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2009 St Louis Rams NFL Season Predictions

Written June 25, 2009 by Jason Lowry

St. Louis Rams 2009 Predictions The St. Louis Rams are coming off another miserable season in 2008, as they finished up the year at 2-14. The Rams have now won just 5 games the past two seasons, and have not been to the postseason since earning a wild card birth in 2004. The Rams will have a new head coach once again, and this time its Steve Spagnuolo who gets the chance to turn this organization around. Spagnuolo is bringing a team first approach to a team that is desperate need of direction. It’s unlikely the Rams compete in 2009, but they need to show they are headed in the right direction to compete in 2010 and beyond.

The Rams cleaned house of most of their veterans, as the team only has six players over the age of 30, compared to the 20 they had at the end of last season. Some of the cuts the Rams made this offseason included wide receiver Torry Holt, offensive tackle Orlando Pace, linebacker Piso Tinoisamoa, safety Corey Chavous, corner Fakhir Brown, and tight end Anthony Becht. The Rams did bring some talent to the team, as they signed center Jason Brown, fullback Mike Karney, safety James Butler, and backup quarterback Kyle Boller. In the 2009 draft the Rams had the 2nd overall pick and landed Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith. The Rams then added Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitas with their 2nd round selection. The results of going young are not likely to be immediate, but if the young talent comes through this team could be back at the top of the NFC West in couple years.

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On off the Rams are really hoping that they will have a strong Marc Bulger under center this season. Even though Bulger wasn’t injured last season, he completed just 57% of his passes and had just 11 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. That wasn’t all his fault, as running back Steven Jackson missed another stretch of games, and the receiving corps was inexperienced. The Rams are hoping that with better play from both the running game and the receivers, Bulger can return to the form that made him a Pro Bowl quarterback in 2006. Without a true fullback the last two seasons, the addition of Kerney should really help get Jackson going this season, and if Jackson is playing well the offense usually plays well. At wide receiver the Rams are still very young, as Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton or the top two targets in just their second year in the league. That likely means that tight end Randy McMichael will end up catching a lot of balls and could put together his best season to date. Even though the Rams lost long time left tackle Orlando Pace, they are looking like they will end up having a pretty solid line in 2009. Rookie Jason Smith will start off playing right tackle, but he is the eventual left tackle of this team. Holding down the left tackle spot this season will be Alex Barron, who has had some experience there filling in for Pace. The addition of center Jason Brown should add some much needed leadership the line, and he should help whoever ends up playing the two guard spots. The offense will really depend on Jackson, if he can run the football with some success like he has in the pass, it should really open up the passing game for Bulger and company. Bet the Rams +800 to win the NFC West at Sportsbook.com.

On defense the Rams have a number of options at defensive end, it figures that Chris Long will continue to get his shot to prove he was worth the top 5 pick a year ago, while the veteran Leonard Little likely is used more in just pass rushing situations. Victor Adeyanju will be the guy on running downs, but don’t forget about James Hall who led the team with 6.5 sacks last season. On the inside the Rams will likely go with the duo of Adam Carriker and Clifton Ryan, but don’t be surprised if 4th round pick Darell Scott doesn’t see some heavy playing time as well. At linebacker the Rams are going to move Will Witherspoon back to his more natural position at weak side linebacker, and that paves the way for the rookie Laaurinaitis to come in and take over in the middle. The veteran Chris Daft will likely hold down the strong side spot, but the Rams are very thin at this position and really need all three of these guys to stay healthy all season. In the secondary the Rams have one of the best free safeties in the game in Oshiomogho Atogwe, and the addition of James Butler at strong safety should work well considering he knows the defense from his time with the Giants. At corner the Rams will go with the duo of Ron Bartell and Tye Hill to start it off, but look out for youngsters Jonathan Wade, Justin King, and Bradley Fletcher to challenge for playing time. This is a pretty young group from top to bottom, but they have the talent to make it work, but it’s likely we won’t see the true results until 2010. Bet the Rams +10000 to win the NFC West at Sportsbook.com.

My Prediction: 4th NFC West (5-11) I think the Rams make some strides in 2009, and while I don’t have them winning a ton of games, I really feel like this team is going to be much more competitive this season, but like most young teams they will struggle to win the close games. See where I have the rest of the league finishing up in my 2009 NFL predictions article.

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