Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. St. Louis 16 at Denver 23 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW St. Louis Rams: The big question surrounding the Rams was whether their winless preseason was an aberration or a sign of real problems. With a lackluster start in the first half on both sides of the ball, their loss boiled down to a turnover on downs on a controversial 4th and 2 call by Mike Martz where a short field goal would have tied the score late in the third quarter. Plus, poor play calling ate up their timeouts, the last one with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter and the Rams needing two scores for a tie. RB Marshall Faulk was shut down in the rushing game (10 carries for 19 yards) but is still the primary offensive threat in this offense. Don't panic. QB Kurt Warner locked in on Torry Holt who had a good game, but was largely held in check during the second half. Conversely, Isaac Bruce did not have a catch in the first half and was targeted eight times in the game. Jeff Wilkins did not allow Denver to return a kickoff the entire game. Denver Broncos: The cloudy running back situation was clearly a RBBC threesome of Anderson, Portis and Gary in the first half. In the second half, however, Gary got the majority of the play calls and made the best of them. In all, Gary had 16 touches, Anderson 9 touches and Portis 5. Although Coach Mike Shanahan appeared to have confidence in each. With 8:34 to go in the 4th quarter, Shanahan gave the ball to Portis (with a fake to Anderson at FB) on a crucial 4th and inches. Bottom line - no clear winner yet. QB Brian Griese was almost benched in the fourth quarter for Steve Beuerlein, but ended up playing inspired football after Mike Shanahan gave him another shot. If he is your # 1 QB, have a solid backup plan in place. TE Shannon Sharpe looked good early in the game but soon he was drawing more coverage and allowing Smith and McCaffrey to get open for passes. WR Rod Smith and Griese had some good chemistry in the first half. Brian Griese had 2 consecutive INTs to start the second half, one was batted into the air and not a result of forcing a play. The other was forced deep to Shannon Sharpe and picked off. Griese looked deflated, sat by himself on the sidelines and it was obvious his confidence was shaken. The fans in Denver also started booing after the offense sputtered for much of the second half. Denver's defense was impressive, especially in rushing, as evidenced by holding the high-octane Rams to under 20 points and Faulk to less than 20 yards rushing. Jason Elam grabbed his hamstring following every FG. His kickoffs seemed to get shorter as the game wore on until the late TD by McCaffrey seemed to inspire him. Elam also jogged with a noticeable limp. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW St. Louis Rams QB: Kurt Warner - Sacked three times in the first half, and even though he got much better protection in the second half, he had no TDs. His only INT was an Isaac Bruce target that was knocked into the air on a hard tackle from DB Izell Reese and picked off. Denver did a good job pressuring him throughout. However, Warner kept his composure and his team in the game. Do not panic. WR: Torry Holt - The obvious first choice for Warner during the entire game. In the end, he caught as many as Bruce (5), but was targeted more often and Warner was looking to Holt first. Isaac Bruce - Held without a catch for the entire first half. He dropped what would have been a big gainer in the second half and coughed up Warner's only INT. He was targeted 8 times. RB: Marshall Faulk - Completely shut down in the rushing game (10 for 19 yards) but fared better receiving (14 rececptions for 91 yards) Although he did score a TD on a 3-yard run. He gained 15 of those 19 yards one a run late in the game. Do not panic. He's still the heart of this offense. Trung Canidate - He carried the ball only once and was a non-factor. TE: Ernie Conwell - Got off to a good start but then came out of the game in the third quarter (neck). He returned only to be flattened on his only other reception by Denver Linebacker Al Wilson. Rams Rush Defense: The Rams covered well east to west, but gave up some big gains up the gut. All three Denver running backs had some success during the game, both running and receiving. Rams Pass Defense: Sluggish in the first half, the Rams defense locked in on Griese and pressured him often in the second half. Tipping passes for 2 INTs and causing him to fumble near his own goal line. The Rams did a good job on Rod Smith in the second half, but then gave up some big plays on Denver's final series. Rams Special Teams: Lamar Gordon fumbled twice during kickoff returns, one was turned over to Denver with 1:20 remaining in the first half. Gordon's fumbles are a big concern. On a night when Elam was not kicking the ball extremely deep, the Rams need someone who won't drop the ball. Jeff Wilkins was 3 for 4 in FGs and continues to be a great play. Too bad Martz didn't let him kick on the pivotal fourth-and-two call. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Denver Broncos QB: Brian Griese played with confidence in the first half and was getting plenty of protection. As the Rams came out more aggressive in the second half, Griese gave up two INTs in the first five minutes. He was almost pulled in favor of Steve Beuerlein in the fourth quarter. Beuerlein could be seen warming up and with his helmet on before the next offensive series. But after a Jeff Wilkins missed FG that kept the Broncos in the lead, Mike Shanahan put Griese back in and he responded with a 5 for 6 effort and a TD pass to Ed McCaffrey that turned out to be the game winner. WR: Rod Smith - The All Pro WR all but disappeared after a successful first half. The only catch he made in the second half was part of Denver's final scoring drive. Griese and the Broncos will need Smith to be more effective in the coming weeks. Ed McCaffrey - Was held in check nearly the entire game and seemed like he's still not back to his form prior to his leg injury last season. But he did score the decisive points on a 23-yard TD from Griese with under 4:00 minutes left in the game to give the Broncos a 10-point lead. Look for him to improve and get stronger as he won't be facing Aeneas Williams every week. RB: Olandis Gary - Got the most touches of any Denver RB, especially in the second half. Looks as if he's getting stronger and hitting holes quicker than in the preseason. Although his longest run was only 7 yards, Shanahan will probably use Gary more to eat up the clock. Mike Anderson - More of a factor in the first half, Anderson's longest run was 6 yards. He had a nice 15-yard catch in the second quarter. Clinton Portis - Ran quicker to the holes and a little bit stronger than the other two backs, but was not targeted on any pass plays. He seems to be in a change-of-pace role with only 5 touches. However, he had the best YPC ratio of all 3 RBs, including the longest gain, a 15-yard run. Of particular importance, Shanahan gave the ball to Portis (with a fake to Anderson at FB) on a 4th and inches call with 8:34 to go in the 4th quarter. TE: Shannon Sharpe - Definitely the primary TE as Carswell was only targeted once. Although he had only 3 catches, he was targeted 4 other times. Sharpe dropped a pass on an Adam Archuletta hit. He also was targeted on one of Griese's 2 INTs. Broncos Rush Defense: Stuffing Faulk with hard hits the entire game. The Broncos looked very strong as that's the best job anyone's done on Faulk in a long time. The entire line seems more effective and not just Chester McGlockton. In particular, John Mobley, Al Wilson and Trevor Pryce seemed to be everywhere. Broncos Pass Defense: Pressuring Warner all game, the defense got a little winded while the Broncos offense struggled in the second half. That led to some big passing plays, but they still kept the Rams out of the end zone. The interference penalty they got covering Holt led to the Faulk rushing TD. If they can keep the penalties down, they have a really good shot at being one of the better defensive units in the league this year. Broncos Special Teams: Keep an eye on Elam's hamstring. He seemed to favor it the entire game.