Rams’ Pass Coverage Left Open to Questions

FULLERTON —  Roll the videotape, check out the Rams’ coverage on the Chargers’ two touchdown passes in Saturday night’s 23-17 exhibition game loss, and wasn’t that safety Pat Terrell trailing wide receiver Shawn Jefferson in both instances?

Witness No. 1: Coach Chuck Knox.

Are you concerned about the play of Pat Terrell?

“I’m not concerned about the play of Terrell,” Knox said. “I don’t know specifically what you mean.”

It appeared Terrell was out of position on the Chargers’ two touchdown passes to Jefferson.

“That’s your supposition,” Knox said.

So was Terrell out of position on both plays?

“He was in position on one of them,” Knox said.

Which one?

“Just quote me, and I’ll say he wasn’t out of position,” Knox said.

Why was he beat then?

“You’re saying he was beat,” Knox said.

Was he beat?

“I have no comment,” Knox said.

Witness No. 2: Pat Terrell.

It appeared you were beat on both of those plays--what happened?

“You know, we’re just playing football and when training camp is going on you can’t speculate like you did,” Terrell said.

Say what?

“Sometimes you can get people . . . I don’t even want to say,” Terrell said. “We were playing and on one play, a receiver made a great catch, and the other play, I’m just playing on defense trying to help out.”

Translation, please.

“It wasn’t necessarily my man,” Terrell said.

So you were not responsible for both touchdown plays?

“Yeah, but you have my picture all over the paper.”

(Note: Terrell’s picture did not appear in The Times.)

“I’m not making any excuses for anything, but at the same time I really don’t understand what you’re asking me. There are passes thrown, there are passes caught.”

It’s just a few questions, routine football stuff . . . happens every week.

“Those guys get paid, too. All right,” said Terrell, and he walked off.

Witness No. 3: Safeties’ coach Joe Vitt.

Last week, when someone asked about Terrell appearing a step too slow against Phoenix, you praised him. Do you feel any differently now?

“I’m not sure a corner wouldn’t have had a tough time staying with Shawn Jefferson,” Vitt said.

Why?

“With that particular defense that we called, Pat has to know where his help is,” Vitt said. “He’s got inside help.

“He knows he didn’t play the technique properly. I probably need to put him in more of those situations in practice. I didn’t do enough of those, so I have to take partial responsibility, too.

“He’ll get better from that and we’ll profit from that.”

Was Terrell at a disadvantage because of the defensive alignment on that play?

“There’s nothing wrong with the defensive call; there’s nothing wrong with the defense,” Vitt said. “We just have to play it better.”

OK, so Terrell’s improper technique accounted for Jefferson’s 14-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter?

“Let me tell you something, if we have an All-Pro corner playing inside technique on the same play that Pat got beat on, he’s going to get beat, too.”

What happened on Jefferson’s 29-yard catch in the fourth quarter?

“That wasn’t his fault,” Vitt said. “We had a blitz on and his coverage is on the back in the backfield. He has to keep his eyes on that back in case he checks out for a screen pass. The guy who caught the touchdown pass, that was someone else’s responsibility.”

Roll the videotape, check out the Rams’ coverage on the play, and isn’t that Todd Lyght trailing Jefferson?

Witness No. 1: Coach Knox.

Are you concerned . . . never mind.