St. Louis Rams NFL Predictions 2009

Written August 29, 2009 by InfoPlays

2009 St. Louis Rams NFL Predictions The Greatest Show on Turf is over. The St. Louis Rams have suffered five consecutive losing seasons, including a 5-27 mark over their past two seasons. They hired former Giants’ defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, to get this thing turned around. There isn’t much talent in the cupboard, but there are a few former Pro Bowlers looking to resurrect their careers, most notably Marg Bulger, Steven Jackson and Leonard Little. The Rams are listed at +800 to win the NFC West at Sportsbook.com. This is one of the most famous online books in the industry. They have their NFL spreads posted early in the week so you can get in on the best possible lines.

Offense: Bulger has started for six straight seasons and he’ll get another shot to lead this team again in 2009. The problem is that he has started all 16 games in a single season only one time. The injuries can be attributed to poor line play, with Bulger being sacked an average of 41 times the past three years. The team signed Kyle Boller to take over the No. 2 job and the No. 3 will go to either Brock Berlin or sixth-round draft pick Keith Null. Spagnuolo wants to turn St. Louis into a power running team, and that starts with Steven Jackson. He has all the tools to become the NFL’s leading rusher with size, power and speed. The addition of fullback Mike Karney should help pave the way for Jackson, provided he can stay healthy. Antonio Pittman and seventh-round pick Chris Ogbonnaya will compete for the backup role. Kenneth Darby proved last year he could handle third downs.

Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce have been a staple of this offense since 1994, but both no longer wear Rams’ uniforms. Drew Bennett proved to be a bust in his two years here, so he was also released. That leaves the receiving corps thin, but the team has high hopes for Donnie Avery, Derek Stanley and Kennan Burton. These are three no-name guys, but Avery has the best chance to become one of the better receivers in the game. They also traded for Atlanta’s Laurent Robinson and drafted Brooks Foster in the fifth round. Tight end Randy McMichael returns from a leg injury and should become the focal point of the passing game. The biggest need on this team was along the offensive line, where they signed free agent center Jason Brown and drafted tackle Jason Smith out of Baylor with the No. 2 overall pick. Orlando Pace is gone after serving 11 years with the team and earning seven Pro Bowls. Alex Barron will move to right tackle to open up the left side for Smith. Jacob Bell starts at left guard and Richie Incognito should start at right guard.

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Defense: The Rams drafted Adam Carriker in 2007 and Chris Long in 2008 with their first-round picks to shore up the defensive line. So far so good as far as those two are concerned, but this team still finished 29th in the league against the run last year. Clifton Ryan is solid at nose tackle, and the team is hoping for fourth-round pick Dorell Scott to step in right away and help inside. Antwon Burton should also be in the mix along the front. Long recorded four sacks and started all 16 games last year for the Rams, showing he could get after the quarterback. Little will start at the other defensive end spot where he bounced back last year with six sacks. Victor Adeyanju and James Hall serve as their backups.

The Rams desperately needed a middle linebacker, so they drafted Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis in the second round to fill the void. Will Witherspoon played middle backer last year but he’s better suited on the weak side, so it’s essential that Laurinaitis can play right away. Leading tackler Pisa Tinoisamoa was surprisingly cut in the offseason because he doesn’t live up to Spagnuolo’s standards. Chris Draft will step in on the strong side in his place. After the starters there isn’t much depth at linebacker. The Rams decided to keep cornerback Ron Bartell and free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe in the offseason. These were arguably their two biggest moves as both are two of their best players on defense. James Butler came with Spagnuolo from the Giants to take over for Corey Chavous at strong safety. Former first-round pick Tye Hill will get the first shot at the other starting cornerback spot, but he missed 20 games in the past two seasons due to injury. Justin King, Jonathan Wade and rookie Bradley Fletcher are all in the running for that final corner spot.

InfoPlays Prediction: 4th in the NFC West – St. Louis is rebuilding while the other three teams in this division are reloading. The Rams do have a lot of talent on this roster and Spagnuolo is the right guy to put it all together. The offensive line has been the weakest link on this team for years, but it appears they made several right moves there to help keep Bulger upright and healthy. That’s the key, because if Bulger can stay healthy this team has a shot to surprise some people. But his targets are mostly unproven at receiver, so the Rams will have to rely heavily on Jackson in the running game to move the ball and mix in timely passes in play-action. Spagnuolo has this team headed in the right direction, but it’s going to take at least another year before they are ready to contend in the NFC West.

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