I will not make sweeping generalizations after one preseason game. I will not make sweeping generalizations after one preseason game.

— Brandon Bird (@JTPirate) August 12, 2012

Well Rams fans, the good news from today's 38-3 crashdown against Andrew Luck and the Colts was that we aren't going to have another 4-0 preseason to falsely raise our preseason expectations to unsustainable levels. At this point last year, the Rams' fan base was ready to anoint Sam Bradford as the second coming of Tom Brady and Joe Montana, only better. And when the Rams suffered their Icarus plunge back to earth, charred feathers and all, it felt like we had all been kicked in the gut.

This year, the Rams' season begins somewhat in more metaphorically appropriate fashion - at the bottom. Beaten open-handed by the co-worst team in the league. Now Jeff Fisher knows exactly where he stands, and how far this team has yet to go. And if and when he pulls the Rams back into playoff contention, he'll have this yardstick planted in the ground to let him and everyone else know exactly how far they've come.

Aside from the scoreboard, which doesn't count anyway, the game wasn't all bad as an exhibition of some individual players and their skills. Unfortunately, this is an 11-on-11 game, and it's plain to see that the Rams are still playing as a collection of parts, rather than a whole. Most of the game's big breakdowns (even the ones involving my personal punching bag, Craig Dahl) didn't fall on a single player. Breakdowns between players - missed assignments, missed handoffs, etc. - were much more prevalent.

Take, for example, the Colts' first touchdown. Or their second. Or that first-down completion on third-and-forever that the Colts' scrubs had against our scrubs. In each case, Colts' offensive players found their way into creases between the Rams' personnel groups - between the defensive line and the linebackers, or between cornerback and safety. These are coachable mistakes, and with time can be erased.

There were some individual breakdowns as well - Jason Smith on an early pass-protection that led to a sack on Kellen Clemens, Isaiah Pead putting the ball on the ground twice, Greg Salas failing to run a 4th down route to the proper depth. These breakdowns are on the players as much as they are on the coaches, and we need them to be better than that. (For his part, Smith actualy seemed to settle down and play pretty well laster in the game.) 

The things you worry about are the schematic ones, particularly on offense, which seems to be stuck in the Shurmurville. Sam Bradford worked his underneath reads efficiently enough, but rarely went over the top. In our lone red zone drill of the first half, Kellen Clemens and company gained a single yard before summoning our field goal kicker. But it's a start, and we have not seen all the wrinkles of a Brian Schottenheimer offense yet.

There also were some positives of note:

• Second year players Austin Pettis and Lance Kendricks, both huge disappointments as rookies, had very strong games. Both players displayed good hands and the ability to make tough, must-have catches for first downs. Pettis in particular corraled a 12-yard pass on a quick slant, ducking just inside the cornerback and accelerating upfield. The ball was thrown well ahead of the receiver, who stretched his full frame while keeping his stride going to bring it in with his hands. Best of all, the ball didn't budge once it hit his fingers.
• The first-team running game, with Steven Jackson plowing behind Harvey Dahl, moved the ball effectively at will, helping to set Bradford up with good field position early.
• Janoris Jenkins looks like he's capable of handling man coverage against NFL players, nearly picking off Andrew Luck on a perfectly anticipated break and making an outstanding play downfield on a deep ball for a pass breakup.
• Robert Quinn was nearly unblockable early, hitting Luck on his first two throws of the game. (Too bad one turned a dump-off into a 60+ yard touchdown.)
• Chris Givens showed off his speed in a Donnie Avery-like debut, drawing a pass interference on one deep ball and nearly taking in another at the goal line. (He needed to get that ball, though.)
• Johnny Hekker punted well all day, planting one ball inside the three yard line.
• Best of all, the injury cart stayed parked on the sideline.

Bradford didn't wow, but he did what was asked of him, which wasn't much in two series of work. We want to see more, and we will. But it seems clear that Fisher isn't overly concerned with getting his almost-veteran QB a heavy preseason workload. (Especially behind an offensive line that is still a work in progress.)

Overall, this isn't a game that we'll look back on fondly. But it isn't meant to be. It's the preseason, after all. If a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, the Rams have barely laced up their boots yet.

Do the Rams finally have plan in place to protect Steven Jackson?

For what appears to be the first time since splitting time with Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk the St. Louis Rams appear to have options in easing the workload on running back Steven Jackson.

One year closer to the ominous wall of turning 30 as an NFL running back.  Jackson remains the feature back but he might find himself getting fewer carries - and fewer bumps and bruises - after recording 70 percent of the team's carries the past seven seasons. He turned 29 in July.

''I don't think it has anything to do with Steven's age at all,'' offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. ''What we want to do is we want to try to get a number of people involved. Obviously, Steven's the bell cow.''

The most likely candidates to spell Jackson are rookies Isaiah Pead and Daryl Richardson. The Rams selected Pead with the third of three second-round picks and took Richardson in the seventh round.

According to all accounts coming out of Rams camp, Pead, out of Cincinnati, has been especially impressive during training camp. He ran with the first team Wednesday while Jackson rested and seems cemented in the No. 2 spot, with Richardson behind him.

Schottenheimer spent the previous six seasons as the New York Jets' offensive coordinator and typically used a two-back rotation. He had a feature back and another for a change of pace and to give the top runner a rest. First it was Thomas Jones with Leon Washington backing him up, then Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson.

Coach Jeff Fisher had a similar tandem for much of the latter part of his time with Tennessee.

They hope to repeat those successes with the Rams. Pead said it's important for neither him nor Richardson to get caught up thinking about playing behind one the league's best backs during the past several seasons.

Both admit that they are still getting up to speed, but Jackson said he likes what he sees, especially from Pead. Richardson didn't get on the field until Monday because of a hamstring pull suffered this summer. Pead missed rookie minicamp as Cincinnati finished its school year.

From Jackson, ''Isaiah has looked very impressive in this camp,'' said Jackson, who is 10 pounds lighter this season and is down to 240 pounds. ''Isaiah is someone who is very shifty, has a good understanding of the game of football.''

The 5-foot-10, 197-pound Pead had 545 carries with the Bearcats, including 237 a senior season in which he had a career-high 1,259 yards. He finished his college career with 3,288 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Richardson, who has a nearly identical figure as Snead, led Abilene Christian with 825 yards and 11 touchdowns last year. He also had 40 catches for 371 yards.

The two rookies look to see plenty of playing time when their preseason kicks off Sunday as the Rams (No. 28 in AP Pro32) open at Indianapolis. If all holds true to form their playing time should continue during the regular season. 

''What that allows you to do is obviously you have backs that change the pace of the plays and run different plays,'' Schottenheimer said. ''But what you see is you see that featured bell cow back get stronger.''

Taking a look at his numbers using the handy (and amazing) tools at ProFootballFocus.com show Jackson accounted for 64 percent of all carries for the Rams last year, despite missing one game entirely and parts of others because of injuries. He had 82 percent of the touches in 2006. Aside from 2007 and 2008 when injuries kept him to just 12 games, last year was his lowest percentage of his career since becoming the main back.

His lowest total before came in 2005, Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk's final season, when he contributed 65 carries in contrast to 254 for Jackson.

The next four weeks will go a long way for the Rams to decide how much rest Snead or Richardson can give Jackson.

*Quotes attributed to Steven Jackson and Brian Schottenheimer from the AP

Image credit: StLouisRams.com

Paul Boudreau knew when he came on board as the Rams' offensive line coach that he had a fight on his hands. He inherited the one of the worst-ranked offensive lines in the game, whose franchise tackles were both undermined by injuries and ineffective play.

Two weeks into Rams camp, 30 days before the start of the season, and Rodger Saffold is playing two of every four downs with the first team, and Jason Smith has been bumped to the second team in favor of a guy who bombed out of Kansas City. Writes Mike Sando for ESPN:

"We're going to play the best five," Boudreau said during an interview at Rams camp last week. "Don’t matter if you're a draft choice, doesn't matter if you’re a free agent, doesn't matter if you've been cut by four teams."

While it may not be heartening to think of the current state of our "best five" -- especially with newly-signed center Scott Wells still doing all his work in the film room -- this isn't the first time Boudreau has been in this situation. Flash back to 2007 with me, if you will.

The Falcons' offense was in a shambles after Michael Vick's infamous arrest and suspension, and the offensive line was Football Outsiders' worst-rated unit in the game. The offensive line, decimated by injury, was reduced to starting 2nd-year players Quinn Ojinnaka (5th round pick) and Tyson Clabo (undrafted) at tackle. Enter Paul Boudreau, who was hired by new coach Mike Smith in the 2008 offseason.

Working with mostly inherited pieces, including a healthier swing tackle in Todd Weiner and undrafted benchwarmer Harvey Dahl, and an offense geared more on power-running and passing efficiency, the Falcons' line took a massive step forward.

ATL 2007: 3.42 adj. line yards (32). 7.9% sack rate (24)
ATL 2008: 4.22 adj. line yards (9). 3.6% sack rate (5)

He pulled off a similar recovery in his previous top in St Louis, from 2006-07 in the waning years of Mike Martz. Pass protection didn't improve, though that might be chalked up to Martz's insistence on seven-step drops and a long-developing route tree. Oh, and Alex Barron. Again, the appearance of a brash, slab-handed rookie guard (Richie Incognito) figured prominently.

STL 2005: 3.80 adj. line yards (23). 7.4% sack rate (19)
STL 2006: 4.41 adj. line yards (8). 7.9% sack rate (24)

Let's go back even further, to his arrival in Jacksonville in 2003. The Jaguars already had a strong run-blocking unit in support of Fred Taylor, but their pass-protection of a rapidly aging Mark Brunell was abysmal. Enter a new coaching staff, and another rookie guard, Vince Manuwai. Throw in a new, more mobile quarterback in Byron Leftwich, and you have another Boudreau miracle.

JAX 2002: 4.46 adj. line yards (6). 9.1% sack rate (30)
JAX 2003: 4.44 adj. line yards (7). 5.1% sack rate (6)

Now. Let's reset our expectations. Arguably, the Rams have even less to work with on the line than any of his previous stops. Boudreau was able to inherit at least three healthy starters in each of his previous stops -- here, he may have only one guaranteed in old friend Harvey Dahl. But Boudreau has a clear track record of getting players into fighting shape, and getting them working as a unit. Boudreau's criticism of Smith underscores his overall unit-building philosophy:

"His whole thing that he needs to work on the most is understanding angles in protection, understanding he has long arms but he doesn’t use them and try to get his length back in protection. He wants to hit a guy all the time and you don't have to hit a guy in pass protection. You just have to stay in front of him."

In other words, don't be selfish. Don't try to overcome years of frustration and ineffectiveness in a single snap. Keep it simple. Stay with your teammates. Be aware of your surroundings. Or find yourself benched in favor of someone else.

@ramsherd @wynnde13 Guys, Guys, Guys, Guys, I just gotta know....will Sam Bradford throw for 4,000+- yds?

— Adam 10-House (@Joben74) August 7, 2012

This question interrupted a little debate between Wynnde and I, and got me thinking. We all are pinning our hopes on Brian Schottenheimer to resurrect Sam Bradford's rookie promise, and get him back on the "rising young quarterbacks" path. We all want him to have a successful season, but what makes a season successful for a quarterback? Especially one who is expected (and was drafted) to become one of the game's elites?

4,000 yards passing?

There were ten quarterbacks in the NFL last year to crack four grand. And for the first time ever, three QBs rung the 5,000-yard bell. (In a sign of how devalued yards might have become, one of them was somehow left off the Pro Bowl roster.)

However, let's back off from this ledge a bit. Not only would it be a challenge for Bradford to immediately become a top-ten QB working in his third offense in as many years, there might be a scheme mismatch that holds him back from this plateau. Of the ten QBs at this level, only one (Matt Ryan) plays in an offense that in any way resembles a West Coast scheme, and he has three elite weapons in Roddy White, Julio ("sigh") Jones and Tony Gonzalez to work with.

Moreover, Joe Montana and Steve Young -- working in the original West Coast Offense with the greatest WR in the history of the game -- reached 4,000 passing yards only two times combined in their careers. 

30 touchdowns?

Once again, we're setting lofty goals here, but why not dream big while we're dreaming, right? Only five quarterbacks cracked 30 passing TDs last season. (A truer measure of a "top ten quarterback" would be 25 TDs.)

If we take it on good faith that 4,000 yards is an unrealistic yardstick, how realistic is this number? Only five times in the last ten years has a quarterback thrown 30 scores with less than 4,000 yards passing. For three of those QBs (starred), it was their best season ever.

Tom Brady (2010 - age 33): 3,900 yards, 36 TDs. The year the Pats gave up on Randy Moss.
* Ben Roethlisberger (2007 - age 25): 3,154 yards, 32 TDs. Santonio Holmes' first year as a starter.
* Carson Palmer (2005 - age 26): 3,836 yards, 32 TDs. Breakout years for Chad Johnson, Housh & Rudi Johnson.
* Donovan McNabb (2004 - age 28): 3,875 yards, 31 TDs. The Terrell Owens-Super Bowl year.
Brett Favre (2003 - age 34): 3,361 yards 32 TDs. Javon Walker's breakout year.

Each of these presents an interesting comparable. Brady was an elite quarterback working with sub-elite weapons in creative ways. Roethlisberger had to take on more responsibility for scoring with the Steeler's run game in decline. Palmer and McNabb (working with TO and Bryant Westbrook) quite simply hit the lottery in terms of surrounding talent.

But Brett Favre, the old gunslinger, might offer the most interesting comparable. He had jack in terms of receiving talent to work with, but was working in a comfortable offense designed by Tom Rossley (who traces his roots up through Mike Sherman to the Mike Holmgren coaching tree) that prized efficiency and daring in equal parts. Favre hit the 3000-yard, 30-TD bell twice during Rossley's tenure despite the fact that his best receivers were sixth- and seventh-round picks in Bill Schroeder and Donald Driver.

Give Bradford a few years in this offense, and let his chemistry build with his young receivers, and we could see him hit this mark. But probably not in 2012.

3,000 yards, 20 TDs and his health?

Now we're talking about a reachable goal, schematically and talent-wise (including his supporting cast). The Rams haven't had a quarterback hit this mark since Marc Bulger in 2006 (yes, Marc Bulger used to be pretty good, before he signed that contract and watched the rest of his team fall apart).

Brian Schottenheimer's offense appears to be particularly good in the red zone, even working with a scattershot passer like Mark Sanchez. Over the last two seasons, as the Jets slowly took the reins off Sanchez, the young quarterback averaged 3,380 yards and 21.5 TDs. And that's with a 55% completion percentage. 

Combine those stats with Jeff Fisher's track record of keeping his quarterbacks' uniforms clean, and you have an early peg on what an ideal comeback season might look like for Bradford.

Photo: running my fingers through the turf and the rubber "dirt" on the Rams' home field.

A lot of things have changed over the past few years for the Rams, following Georgia Frontiere's death. Even as questions remain over the team's long-term future in St Louis, the Rams have been working to reconnect with the local fan base. The latest example of this comes in the form of the inaugural Rams Fan Fest at the Edward Jones Dome.

The effort to reconnect with fans started four years ago under Billy Devaney and interim owners Chip and Lucia Rodriguez by re-opening practices to fans after years of Martz's cloak and dagger secrecy. At the same time, Rams fans (and players, like Steven Jackson) began taking to Twitter as social media began changing the landscape of fans interaction with each other, and with their teams.

The Rams launched their own Twitter handle in March 2009. But they didn't really start taking an aggressive approach to social media until this offseason, with the hire of Brian Killingsworth as their VP of Marketing. Prior to his arrival, the Rams had the worst social media footprint in the league.

Brian came to St Louis from the Tampa Bay Rays, where he spearheaded fan engagement policies that helped build a base for one of the worst teams (at the time) in baseball. When the Rays' young core emerged all at once and transformed the team into a World Series contender, the fan base was primed and ready to believe. His plan for the Rams: make the same thing happen here.

My own approach to social media and fan interaction took a turn a year ago, when I showed up at practice with my Twitter handle pasted to the nameplate of my Marshall Faulk jersey. After three years of being an essentially anonymous digital identity in the Rams fan universe, I was putting myself out there to connect with fellow Tweeters on the sidelines of #RamsCamp. This also caught the eye of a few friendly people in the Rams' marketing department.

A year -- and another regime change -- later and the Rams have added 50,000 Twitter followers and 250,000 Facebook fans, more than tripling their footprint. And these aren't silent fans either, as the #RamsFanFest hashtag became the #2 trending topic on Twitter yesterday afternoon.

Killingsworth and the Rams thanked their local Twitter fans by inviting a subset of us onto the field to watch practice from the sidelines... fist-bumping distance away from the emerging young stars of the Rams defense. It was an unforgettable experience, documented in photos after the break.

At Rams Camp on a sweltering friday afternoon, I paid close attention to Sam Bradford - his timing and his targets in his passing drills. I wanted to pay particular attention to how quickly he was able to deliver the ball after the snap, and whether he could avoid "sacks" behind his offensive line.

The good news is that Bradford was every bit as sharp as recent camp reports have made him out to be, peppering short and intermediate routes with accuracy and aplomb, and getting rid of the ball on average between two and three seconds after the snap. I missed a few passes after the first gatorade break, but on the throws I saw he completed 11 of 15 passes for what would have been maybe 120 yards or so.

Bradford seems eminently comfortable with the mechanics of Schottenheimer's offense, which has a lot of similar looks and concepts to Pat Shurmur's west coast scheme. But instead of checking down as he did in his rookie season, Bradford did a good job of looking toward the next level on the route tree. Still, though, he mixed in more than a fair number of targets to tight ends and running backs flooding the interior zones emptied out by the outside receivers.  

(One highlight - Isaiah Pead took a pass on a wheel route and motored up the left sideline, into the area patroled by fellow rookie Janoris Jenkins. As Jenkins prepared to make a camp-tackle, Pead made a statement -- and an audible crack -- by lowering his padded shoulder into Jenkins' chest and driving through him for additional yardage.) 

This is the rookie-year Bradford, calm and efficient and largely mistake-free. And perhaps most importantly, healthy. However, I wouldn't say he's quite all the way back yet. Sam's deep ball still appears to have a good bit of rust on it. 

Bradford only tried two deep balls that I saw, both to Chris Givens. The first was overthrown and intercepted by Cortland Finnegan, though perhaps we need to give Finnegan credit for thoroughly boxing out the young receiver and preventing him from getting up to full speed on the route. The second was a duck that Givens had to come back for, giving Craig Dahl enough time to recover and break up the pass.

We're only in the first week of camp, and we've seen a lot of positive signs in the return of Bradford's game. But the mechanics of his deep ball -- his confidence in the receiver, his confidence in the blocking to wait, plant and throw, and his touch on the ball -- these will bear watching as the preseason progresses.

We can't help but make comparisons between Bradford and Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, and point out all the things that Bradford does well that Sanchez doesn't. Like reading playbooks, taking command of a huddle, staying out of the spotlight, and (oh yeah) throwing a nice accurate ball. But regardless of how bad he plays, Sanchez has the fearlessness to say "f*ck it & chuck it" and let the ball hang up for one of his talented receivers to go get. And regardless of his many faults, Sanchez does throw an awful pretty deep ball.

In three seasons, Sanchez has amassed 17 touchdown passes of 20 yards or more. In two seasons, Bradford has 8, but only two came last year. Sanchez also has eleven game-winning drives under his belt; Bradford has one. 

What would have happened if Bradford had been wearing Jets green, standing behind one of the game's best offensive lines and throwing to the likes of Santonio Holmes, Dustin Keller and Plaxico Burress? Who knows. All I can say is that I want to see number 8 recapture that deep ball accuracy and confidence in Rams blue.

More than 1600 fans piled in to the Rams' Earth City practice facilities yesterday, ready to see - and document - the new start under coach Fisher. As a result, the camp reports and fan photographs are starting to trickle in. Here's a morning's worth of geekout reading for you. 

Camp Report and Photos from Racetech at RealRamsFans.com

Mostly photos with some light commentary, this thread is long on eye candy and short on breathless proclomations of players about to have "breakthrough years" based on a shorts-and-shells practice with no contact allowed. In other words, a perfect encapsulation of day one. Some highlights: 

• Whoever wins the left guard position -- and it's Quinn Ojinnaka in the pole position right now -- will have been well-tested in practice, lining up across from Michael Brockers every day. 
• Lance Kendricks and Greg Salas both look noticeably bigger, while Steven Jackson looks noticeably trimmer. 
• Cortland Finnegan and Janoris Jenkins are both tiny. 

Day One RamsCamp Recap by Shane Gray, MO Sports Mag

This is a more reporterly recap from Shane Gray (@SGmosportsmag), one of Bleacher Report's primary Rams columnists. A lot of notes on individual drills, including a bit of awe-strickenness at Greg Zuerlein's cannon leg. Some highlights: 

• Brian Quick is not contact-shy, at least not in a pylon-destroying drill that all receivers and cornerbacks worked on together. 
• Josh Gordy's name was ringing out several times, a good sign for a hungry young player who continues to make the most of his opportunities. 
• The "catch of the day" belongs to Austin Pettis. Good to see him earning some swag back.  

First day impressions from Mike Sando, ESPN

Sando has been to many, many Rams camps in his day, including the ones in the paranoid Martz and Linehan regimes that were closed off to the rest of us. His perspective is always measured and cool-headed, which makes comments like these jump out: 

"Quarterback Sam Bradford and running back Steven Jackson stood out right away. Bradford appears so much healthier than he was last season. He threw with accuracy and authority. Jackson's size always impresses, but his quickness was also apparent Sunday (Jackson says he's at 5.1 percent body fat, by the way)." 

Sando also contributed some general impressions of the change in feel from Camp Spags to Camp Fisher.  

Your Twitter recommendation of the day: @miketphotog 

Some pretty outstanding sideline photos getting posted to Twitter, like this one: