The bad news: The Rams didn’t make the playoffs this year. The good news: In all honesty I didn’t see them winning more than 6 games. So for them to be sitting at 7-7-1 is a pleasant surprise.

Can you believe how the past 16 weeks have just flown by? Fifteen games so far leaving Rams fans with some head scratching losses (Detroit, Miami, and New York Jets) and heart attack inducing close games (San Francisco). Say what you will but it’s been an exciting year of Rams football.

Obviously the Rams have areas that need to be addressed this off season (offensive line being the biggest in my book.) But overall the future of the franchise is bright as Jeff Fisher finishes up a full season as the head stache around Rams Park.

The Rams still have one final game on the docket though – a very challenging game against the Seahawks.

St. Louis played the Seattle back in week 4, beating them 13-19 in the Edward Jones Dome. But the two teams facing off at Century Link Field on Sunday are not the same teams. Both young teams have come a long way since that September 30 game. Both quarterbacks have matured and the Rams receiving group have made big strides since their first meeting.

1) Contain the athletic gear brand name QB.

The biggest change coming from perhaps the lesser talked about rookie quarterback in the NFL, Seattle’s Russell Wilson. Yeah, so he’s short for a NFL quarterback (He’s listed at 5′ 11″) but what he lacks in height he makes up with his football smarts and his feet.

What Rams assistant head coach Dave McGinnis thinks of Wilson:

The St. Louis Rams have lost the last three of the four times they’ve met up with the Seattle Seahawks. Their last win came in St. Louis on October 3, 2010 during week 4 when they beat the Matthew Hasselbeck lead Hawks 3-20. That was also the last time the Rams started the season at 2-2.

Two years later both teams find themselves in similar situations. Seattle comes in at 2-1 and St. Louis finds itself at 1-2 heading into week 4. Rams running back Steven Jackson is nursing a groin injury again and is questionable for the game.  In 2010, Seahawks left tackle Russell Okung left the game with an ankle injury and finds himself in 2012 playing with a bum knee. Déjà vu isn’t just a song by Dionne Warwick, folks.

Despite his strained groin Jackson managed to play through the pain in 2010 and lead the Rams with a combined 126 yards rushing and receiving (70 yards rushing on 22 carries and 3 receptions for 54 yards.)

Jackson will have to have a repeat performance in order for the Rams to beat a much improved Seahawks in 2012.

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The Five Things I’ll be watching for in week 4:

1) Will running back Steven Jackson be effective?

I’ve already recapped what he did back in 2010 when he was dealing with that groin injury. Can he take the team on his shoulders or in this case his legs and take the Rams to a .500 record? Jackson didn’t participate in practices all week so there’s optimism that he’s healed up enough to give it a go on Sunday.

If Jackson can’t be effective then Coach Fisher has a back up plan.

Well, we’ve been splitting reps. They’re all ready to play, even (RB) Terrance (Ganaway) is ready to play. We’ve been splitting reps in the event that ‘Jack’ can’t go.

Last week the sixth ranked rushing defense (76 yards per game allowed) of the Chicago Bears held the entire Rams running game to 59 yards on 17 carries. The Seahawks are ranked second allowing a meager 58 yards per game. It’s not looking very promising at this point.

» Continue reading “Seattle Seahawks At St. Louis Rams Week 4 Preview”

Restricted Free Agent WR Danny Amendola (personal photo)

First look at Rams’ 2012 free agents – ESPN.com, NFC West blogger Mike Sando

Mike Sando nicely charts the Rams 2012 free agents for us.  With his update it looks like a total 23 free agents which is almost half of the Rams’ roster.  The front office was turned over and now with the off season we could be looking at a major overhaul.  The previous 53 was broken (2-14 record) and now it needs to be fixed.

The two things that jump out at me at first glance are the back up QB’s (A.J. Feeley/Kellen Clemens) and back up RB’s (Cadillac Williams/Jerious Norwood).  All four of them are unrestricted free agents.  These KEY back up roles have to be filled properly.  I don’t see either RB’s coming back whereas I think the Rams should retain Kellen Clemens as QB2 over Feeley.

As we saw last season neither QB Sam Bradford and RB Steven Jackson are immune from getting bit by the injury bug.  In fact, they both sustained injuries in the season opener and you know the rest of the story.  It ends with a 2-14 record and a new regime.

» Continue reading “Pigskin Cover 3: Rams Salary Cap Notes”

Keep him behind the line of scrimmage.

Ready or not, hapless Rams set to make appearance on national stage

‘We’re not going to have a postseason, so this is our shot to show the nation what we’re trying to do here,” Rams running back Steven Jackson said. “Although we have our backs against the wall and some young guys playing or some guys that wouldn’t normally be playing in circumstances, this is also time for them to show off their talent, too. It’s a stage that I think everyone looks forward to being on.”

Win or lose, I just want the Rams to show some fight.  Fans and viewers will respect effort even in a losing battle.  Don’t quit on the game and more importantly your fans, Rams.

NFL Playoff Picture: Seahawks Still Have Chance Of Making The Postseason

It seems like a bit of a tall order at the moment and strange considering the awful start they had in 2011, but if the Seahawks win their last four games, they will hold a 9-7 record. Pair that with some losses for Dallas and Chicago, and the Seahawks could potentially luck into the playoffs even if they happen to drop their game against the 49ers.

Reading this caused me to face palm myself.  If anything didn’t we all picture the Rams in this position?  But the Rams are where they are and the Seahawks deserve what they’ve accomplished this season.  They were in a more difficult situation than the Rams in the beginning yet they were still in the hunt.  Kudos to Pete Carroll and his coaching staff for how far they’ve come.

Game Plan: What to Expect Against Seattle

This game will not be easy. This is a tough venue on offense. Your silent count system must be flawless, and be careful with any audibles early in the game. If you hang in early, the game will slow down and the noise will become less chaotic. The Rams have one formula at this point - don’t lose the game on special teams or offense, and create a chance to equalize the game with your defense. If you can take the game into the fourth quarter, you may get the Seahawks to give you one.

I think the biggest factor for a Rams victory tonight is not to beat themselves.  Limiting penalties, mental mistakes, and fundamentally sound tackling will keep them in the game.

And if you missed it on Saturday here is my game preview for tonight’s Monday Night Football game.

What are the Rams playing for?  Spags’ job, their own pride, or to not embarrass themselves on a national stage.  It could be all of the above if you’re into multiple choice questions.  With the division already locked up by the 49ers and already being eliminated from any playoff contention it’s all about the moral victories from here on out.

For some players it’s their audition for other teams and for the ones who are sticking around it’s about showing movement in the positive direction.  I think the least the Rams fans can do is to help get DE Chris Long to the Pro Bowl this year.  That could be the silver lining to an otherwise forgettable 2011 season.

For this week I could pretty much cut and paste the game preview from week 11.  After all, it’s only been three weeks since they last played each other.

What the Rams offense needs to do:

At this point we THINK third string QB Tom Brandstater will be at the helm so no one has any real idea what the Rams passing game will look like.

Sam Bradford shared first team snaps with Brandstater but is still listed as questionable.

If they want to play not to lose all Brandstater will do is hand the ball off the whoever’s in the backfield and throw maybe a dink pass to get out of jams.

If the Brandstater experiment goes awry we may even see newly signed (yeah, they’re all newly signed at this point…) QB Kellen Clemens make an appearance.  At least Clemens has NFL experience and a deeper grasp of the McDaniels playbook.

I’m sure Steven Jackson will treat this as serious as any other game and hopefully he’ll still get a chance to run the ball.  Jackson only saw 10 carries last week against the 49ers.

Give the ball to Steven Jackson and the running game – win the time of possession battle.  That’s the least the offense can do after all those games of 3-and-outs.  The defense is getting better but they can only hold out for so long.

But with a newly shuffled and repositioned offensive line and with FB Brit Miller not completely healthy even the running game could fall flat again.  Hopefully, the Seahawks defense will at least take WR Brandon Lloyd seriously lightening the box a bit for some running room.

Who to watch out for: DE Chris Clemons and CB Brandon Browner.

This could be another long game…

What the Rams defense needs to do:

Not to sound like they’ve already lost the game but the defense needs to pace itself for a long one.  I don’t have a lot of confidence in the Rams offense to stay on the field so the defense will dig deep and rely on that cardiovascular endurance we all like to joke about.

One way is to take advantage of the Seahawks’ weaken offensive line.  Although, that weak spot on the left didn’t seem to phase RB Marshawn Lynch as he’s been averaging over 141 yards a game since week 9 in Dallas.

I think despite all the problems the Rams are having on both sides of the ball this season DE Chris Long (despite a bum ankle) still has a great shot at the season sack title.  He’s only three behind the leader Cowboy’s DeMarcus Ware who has 15.  LB James Laurinaitis, the other Rams defensive mainstay is just one tackle shy of reaching 100 for the season.  These are small milestones but well worth a mention.

Secondary wise, S Darian Stewart, should be back in the lineup after not playing against the 49ers due to concussion.  So that’s some good news.

What the Rams special teams need to do:

Don’t give up the long returns.  RB Leon Washington, WR Golden Tate, and WR Doug Baldwin are all quick and dangerous.  Special teams need to help out the offense by handing them a shorter field to navigate.

Who will win:

Sadly, I don’t have much faith in the offense to put up more than 6 points off of two Josh Brown field goals – and that’s being generous.  Hopefully they can at least break the Seahawks’ 45-yard line – something they couldn’t do last week in SF.

Rams fall to 2-11, losing to the Seahawks 21-6.

But…

With all that being said, what I’d like to see from the Rams: getting their young guys out there to see what they can do.  The team needs to start thinking ahead and evaluating players for next year.  Basically, I’m asking the Rams to make the four games count.  Don’t waste it away without gaining more knowledge about what you have (and don’t have) in that locker room.

We finally get a rematch of week 17 of the 2010 season when the NFC West division title was on the line. The Rams went into then Qwest Field (now, CenturyLink Stadium) to try and finish the season with – gasp! – a winning record. But instead the Rams had one of the worst statistically games of the season and lost 16-6. They finished the 2010 season 7-9 but with very high hopes for 2011. After all, they had won more games in 2010 than the three previous years put together.

But 10 weeks into the 2011 season, the Rams are staring at 2-7 record and welcoming an equally disappointed and banged up 3-6 Seahawks team.

Speaking of banged up, Rams sent out word that OT Rodger Saffold indeed has a torn pectoral muscle and will need season ending surgery. As I’ve been saying all season – you just can’t make this stuff up! Call it a curse or just sheer bad luck. Whatever it is, there’s definitely not a shortage of it around the Rams this season. The guys over at Turf Show Times has a really depressing recap of all the Rams’ injuries for 2011. You might wanna grab a hanky if you’re going to read that post. Truly sad.

What the Rams offense needs to do: Run, Steven, run!

RB Steven Jackson needs to extend his beast mode streak to four games (straight > 100 yards rushing).

We can’t expect a whole lot of time in the pocket for QB Sam Bradford especially with the late substitution of LT Mark Levoir for the injured Rodger Saffold.

Bradford will have to chuck it up at least a few times to keep the Seahawks defense honest and give Steven Jackson a break here and there. Hopefully, the Seahawks’ defense will see WR Brandon Lloyd as a legitimate deep pass threat.

Seahawks are sporting a couple of rookies in their secondary, LCB Richard Sherman and FS Earl Thomas. But don’t let the rookie label fool you. Thomas leads the team in tackles and is someone to keep an eye on.

If the deep passes aren’t there look for Bradford to dink and dunk again – now this time to WR Austin Pettis. I think we can also look forward to WR Mark Clayton to gain some snaps in the offense attack as well.

What the Rams defense needs to do: Stop Marshawn Lynch

Stop the Seahawks’ equivalent to Steven Jackson, RB Marshawn Lynch, will be the team’s main offensive threat. He’s been carrying the heavy load for Seattle the past two games carrying 55 times for 244 yards and 2 TD’s against the Cowboys and Ravens. If the Rams cannot contain Lynch it’s going to be a long afternoon.

This is where the Rams will win the game. Seahawks’ O-line is just as banged up as the Rams’ due to the loss of G John Moffitt and rookie starting RT James Carpenter. Look for Rams DE Chris Long to take advantage of their unfortunate situation. If the Seahawks decide to help out on the right side this would expose the other side for either DE’s James Hall or Robert Quinn to make their move.

Seahawks are vulnerable with QB Tavaris Jackson playing with a strained pectoral and two of his receivers, Sidney Rice and Doug Baldwin, coming back from concussions. Watch for their other big receiver Mike Williams to be their outside go-to-guy.

Special Teams

One week the special teams lets you down. The next week they block the potential game winning field goal. Which way the luck pendulum swing against the Seahawks? We can only hope it goes the Rams way just like it did in Cleveland. James Hall, get that forearm up there!

But seriously, they need to do a better job of giving the offense good field position. I’m calling you out again this week, Austin Pettis. Step it up, rookie.

Who will win?

I think the Rams will squeak out another close one 24-21 and go to 3-7.