32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #23: The St. Louis Rams

I find it disconcerting when the worst offensive line in football gets a backup quarterback with known concussion problems. It also doesn’t help that this team finished last season with a 3-13 record. What is wrong with the St. Louis Rams? Its simple. They are an old team playing in a young man’s game. Things can get better. Will they this year? No. They still haven’t fixed their problems at the offensive line. Without a line, you have no running game and the passing game suffers as well. The quarterbacks had very little protection last year and got destroyed in the backfield. Which is why I still don’t understand the signing of Trent Green. That is only going to bring up more questions about the danger of the game of football. Green won’t retire, Roger Goodell should keep a close eye on this situation.

Talk about a defense with no talent. I thought the 49ers were bad. This team has no playmakers. I have almost no faith in this team this year that its hard to even write about them. The Rams made the decision to pass up Glenn Dorsey and draft Chris Long. Its not a bad decision. I probably would have gone with Dorsey, but Long is an excellent defensive end and can hopefully bring something to this team. I don’t think he makes that big impact this year, but he is a good cornerstone for this defense for the future.

The wide receiver position is old for the Rams. Torry Holt is still one of the best wide outs in the league, but he’s winding down his career and he’s lost a step over the years. I’ve never known Drew Bennett to be the most amazing playmaker in the league, so I don’t see how much he can possibly help. Dante Hall is another old veteran, who is on the backside of his career. So what we are left with overall is a wide out crew that is either old or untalented. The Rams did go out and draft a couple of young wide out stand outs. Donnie Avery out of Houston and Keenan Burton out of Kentucky. They bring youth to an old team, but it may be a while before these rookie stars produce NFL numbers.

The running game is a little difficult to talk about. Considering that 80% of how well a running back does in a game and a season is based on how well his offensive line opens holes for him, it doesn’t look good for the Rams. However, Steven Jackson, when healthy, is a top ten running back in the NFL. Even without a strong offensive line, Steven Jackson can and will produce. He’s that good. Backing up Jackson is Brian Leonard. A running back who is a good threat as a receiver coming out of the backfield, but I haven’t seen much as a rusher to sell me on him. That again could be attributed to how bad the offensive line played last year. Steven Jackson will get almost every carry while he is healthy, so we really won’t see much of Leonard unless Jackson does get injured. If the offensive line holds up, we will see why Steven Jackson is a top ten back.

And now we get to the most important position in football, the quarterback position. I will praise Marc Bulger. He has been a fantastic quarterback over the years. He’s only coming into his 8th season. He’s got the time to become one of the best quarterbacks of all-time. One thing that all of those quarterback’s have in common is a ring. Marc Bulger needs to win a championship. He won’t do it with the team that is being fielded this year. His receivers are either old or untalented, and his offensive line can’t protect him. It’s going to be another tough year for Bulger, but if and it’s a big if, his offensive line can hold up, maybe he can make some sort of impact this year. What I and I’m sure a lot of people hope for, is that Bulger doesn’t get injured and misses any game this year. Not only because any injury is bad, but because of who his backup is. Trent Green has missed time in the last 2 seasons because of severe concussions. He shouldn’t be playing the game anymore, but his stubbornness won’t let him retire. If Green has to play this year, I fear for his health. Lets hope the Ram’s offensive line holds up and Bulger doesn’t get hurt. Green is a good quarterback, but if he gets severely hurt again, there are going to be serious ramifications on the NFL.

The St. Louis Rams are in store for another tough year. They don’t have an easy schedule. They’ve got the Superbowl Champion Giants, the New England Patriots, and the Dallas Cowboys to play this year. It’s not going to be a fun year for Rams fans. They will struggle, they won’t make the playoffs, and they will once again disappoint the world. Anything can happen in football, but I think its pretty safe to say the playoffs won’t be coming through St. Louis this year. Maybe next year... or not. Good luck St. Louis.