How hungry will the Ravens will be coming into week 3?  Ravenous, you say?  After that embarrassing 26-13 loss to the Titans the team from Baltimore will be eager to get back on the winning track.

The Rams are also wanting to be on that path to redemption after losing the first two games of the season. Especially last week’s game against the Giants – the Rams were well within reach and basically took themselves out of it.  Eventually, they lost that match 16-28 on the road.

What the Rams need to do

I sound like a broken record but they really need to protect QB Sam Bradford better.

He needs more time in the pocket to find his receivers.  If you look back on the Titans’ model they did a pretty good job of giving Matt Hasselbeck time to get the ball down field.  Step it up O-line!  You’ll have the Ravens LB duo of Ray Lewis and T-Sizzle (Terrell Suggs) and their DT Haloti Ngata breathing down your throat.

09/11/11 Cadillac Williams (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

This will especially be important since it’s still up in the air whether RB Steven Jackson will be a go.  I’m not convinced the Ravens are afraid of Cadillac Williams or Jerious Norwood to stack up the box to stop either of them.   Last Sunday, the Ravens D was preoccupied in covering Titans RB Chris Johnson (24 carries for 53 yards) which opened up the flood gates for Matt Hasselbeck to launch it for 358 yards and 1 TD, 1 INT.

Eliminate the self-destructive behavior.

Can’t believe I’m quoting from “High School Musical” but “get your head in the game.”  That means no more false starts (especially at home), illegal formations, dropped balls and other mental penalties.  Oh and the play is not over until the whistle blows.  I don’t want to see players just standing there.  Ahem, Mr. Williams.

Score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals.

Spags and the coaches took extra practice time to emphasize the importance of the red zone offense (or lack there of in this case).  Finish the drive with the TD and extra point guys.

One way to get this process going is to get WR Danario Alexander more involved in the offense.  He only had three receptions but he pulled in 122 yards and a TD.  BUT, the Rams have to be careful of the number of his snaps.  They can’t wear out those delicate knees of his.  I want to see other WR’s such as Mike Sims-Walker and Brandon Gibson to play bigger roles in the passing game.

Contain (as much as a defense can) Ravens star running back Ray Rice.

See, now this is where playing fantasy football conflicts with team loyalties.  Ray Rice is my first round pick for one of my fantasy teams.  I’ll need him to do well on the field but if that happens then the Rams will not fair well in the game.

Rams D has to bring lots of pressure on Ravens QB Joe Flacco.  But this may be asking a lot of a very banged up secondary.  This is where I have the most concern.

With WR Lee Evans ruled out for the game more emphasis could be going to WR Anquan Boldin.  The Ravens will ask rookie WR Torrey Smith to step in for Evans.

The other question I have is whether third round WR Austin Pettis will be activated for the game.  Kid has to be anxious and chomping at the bit to get his first regular season under his belt.

Who will win

I am going to be regrettably pessimistic and pick the Ravens to edge out the Rams 21-17 come Sunday at 3:05 p.m.  Honestly, I just don’t have faith in the Rams secondary to hold their own as the rest of the D tries to stop Ravens RB Ray Rice.

And for the record, this pick has NOTHING to do with my fantasy team.

Not so secretly, I’ll hope that the Rams prove me wrong.

    STL Rams vs. TEN Titans

Most of Rams Nation had their head in the clouds all week but it all came crashing down when the Titans brought the Rams back to earth with their aggressive defense and surprising running game despite the absence of their star RB, Chris Johnson.

The St. Louis Rams still came away with another victory last night.  But it wasn’t nearly as tidy as their preseason week 1 performance.  They were flagged for 7 penalties for 64-yds.

Were the Rams just that much better or were the Colts just not trying very hard?

Let’s go over the key points from my preview and see if my questions were answered.

Tonight’s game should give us a closer look into the continuing battle for the last couple of roster spots for the WR position.

My locks for WR’s are: Danny Amendola, Mike Sims-Walker, Austin Pettis, Greg Salas, Brandon Gibson, and Danario Alexander.

My “WR Locks” had a ho-hum night.  Amendola only caught two of four targets for 18 yds., MSW had one of three for 26 yds., Pettis only had one catch for 6 yds but he did get lots of reps with special teams throughout the game, Salas got extra time on the field catching three of four targets for 25 yds., and Danario’s lone one target, one catch yielded at 15-yd gain.

Brandon Gibson only had two targets all night but he made the first one count.  Right out of the gate Bradford throws a 83-yd long ball to “Gibby” who took it to the house and ignited the entire dome.

This leaves the likes of Mardy Gilyard and Donnie Avery on the bubble if the Rams want to carry more than 6 WR’s.  Then there’s Joe West, Greg Matthews, Jared Jenkins, and Dominique Curry on the outside looking in.

Gilyard’s strength comes in his versatility as a special teams contributor and Donnie Avery, if he can show he still has the speed, will give him a leg up.

Gilyard and Avery must have read my post before the game, right?  Wow, did they come to prove doubters wrong.

Gilyard did double duty on special teams (kick returns and punt returns) with 111 total return yards.  But the highlight of his night had to be the monster take down of the Titans return man, Mark Mariani.  BAM!  I haven’t seen Sports Center yet but I would love it if that hit made the highlights.

The stats for Donnie Avery don’t tell the whole story.  2 out of 5 catches for 26 yds and 1 TD.  I’m sure we saw some of his sub-4.3 sec 40 speed on a few of the routes he ran.  It was great to see him step it up and show the coaches and fans that he’s back.

I’m looking to see who they will utilize to stretch the field and how effective they’ll be.  My eyes will be on Mike Sims-Walker, Danario Alexander, and Donnie Avery.

MSW had three targets and only reception for 26 yds. and Danario only had one pass/one reception for 15 yds.  Hardly much to go on but maybe this tells us Spags and McDaniels have already made up their minds about them.

Another position I will be keeping an eye is the secondary.

Veteran (Ok, I think they could call him Grandpa Al…) CB Al Harris is slated to play tonight probably rotating in between Ron Bartell and Bradley Fletcher.

Al Harris didn’t get a lot of playing time and recorded only one tackle all evening.  The biggest contributors from the secondary came from the safety position.

Look for Spags to be aggressive in going after Matt Hasselbeck with plenty of pressure from the D-line.

This is where things sort of went down hill and showed the Titans had a better O-line than I had imagined.

The Rams front four only got two recorded hits on the Titans’ QB’s:  DE George Selvie and DE Eugene Sims.  The other two take downs were courtesy of LB’s Josh Hull and James Laurinaitis.

But it clearly wasn’t the showing Spags probably had envisioned for his defense.  Especially, the run defense.  Here’s a snap shot comparisons of both teams rushing efforts.  Might want to look away, Rams fans.  It isn’t pretty – on either side of the line for the Rams.

Rushing Numbers for Titans at Rams 08/20/11

Yeah, I told you it was ugly.  I can’t even lie and say I know who the Titans’ RB’s are.  Harper, Johnson, and Donaldson?  Household names, I’m sure.  The Rams D will have plenty of tape to go over this week and Spags will not be happy with what he sees – lots of gaping gaps in the line and bad tackling.

I think rookie DE Robert Quinn will chalk up his first NFL preseason sack tonight.  I’m calling it now.

Hmm, think I gave Robert Quinn a kineahora?  I might have jinxed him for the game by predicting a sack from our first round draft pick.  Quinn played mostly with the second and third team defense and wasn’t used much to pressure the QB.  Most of his work was done on the line.

One Titan we need to look out for is Cortland Finnegan.  He could be wreaking havoc down field.

TEN Titans Defensive Stats 08/20/11

Finnegan plays a whole lot bigger than he appears.  Like a pesky bug that hovers in your ear he was buzzing about in the Rams backfield and took down Sam Bradford in the 2nd quarter.

Bradford got sacked twice in that quarter and a couple of hard shots from the Titans D.  He spent way too much time picking himself off the turf for my liking.  This means no $1,000 bonuses for his O-line come Monday.

I’d like to see a repeat of last week’s “almost no penalties” by the Rams.  For the most part they played a clean game.

So much for that wish.  The Rams finished the game with 7 penalties for 64 yds.  A delay of game, a few false starts, a personal foul by #70 Foster for excessive pushing, etc.  This will be another sticking point for Spags as he reviews the tape and tries to get his team ready for the trip to KC next Friday.

It looks like back to the drawing board for the next game.  The WR corp battle might have gotten a bit clearer after last night with Gilyard and Avery making their case for a roster spot.  But with so many able guys who do you cut?  Do you keep more than 6 WR’s?

I would be amiss if I didn’t give Mr. Demoff another shout out today for the amazing seats last night.  It pays to follow him on Twitter, folks.  His handle is @kdemoff.

Thanks again, Mr. Demoff!

    STL Rams vs. TEN Titans

When you think of Rams vs. Titans one memory instantly comes to mind.  Super Bowl XXXIV.  The Greatest Show on Turf congers up that last second reach by Titans WR Kevin Dyson one yard short of the goal line to prevent a potential game-tying touchdown.  That game’s hero in my book: Rams LB Mike Jones.

Fast forward 12 years later.

Sam Bradford is the new Kurt Warner.  Steven Jackson is the new Marshall Faulk.  But who’s going to step it up and be the Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce of the new Rams?

Tonight’s game should give us a closer look into the continuing battle for the last couple of roster spots for the WR position.

My locks for WR’s are: Danny Amendola, Mike Sims-Walker, Austin Pettis, Greg Salas, Brandon Gibson, and Danario Alexander.

This leaves the likes of Mardy Gilyard and Donnie Avery on the bubble if the Rams want to carry more than 6 WR’s.  Then there’s Joe West, Greg Matthews, Jared Jenkins, and Dominique Curry on the outside looking in.

Gilyard’s strength comes in his versatility as a special teams contributor and Donnie Avery, if he can show he still has the speed, will give him a leg up.

But this second game is going to showcase the starters a bit more.  Coach Spags indicating the first team could see significant more playing time – maybe up to the entire first half of the game.

I’m looking to see who they will utilize to stretch the field and how effective they’ll be.  My eyes will be on Mike Sims-Walker, Danario Alexander, and Donnie Avery.

Another position I will be keeping an eye is the secondary.

Veteran (Ok, I think they could call him Grandpa Al…) CB Al Harris is slated to play tonight probably rotating in between Ron Bartell and Bradley Fletcher.

With Titans start RB and the lifeline of the team holding out for a mega contract most of the focus will on a familiar NFC West mug of newly aquired QB Matt Hasselbeck.  I’m sure Hasselbeck will have a few notes or two about the Rams from over the years.

Look for Spags to be aggressive in going after Matt Hasselbeck with plenty of pressure from the D-line.  I think rookie DE Robert Quinn will chalk up his first NFL preseason sack tonight.  I’m calling it now.

One Titan we need to look out for is Cortland Finnegan.  He could be wreaking havoc down field.

I’d like to see a repeat of last week’s “almost no penalties” by the Rams.  For the most part they played a clean game.

I’ll be in attendance at the game tonight again courtesy of Mr. Kevin Demoff and his Twitter trivia questions.  Thank you, Mr. Demoff!