St Louis Rams 2012

Ten years ago, the St. Louis Rams were among the NFL’s elite. Unfortunately it’s been a very different story since around 2005. Coaching and front office instability and the resulting inability to find adequate replacement as members of the Greatest Show On Turf reached the end of the line have taken a huge toll.

I’m of the belief that the Rams bottomed out three seasons ago. In 2010 with then rookie QB Sam Bradford, the Rams were within an eyelash of a playoff berth in a shaky NFC West. The key in ’10 was a relative lack of injuries—especially on offense.

Injuries were also a huge key to what happened to the Rams in 2011 and they point out the biggest overall weakness. The Rams need more quality football players.  So do the other 31 teams in the NFL but I digress.  The first unit guys weren’t bad, problem is that too many of those first unit guys got hurt and the backups weren’t up to the task of playing winning football in the NFL.  The draft related trades to accumulate draft picks were an excellent idea. Hopefully, the player personnel people got it right on draft day.

Things I like about the 2012 Rams..
New Coach Jeff Fisher. Fisher’s Tennessee teams were aggressive, smart and hard nosed. The one thing I liked about Steve Spagnolo’s time with the Rams was the shift away from finesse football. That trend will continue under Fisher.  One of my most basic beliefs about this game is that there is no substitute for the ability to play smashmouth football.  I expect the Rams to develop that as Fisher and his staff build a roster to suit them over the next few seasons.

QB Sam Bradford. He accomplished a lot as a rookie with a suspect group of wide recievers. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens when he gets to work with better more skilled receivers. A healthy Danario Alexander would help in the short term.  I hope that rookie Brian Quick lives up to billing. Big fast, athletic WR’s are a plus in the NFL.

RB Steven Jackson. He’s a great running back who has spent too much of his career on poor teams.  With a little luck, he’s got another very productive year or two in him.

The Defensive Line and LB’s. The front seven isn’t bad and defenses are best constructed from the line of scrimmage back.

Things that worry me about the 2012 Rams…
The defensive secondary, keeping Danario Alexander healthy, getting Brian Quick up to speed at WR and overall depth.