excitement or too much discouragement.  But when you are a team that has only won five games in the past two years and you see the same things happening again to your team again it is disturbing.  The Rams lost to the Atlanta Falcons 20-13 on Friday night and the same ghosts that have been haunting the Rams the past two seasons reared their ugly heads.  Bad run defense against superior teams killed the Rams again.   Here is a review of what went right and wrong in the Rams first loss of the preseason.

The Things That Went Right For the Rams

Laurent Robinson: When the Rams made the move to get Laurent Robinson I wondered if this was just a case of someone Billy Devaney became enamored with in Atlanta.  It turns out there is something there.  Robinson had a really good night catching five passes for 65 yards.  That includes a tough 25 yard catch in the second quarter.  The Rams aren't thrilled with their wide receiver situation, understandably, but there is at least someone who has the ability to make a play or two out there.

Jason Smith: Although there were a couple of miscues by Smith in the second quarter I thought first round draft pick Jason Smith had a very good effort in his first start.  Smith continues to get better and better every day and there is no question in my mind that Smith will become the starter by opening day in Seattle. I think all of the worrying over Smith not being good enough, quick enough, should start to subside.

Turnovers: Once again the Rams won the turnover battle.  The Rams had one fumble by Samkon Gado, which was horrible, and one interception in the final seconds on a forced ball by Keith Null.  But the upside is the Rams forced three Falcons turnovers.  If you can win the turnover battle in the NFL you will win more games than you lose.  The Rams did not have a lot go right on Friday but finishing +1 on the turnovers is a good sign.

Kyle Boller: Although his line does not show it Kyle Boller had a nice evening.  Boller was 9/16 for 91 yards.  He threw for no touchdowns but also did not throw an interception.  The Rams are going to run an offense this year where they are going to depend on the quarterback to manage the game and not make any mistakes.  Boller did his part on Friday night.  While in Baltimore Boller was known for making too many mistakes at too many costly moments.  While the stakes were not high in this preseason game he did nothing to make you believe that he is not capable of handling the starting quarterback job if Marc Bulger is not ready to go in Seattle.

The Things That Went Wrong For the Rams

Run Defense: Tell me if you have heard this one before.  The Rams defense was gouged by a superior offensive line and running back.  Michael Turner shredded his way through the Rams defense on the first drive and looked like he could have done it all night if the Falcons were playing a regular season game.   Granted the Falcons are going to be a really good football team in 2009.  In fact I believe that they will be the NFC representative in the Super Bowl, but the front seven of the Rams should be extremely embarrassed by what happened.  Giving up 162 yards rushing is a huge problem.  Steve Spagnuolo has to be greatly concerned about what happened on Friday night.

Tye Hill: Everyone knows that Tye Hill is on the spot this pre-season and once again Hill did not do anything to solidify that he should be a starting cornerback in the league.  There were at least two occasions in the first quarter where it appeared that Hill had no idea where the ball was, including a touchdown that Tony Gonzalez had while Hill was "covering" him.  Now it is a mistake to have Hill covering Gonzalez one on one because of the height disadvantage, but it sure seems like Hill does not have any hope of living up to his first round draft pick status.

Tackling: After having what was termed "a tough camp" the Rams certainly did not show that the toughness of camp translated into good tackling.  The Rams tackling left a lot to be desired as it seemed as if there was a missed tackle on one out of every four snaps.  Poor tackling is not something this team can afford in 2009.

No Separation at Running Back: Last week against the Jets Samkon Gado laid claim to the backup running back position.  Gado definitely took a step back.  Gado had 12 carries for only 5 yards and also had a horrible fumble in the red zone.  Meanwhile Antonio Pittman and Kenneth Darby didn't exactly set the world on fire either.  Pittman had 5 carries for 15 yards with one of those runs being for 12 yards.  Darby fared the best with 7 carries for 30 yards including a 21 yard run.  It looks like this position will come down to the final weeks before it will be settled.

Coaches never get too high or too low after a preseason loss.  It is a time for tinkering and figuring out what you have on your roster.  Steve Spagnuolo got some more hints as to who he can have on his roster and who he can't.  The Rams did not have a great start to the game and that is concerning.  The Rams will head to Cincinnati for their third preseason game on Thursday night.

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