2011 St. Louis Rams Schedule

The St. Louis Rams really turned it around last season despite finishing with a losing record. They went 7-9 in 2010-11 and had a shot to make the playoffs right up to their final game of the season. St. Louis would lose 6-16 to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 17, and despite finishing with an identical record they lost the tiebreaker with a worse record in the NFC West. The Rams went 3-3 within the division while the Seahawks finished 4-2.

The Rams have a nice foundation to build around and this team is only going to get better over the next few seasons. They have a franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford, a franchise running back in Steven Jackson and their defense is vastly underrated. Their stop unit allowed just 20.5 points per game which was good for the 12th best mark in the league. They needed to surround Bradford with weapons to make the offense more explosive, and they did that in the draft. TE Lance Kendricks and WR’s Austin Pettis and Greg Salas should be able to step in right away and contribute.

St. Louis is set to play both the NFC East and the AFC North divisions while also taking on the second-place teams from the NFC North and NFC South. Those teams happen to be the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers and the 2009-10 winners in the New Orleans Saints. They will play Green Bay at Lambeau Field and will host the Saints. The Rams are likely to be a big underdog in both contests.

In the NFC East the Rams will host the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles. They will be favored against Washington but will likely be getting points against Michael Vick and the Eagles. St. Louis is certain to be a big underdog in their road meetings with the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. They should beat Washington but that’s the only game I see them winning against the East.

Against the AFC North the Rams will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. They will get to host the Bengals in a game they will be favored, but they are likely to be an underdog in their home meeting with the Ravens. St. Louis will have a winnable game in Cleveland but their chance of beating the Steelers in Pittsburgh are slim to none. Two wins out of these four games is very possible for the Rams.

St. Louis appears to be the most ready team to win the NFC West. They are the only squad in this division without a question at quarterback, and they came away with one of the best draft classes as well. The only thing that might hold them back is having to play the Packers and Saints outside of the division. I believe the Rams will likely finish right around 8-8 with a chance to win the West.

More NFL Team Schedules

About the Author: Jack Jones has been ranked in the Top-5 on the Overall Leaderboard for almost all of 2012 here at Betfirms. He has climbed as high as No. 2 while competing against roughly 80 of the best handicappers in the world. He finished as the No. 6 Ranked Basketball Handicapper from 2011-12, which combines pro and college hoops. His $1,000/game basketball players cashed in $22,310 last season. Head on over to Jack's premium pick page to see what he has in store for tonight!