Rams vs. 49ers Game Preview

Steve Spagnuolo is ultra conservative but I still do not expect him to run onto the field Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers waving a white flag, however one way or another the St. Louis Rams 2011 season will come to a merciful ending. The San Francisco 49ers pounded out a 26-0 win against the Rams just four weeks ago and will look to put another beat down on the Rams. A victory over the Rams would give San Francisco a first-round bye in the NFC Playoffs.

The 49ers absolutely dominated the first matchup only allowing the Rams to gain 157 total yards and ten first downs. The 49ers defense was smothering. The Rams went into the game with AJ Feeley at quarterback. The 49ers held Feeley to a 58.1 QB rating while sacking him four times and intercepting him once. On the ground Steven Jackson was held to 19 yards on 10 carries while Josh McDaniels was criticized for his approach in this game. The 49ers were able to hold the ball for 36:04 of the game.

While many talk about the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints and for good reason, the 49ers should also be in the discussion. Common sense says the 49ers can't score with the big boys but they do average 23 points per game, and would they have to score that much with their top ranked defense? Alex Smith known for managing the game as they say is 10th in QB rating and at times looks similar to a former Super Bowl Champion Trent Dilfer. Dilfer managed a 34-7 victory in Super Bowl XXXV over the New York Giants.

The Rams will once again go with Kellen Clemens at QB and face another tough matchup. The Rams have been shutout twice in their last four games, scoring a total of only 26 points in those contest. The Rams now face the #1 scoring and rushing defense in the NFL in the 49ers. The 49ers want that bye week and they will come to town on a mission to get just that.

The Rams show no signs of ever changing their game plan under head coach Steve Spagnuolo. Weather Pat Shurmer or Josh McDaniels is calling the plays they smell of Spagnuolo's conservative approach. The Rams will try to run the ball with Steven Jackson, throw short passes and punt a lot. The Rams are so bad on offense that they are -207 in point differential and trail the Chiefs by 39 points for 31st in scoring. In the year of high scoring offense the Rams are setting records for futility.

The Rams have at least never folded during a game and they now only have one left so I look for them to at least show up again but there is no way they should win this game. This game means a lot to the 49ers. The 49ers are already in the playoffs and may overlook the Rams but not with Jim Harbaugh as the coach. I look for the 49ers to come out early grab a lead and add to it as the game goes along. Rams fans should spend most of the game looking at the scoreboard hoping for an Indianapolis Colts victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Prediction San Francisco 49ers 23 - St. Louis Rams 7

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

Rams vs. Seahawks Game Preview

The St. Louis Rams (2-10) will take on the Seattle Seahawks (5-7) on Monday Night Football this week in Seattle. The Rams lost 24-7 just three weeks ago on their home turf to the Seahawks and will have a tough test on National TV.

The Rams had two interceptions, a blocked punt and an early 7-0 lead over the Seahawks in the Edward Jones Dome the last time these two met. After that is was all Seattle as they dominated shutting the Rams out over the final 54 minutes of action. Chris Clemons led the way with three of the five Seahawks sacks of Sam Bradford. Steven Jackson was also shut down as he was only able to gain 42 yards on 15 carries. Overall the Rams were held to 185 total yards.

Seattle is 5-7 on the season and 3-1 over their last four games as their play has improved. The Seahawks are coming off a dominating win over the Eagles and will have 11 days rest heading into this game. With a win the Seahawks would be only two games behind the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons for the Wild Card position in the NFC. As we all know stranger things have happened.

Its no secret that the Seahawks will try to pound the ball on the ground with Marshawn Lynch against the Rams 32nd ranked rush defense. Lynch managed 88 yards and a TD on the ground in the Week 11 contest. In addition Tavaris Jackson finally seems to be healthy and he could pose some problems moving around in the pocket, buying time and making some big plays to Doug Baldwin and Sidney Rice who both average over 15 yards per catch.

Heading into Monday it is still unclear who will even be the starting QB for the Rams as Sam Bradford is suffering from a high ankle sprain still and A.J. Feeley has a broken thumb. All recent signs point to Sam Bradford giving it a go on Monday night, however if he can not or aggravates the injury further look for newly acquired Kellen Clemens to play for the Rams.

Steven Jackson has been held under 65 yards in each of the Rams last three contests. There is hope that Mark Levoir will return at tackle which would be some needed relief from the turnstile play of Adam Goldberg. For the Rams to have any chance in this one they will need a huge game from Steven Jackson.

The Rams continue to play about as conservative as an NFL team can play. With the patch work offensive line and the beat up Sam Bradford behind center look for head coach Steve Spagnuolo to continue his conservative ways. I would love to see the Rams come out, be aggressive and throw everything they have at Seattle but there is no reason to believe that will happen. The Rams are 10-34 under Spagnuolo, are last in the league in scoring 11.7 points per game, and are -156 in point differential in 2011.

The Rams are just not playing well enough to beat teams right now and a Monday Night game on National TV against the Seattle Seahawks and the 12th man could be a recipe for disaster for this franchise. Will Sam Bradford play and will the Rams be able to protect him? Will Stan Kronke see him team embarrassed on Monday Night Football and prepare to clean house? Many questions may be answered Monday night.

Prediction Seattle Seahawks 20 - St. Louis Rams 6

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

Rams vs. 49ers Game Preview

The key to the St. Louis Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers game today is Jim Harbaugh. The 49ers are 9-2 and will win the NFC West and the biggest reason is Jim Harbaugh. The 49ers signed Jim Harbaugh to take over this year for Mike Singletary who was released after going 18-22 as the 49ers tough nosed inexperienced head coach.

Jim knows football. Harbaugh played 15 seasons in the NFL and was a college head coach for seven years at San Diego and Stanford where he had a combined record of 58-27. Everyone waited for the 49ers to take on the persona of Mike Singletary but instead they have taken to Jim's football philosophy much quicker.

Jim Harbaugh is about hard nosed, smart NFL football. For those that love stats the 49ers have allowed more yards than they have gained and have even been sacked more than they collected so how are the 49ers so successful and 9-2? The 49ers are efficient and know how to win and they learned that from Jim Harbaugh. The 49ers control the clock, are +16 in turnover differential and pressure the other team physically and mentally just like Jim would do it.

This is yet another terrible match up for the Rams. The 49ers are first overall in scoring and rushing defense while the Rams are 31st in scoring and 21st in rushing. The 49ers will pound at the Rams 32nd ranked rushing defense with Al Gore and Kendall Hunter. The Rams continually make stars of backup running backs like Kendall Hunter and today will be no exception. With DT Justin Bannan most likely out today the 49ers will attack the interior of the Rams because they know they can and under the leadership of Harbaugh will make sure you no about it.

With Sam Bradford still suffering from an ankle injury Jay Feeley will most likely start for the Rams today. The 49ers will attack Feeley from the outside with Justin Smith and Aldon Smith off the edge. In the middle of the field NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis will be head hunting Rams receivers and running backs. The Rams who never seem to have much of a plan will try to attack with Steven Jackson who will most likely not find much room behind the Rams patchwork offensive line. Through the air the Rams will continually go to Brandon Lloyd who will probably be covered by Carlos Rogers who leads the 49ers with 5 interceptions.

It all goes back to efficiency. The 49ers are 26th in yardage but 9th in points. The 49ers will impose their will on the Rams all afternoon. Hopefully Rams fans will finally see the difference coaching can make and why we will need to clean house after the 2011 season.

Prediction San Francisco 49ers 20 - St. Louis Rams 3

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

Rams vs Cardinals Game Preview

Three weeks ago the St. Louis Rams suffered a heartbreaking 19-13 loss to the Arizona Cardinals when Patrick Peterson returned a punt 99 yards in overtime. The Rams basically blew that game and Steve Spagnuolo started to come under fire once again for his decisions. The Rams had leads of 6 and 7 points throughout most of the game. Last in the game Spagnuolo usually ultra conservative elected to go for a 4th and 1 instead of trying to take the lead with a 50 yard field goal. Then as time expired a 42 yard field goal be Josh Brown was blocked by Calais Campbell. The Rams were coming off a huge home win against New Orleans and with the schedule there was hope the Rams could win five games in a row to get to 5-6 but those hopes were crushed after the Peterson punt return.

Expect more of the same today as both of these teams are still not very good football teams. The Rams are 2-8 and the Cardinals are sitting at 3-7, neither team will make the playoffs in 2011.

With Rodger Saffold and Jason Smith out for the season the Rams are not even sure who will start on the offensive line this week against the Cardinals. With Mark LeVoir also injured the Rams will be force to once again play Kevin Hughes at Left Tackle unless they go with Thomas Welch who they picked up on Thursday or slide Harvey Dahl over to play tackle. Anyway you slice it if you don't even know your line combinations heading into the weekend you are going to be in big trouble. The Rams allowed four sacks to the Cardinals in the first meeting.

For the Rams look for more of the same as they will need to establish Steven Jackson on the ground and hope to get some big plays from Brandon Lloyd. With the loss of Mark Clayton for the year it does not appear that the Rams passing attack is going to pick up any time soon. Sam Bradford is still near the bottom of the league (29th) in QB rating and has been off target of late.

The Cardinals have their own problems as they are in the bottom third of every major offensive category. In addition they are unsure heading into the game if Kevin Kolb will be ready to return from his toe injury or if they will have to go with John Skelton once again. Skelton played well against the Rams in the previous matchup going 20 of 35 for 222 yards and a touchdown. Skelton will look to get big plays from Early Doucet and Larry Fitzgerald against the Rams banged up secondary.

This game will most likely be a carbon copy of the first game as both teams will slug it out in an attempt to get points on the board. On the ground I like Steven Jackson over Beanie Wells but through the air the Cardinals have more big play potential. I think it will come down to the offensive line play and at this point you just can't trust the Rams blocking. Sam Bradford does not feel safe in the pocket and I do not think he will be safe today either.

Prediction Arizona Cardinals 20 - St. Louis Rams 13

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

Rams vs. Redskins Game Preview

The St. Louis Rams enter their game Sunday against the Washington Redskins with an 0-3 record. The Rams have been blown out three weeks in a row and have made more mistakes than I can count. The Rams are 29th in points scored, 31st in points allowed, 31st in yards allowed and Sam Bradford is 29th in QB rating. Adding to our misery is the fact that our bell cow Steven Jackson has been limited to 6 carries after being injured on his initial carry of the season, a touchdown run against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Even with the NFC West not being very good and the season still being early this appears to be a must win for the St. Louis Rams. The Rams are 0-3 and have upcoming games at Green Bay and Dallas. Without a win against Washington tomorrow it is quiet possible that the Rams will start the 2011 season 0-6. The Rams must step up. Sam Bradford must play better. Steven Jackson must get on the field and stay on the field. Receivers must catch the ball and the offensive line must block.

The St. Louis Rams again look on paper and also according to Las Vegas are the underdogs. Well it is time for the underdog to step up. Rams fans thought we were going to be improved in 2011 but the Redskins are improved. The Rams need to play close to a perfect game every week to compete. With a thinning tailgate and game crowd already in week three the Rams can't afford another loss. The Rams next home game will be almost a month away when they face the Saints on Ovtober 30th, they can not be 0-6 at that time. With new owner Stan Kronke keeping a close eye on everything the time is now to show what we have and the Rams better show it on Sunday.

Ryan Kerrigan, Brian Orakpo, London Fletcher and others will try to turn the heat up on Sam Bradford on Sunday. Bradley Fletcher and Justin King will have to find a way to shutdown Santana Moss. Typically this is a game I would predict the Rams to lose but they have their back to the wall and I am hoping they can pull this one out.

Prediction St. Louis Rams 20 - Washington Redskins 17

Rams vs. Giants Game Preview

Rams vs. Giants Game Preview

The St. Louis Rams will take on the New York Giants tonight on Monday Night Football. It appears the Rams have made great strides in becoming much better. In 2010 the Rams won 7 games and played the Seattle Seahawks on the final week of the season for a chance to get into the post season. The Rams have high hopes for 2011 and after almost 5 years will make an appearance on Monday Night Football.

The biggest key in this game is who will and who will not play. Steven Jackson is a game time decision with his quad injury but I would be surprised if he plays. With Danny Amendola out of the lineup Greg Salas should get the start in the slot. Sam Bradford will not only have to worry about his protection but he will also need to worry about who is going to get open and make a catch. Through the preseason and again last week in the Rams 31-13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles the Rams continue to drop passes. With Justin Tuck likely playing for the Giants the Rams nicked up offensive line will need to play much better than they played last week.

The New York Giants will still be without CB Prince Amukamara and DE Osi Umenyiora. The Rams must provide Sam Bradford with enough time to be aggressive and get the ball downfield to the wide receivers. Year after year we continue to wait for the vertical passing game to show up for the Rams. We can beat the Giants by throwing the ball down field on first down and on play action if Cadillac Williams can keep the Giants honest on the ground.

The Giants lost a tough one last week to their rival the Washington Redskins and are very disappointed in their effort. Eli Manning still walks in his brothers shadow and always will. Eli please come to grips with the fact you are nowhere near as good as your brother and you are not one of the top quarterbacks in the league. The Giants will be best off attacking the Rams with their duo of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. The two combined for only 75 yards on 20 carries last week. Look for the Giants to attack the Rams linebackers and then work in playaction to Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham who will pose big problems for the Rams secondary that will be without Ron Bartell.

It is only week two so can this possibly be a must win game for the Rams? Well with all of our division games to play this is just another game, however it is very very important. The Rams need to prove to themselves and the league that they have the talent to win a game like this on national TV. It is time for the Rams to step up, run the rock, throw the ball deep and battle until the end for a victory. With the pissed off Baltimore Ravens coming to town next week the Rams better take care of business.

This is the type of game the post GSOT Rams do not win. I wish I could be more positive. I know the Rams can win this game but I just don't think they will. Again I will go to playmakers and the Giants have more and also have a huge home field advantage tonight.

Prediction New York Giants 27 - St. Louis Rams 17