St. Louis Rams - Titans Week 2 Preview

The St. Louis Rams will play game 2 of the preseason Saturday night at the Edward Jones Dome against the Tennessee Titans. The Rams coming off of a tremendous 33-10 victory last week against the Colts will look to keep up their solid play against the short-handed Titans. The Titans who finished last in the AFC South last year at 6-10 will be without their star running back Chris Johnson who is still holding out. In addition to Johnson being out WR Kenny Britt will also most likely not play, the league is looking at possible disciplinary action for some offseason issues Britt had with the law. The Titans seem to be on their way down while the Rams seem to be on their way up. In the offseason the Titans lost their head coach Jeff Fisher in addition to QB Vince Young. The Titans seem to be in a transition phase and part of that transition may include surprise first round draft pick, and 8th overall QB Jake Locker. Jake Locker played well in relief of Matt Hasselbeck going 7 of 10 for 89 yards and 1 touchdown in a 14-3 Week 1 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. With Chris Johnson out Jamie Harper led the Titans in rushing last week with 8 carries for 27 yards. Harper is a 4th round draft pick out of Clemson. The Titans spread the ball to 11 different receivers in Week 1 while they showed a nice 26-28 pass/run balance. I think new head coach Mike Munchak will have his work cut out for him in 2011.

According to the St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo, the starters may play the entire first half on Saturday night, and the includes RB Steven Jackson. Jackson normally sees very little action in the preseason but has also stated that he would like to play as long as the first unit is on the field. The Rams ran well behind Harvey Dahl last week and I am looking forward to watching Jackson pound the rock over the right side. WR Mike Sims-Walker should debut for the Rams Saturday night as well. Sam Bradford who looked ok last week should have all of his weapons heading into this game. I know this is only a week 2 preseason game but after last week I would be pretty disappointed if the Rams do not seriously outplay the Titans at least up until halftime.

By Stlvinnie - http://www.stlouisramfan.com

As Stlvinnie Sees it - Week 4 Vince Vitale

In Week 3 I scored 89 points after 76 in week 2 and I am now 11th out of 36 in the Blogger/Celebrity/Expert League. Last week I used up Adrian Peterson but that turned out to be the right move. This week I am going to use up Chris Johnson hopeful he will come through with a huge game against the Denver Broncos. For my second back I am going to go with Peyton Hillis and hope to get double digits with him while he is hot. I see some great plays for wide receivers this week but I am going to go with two stars. I am going to start Brandon Marshall against the Patriots who got tore up by Buffalo last week, and DeSean Jackson who should run wild and behind the Washington Redskins secondary. At quarterback it is hard to pass up Aaron Rodgers but I am going to go with Phillip Rivers and save Rodgers for a rainy day. Last week I was burned when Visanthe Shiancoe was hurt but I am going to bring out the big gun this week and go with Antonio Gates against the Arizona Cardinals. At kicker I am going with Matt Bryant who should get some opportunities against the struggling 49ers.Check in next week to see if my selections paid off.

Winner By Knockout - Chris Johnson

The Chris Johnson, Steven Jackson showdown and Rams Titans showdown turned into more of an MMA first round knockout! It took Chris Johnson less than 12 minutes to produce 100+ total yards and two TDs to put the Titans up 14-0, and it was all over.

The Titans went on to roll up 446 yards in route to an embarrassing 47-7 thrashing of the St. Louis Rams. Chris Johnson managed to put up 186 total yards and three TDs. Steven Jackson who was obviously not at 100% again was kept in the game way too long. Jackson managed 47 yards on 19 carries and was stopped in the backfield most of the day.

Keith Null finally got into a Rams game today as the starting QB due to the injury to Kyle Boller. Keith managed to throw 5 INTs in a less than stellar performance. A late game garbage TD pass to Randy McMichael may be the highlight of his NFL career. Keith Null was 27 of 43 for 157 yards and a QB rating of 37.8. The Rams refuse to throw the ball downfield which the Rams 3.7 yards per attempt shows all to well.

If Steve Spagnuolo says anything to the media about the Rams effort, or how hard they try, or how they never quit, or how great they looked in practice I want every Rams fan to call the Rams office and complain. Hey Steve, we don't care win a game!!!

Stlvinnie

http://www.stlouisramfan.com

The Showdown - St. Louis Rams @ Tennessee Titans

With the St. Louis Rams 1-11 on the season there is no longer much excitement surrounding their games. However today's contest features an the top two running backs in the NFL going head-to-head.

Tennessee's Chris Johnson leads the NFL in rushing yards with 1509 yards on 244 attempts for an unbelievable 6.2 yards per carry average. In addition Johnson has 39 receptions for 322 yards. This puts Johnson clearly ahead of the pack with 1831 total yards from scrimmage and he has tacked on 10 TDs for good measure. I don't believe people really understand how good Johnson is. This is the NFL and for a running back to have pure breakaway speed is remarkable. Chris Johnson truly has the ability to score on any play. Johnson has a league leading seven 40+ yard rushes and nineteen of 20 yards or more.

Steven Jackson is the undisputed leader of the St. Louis Rams in 2009. As important as he is as a great running back he has been equally important as the new leader and face of the franchise. In numerous games this year Steven has said hop on guys it's time to pick it up. Unfortunately Jackson has been only able to lead the Rams to one victory. Jackson leads the NFC in rushing and is second in the NFL in rushing. With no passing threat it is amazing that Jackson has been able to put up 1232 rushing yards on a league leading 266 attempts. Jackson also leads the Rams in receptions with 44 for 267 yards. The biggest question for Rams fans is will the 400+ touches Jackson gets in 2009 effect his ability in 2010. The Rams need to find a backup speed back for 2010.

As for the game today these are two teams going in opposite directions. The Tennessee Titans come in winning five of their last six games, and still hold out hope for a playoff position. When Vince Young took over as QB for Kerry Collins the Titans started getting on a roll. The Titans have averaged 27 points per game with Young at the helm. Vince Young however has a knee injury which has kept him out of practice all week and made him a game time decision. With the playoffs on the line I look for Vince Young to find his way onto the battlefield today. Chris Johnson, Kenny Britt, and Nate Washington also are on the injury report for Tennessee today.

The St. Louis Rams are once again working on a losing streak which stands at four. The Rams have only one win on the season and only six in the last three years. This current team could be the worst in a long franchise history. Without Steven Jackson this team would be lucky to beat the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Rams also have major QB issues, this week Kyle Boller's thigh injury could cause Keith Null to get the start on the road. This would not be a good place for Null to get his first NFL opportunity but you take what you can get. Many fans have wanted to see what Keith Null can do before 2010 gets here, today they may get their wish. With a lot of questions on offense and a growing injury list expect more of a very basic boring offense from the Rams who are dead last in scoring at 11 points per game.

The Rams continue to show they do not know how to win, and the Titans have to win today. Look for Chris Johnson to run all over the Rams today.

Prediction Tennessee Titans 27 - St. Louis Rams 10