Friday, Sep. 04, 2009

Rams continue to cash in on turnovers

Butler returned an interception for a touchdown

ST. LOUIS -- Takeaways trickled in for the St. Louis Rams last year, but they've poured in during the preseason this year.

Cornerback Quincy Butler had a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown -- the 11th of the Rams' 12 takeaways in the preseason -- in a 17-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night before 46,616 fans at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Rams close out the preseason with a 3-1 record, their best preseason mark since going 3-1 in 2005.

First-year Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo was pleased with his team's resourcefulness in the preseason, but he knows the true test comes with the regular season.

"The challenge is going to get tougher,'' said Spagnuolo, whose team opens the regular season on the road against the Seattle Seahawks at noon Sept. 13. "We know the mountain is going to get a lot tougher when we tee it up next week. Everybody has step it up a notch, that's what the NFL is all about.''

The Rams' knack for creating turnovers is a dramatic change from last year when they had only one takeaway in the preseason.

The Rams turned those 12 preseason takeaways into 47 points. They had only 45 points off turnovers the entire regular season in 2008.

"We just have an aggressive mindset,'' Butler said. "We're young in the secondary, so we have to go out there and make plays and impress the coaches.''

Butler jumped in front of intended receiver Rodney Wright to make the interception.

"I wouldn't call it 'sitting,''' Butler said. "I just did what I was supposed to do. We had great pressure by the defensive line, and the quarterback threw a not-so great ball, and I went over there and made the play.''

Butler had a clear path to the end zone after the interception. He was tackled by third-string Cincinnati quarterback Jordan Palmer after intercepting a pass last week.

"Last week, I couldn't score, and I made a promise to myself, 'I have to score this time, and not get tackled by the quarterback,''' Butler said.

Neither quarterback Marc Bulger nor running back Steven Jackson played in the game.

Bulger was inactive. He missed the Rams' final three preseason games because of a broken pinkie finger on his throwing hand.

Jackson was in uniform, but he was held out of the game rather than risk injury.

The Rams must cut 21 players by 3 p.m. Saturday to get their roster down to the NFL limit of 53 players.

For quarterbacks Brock Berlin and Keith Null, the game was the final audition for the job of No. 3 quarterback.

Berlin completed 9 of 17 passes for 97 yards and one touchdown. He also had an interception.

Null completed 9 of 17 passes for 78 yards.

Spagnuolo said it was going to be difficult to choose between Berlin and Null.

"I know Brock had a good drive there and Keith did some good things, but it certainly is not going to be based all on one game,'' Spagnuolo said. "We'll go back and grade everything. We still have all the stats and all the grades. This is the time of the year that you have to spend a lot of hours deciding which way you want to go.''

The Chiefs got their points on three field goals by rookie kicker Ryan Succop.

Starting quarterback Matt Cassel, who injured his knee in last week's loss to Seattle, was inactive. Brodie Croyle started at quarterback for the Chiefs, and Tyler Thigpen replaced him in the third quarter.

Pinned back at their own 1 after a punt, the Chiefs put together a long drive that culminated in a 31-yard field goal by Succop and a 3-0 lead.

The Chiefs got down to the St. Louis 6 thanks to a 40-yard pass from Croyle to Sean Ryan and 41-yard run by Larry Johnson.

A holding penalty on Ryan negated a 6-yard touchdown run by Dantrelle Savage and a delay of game penalty pushed the Chiefs further back as they ended up settling for Succop's field goal.

Later, the Chiefs were backed up at their own 2 when Savage broke loose for a 70-yard run.

The play led to a 40-yard field goal by Succop with 9:20 left in the second quarter.

Berlin engineered a 15-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that took 7 minutes, 29 seconds off the clock and the put the Rams ahead 7-6.

Berlin threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Daniel Fells to cap the drive.

Fells muscled in his way into the end zone after catching the ball inside the Kansas City 5.

"He showed me a little bit of grit in getting in there,'' Spagnuolo said of Fells. "We would have had the first down, but he said, 'I'm not going to get the first. I'm going to get the six points.'''

Berlin completed seven of his nine passes on drive, with the only incompletions coming on dropped passes, including a bobble by a wide-open Derek Stanley on a potential touchdown pass.

DaJuan Morgan stepped in front of Fells to intercept a Berlin pass at the St. Louis 23 late in the second quarter.

The turnover led to a 34-yard field goal by Succop that put the Chiefs ahead 9-7 with 25 seconds left in the first half.

A fumble recovery by rookie linebacker Dominic Douglas in the third quarter and interception by Justin King early in the fourth quarter accounted for the other two of the Rams' three turnovers.

A roughing the kicker penalty on Taurus Johnson helped the Rams pad their lead to 17-9.

Punter Donnie Jones escaped serious injury, and the Rams got the ball at their own 41.

Eight plays later, Josh Brown kicked a 37-yard field goal.