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. 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

St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford will most likely miss his third straight game due to a high ankle sprain that he suffered in a 24-3 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Arizona Cardinals will most likely be without quarterback Kevin Kolb who has a turf toe injury. So Sunday's game could feature A.J. Feeley vs. John Skelton in a battle of 1-6 teams. The Arizona Cardinals have won eight of their last nine games against the St. Louis Rams. The Rams next four opponents (Arizona, Cleveland, Seattle) have a combined 7-21 record. Could the Rams battle back to a 5-6 record?

Rams fans should never underestimate a backup QB, as we know some have greatness inside. John Skelton 6-6 245 out of Fordham did start four games in 2010 and led the Cardinals to victories over Denver and Dallas. Overall Skelton was 60 of 126 for 662 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions with a 62.3 QB rating.

The Arizona Cardinals could also be without their starting running back Beanie Wells. If Wells can not go lets hope the Rams do not make a star of Alfonso Smith who has 26 carries for 90 yards this season. The Rams were able to hold the Saints to 56 yards on the ground last week.

The Rams were able to score 31 points last week but don't look past the fact that they still only put up 323 total yards. The Rams were able to take full advantage of a blocked punt, a pick 6 and nice play in the Red Zone to put up those points. A.J. Feeley was a solid 20 of 37 for 175 yards and a touchdown.

The Rams finally have a nice matchup against Arizona. The Cardinals are 25th in rushing offense and the Rams started to tackle much better last week. The Rams need to put pressure on Skelton and when they get to him they need to bring him down.

The Rams have had the same formula over the past few years to win games and they will deploy it again today. To win the Rams must feed the ball to Steven Jackson 20+ times, control the ball and win the turnover battle. The Rams are still not explosive however their is a vast improvement with Brandon Lloyd on the field. Lloyd already has 12 receptions for 127 yards and a TD, and he has been open all over the field.

The Cardinals have lost six straight and the Rams looked good last week. I like the fact that the Rams won 19-6 in Arizona last year. I think this may be a pretty ugly game with each team trying to just control the ball and play mistake free. Steven Jackson looked to be at 100 percent last week and he will be the key today. The Rams will feed him the rock and win a close one out in the desert.

Prediction St. Louis Rams 20 - Arizona Cardinals 17

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

St. Louis Rams vs. Denver Broncos Game Preview

Rams vs. Broncos Game Preview

Well here we go again but you have to start with the fact that the St. Louis Rams are 1-16 in their last 17 road games. The Rams are coming off tough back to back losses in which they were winning in the second half. The Rams have to learn to play tough mentally for 60 minutes of football. I believe the Rams main issues are still the fact that they can not run the ball inside the red zone at all and they do not have a big play receiver to make a play when they need one. Also over the last two weeks their pass defense has been torched by Troy Smith and Matt Ryan. Smith and Ryan combined for over 600 yards passing while throwing 5 touchdown passes, no interceptions and QB ratings over 100. You have to wonder if the Rams are simply starting to wear down due to their lack of depth.

The Rams must find a way to score more than 17 points per game. Denver is 30th in points allowed, and 31st against the rush. The Broncos play a 3-4 base so everything is set up for Steven Jackson to be a huge factor in this one. The only problem with Jackson is he only has 3 touchdowns while having over 1000 total yards of offense. His yards are made meaningless if he can not get into the end zone. The Broncos who are dead last in rushing have 7 rushing touchdowns and Moreno in limited play already has twice as many total touchdowns (6) as Steven Jackson. Of the Rams starting wide receivers only Brandon Gibson is averaging over 10 yards per catch (11.0). On the flip side the top four wide receivers on the Broncos are all averaging over 10 yards per catch.

The best way to attack the St. Louis Rams is through the air where they rank 19th against the pass. Last week Rams cornerbacks Justin King, Bradley Fletcher and Ron Bartell all left in the second half with apparent cramping issues. This week with the game at Invesco Field's mile high altitude you have to worry about their conditioning fair or not. The Broncos are 4th in passing and are the first team the Rams have faced that primarily use their wide receivers. The Broncos top three receivers Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, and Eddie Royal have combined for 150 catches for 2130 yards and 9 TDs. With Kyle Orton on pace for 4800 plus passing yards and 27 touchdowns I am very worried about the Rams secondary heading into this game.

On the ground the Broncos struggle. The Broncos are dead last in the NFL in rushing with only 75 yards per game. That plays into the strength who are 10th in the NFL against the rush. Second year running back Knowshon Moreno has looked very good over the last two weeks averaging 4.7 yards per carry, catching 10 passes and scoring two touchdowns. The Rams will need to keep Moreno from getting outside and let James Laurinaitis their leading tackler with 70 clean him up.

With a win and a Seattle loss the Rams could be in a tie for first in the NFC West after this game. However I once again can not pick the Rams to win a road game, why would I? I hope I am wrong but with three straight road games the Rams are starring at a 4-9 record if they can not change things. I think Moreno has looked great the last two weeks and will cause problems out of the backfield for the Rams. The Broncos receiving core is good and deep and they will exploit the Rams lack of secondary play. If the Rams can not get to Orton at least 5 times in this game the Broncos will put up 30+ points. The Rams should be able to move the ball but they seem to be a team that gets about 280 yards every week and 17 points no matter who they play. The Rams may play tough once again but they can not match scores with the Broncos. Even though the Broncos have lost 15 of their last 20 games I still have to pick them.

Prediction Denver Broncos 30 - St. Louis Rams 20

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

Rams vs. Raiders Game Preview

The Oakland Raiders came out of the gates slow getting pummeled 38-13 last week by the Tennessee Titans. The St. Louis Rams played hard and hung in their with the Arizona Cardinals before falling 17-13. The Raiders are coming off a 5-11 season and with the addition of Jason Campbell many think the Raiders could win as many as 8 games this year. The Rams coming off a 1-15 season took Sam Bradford first overall in the 2010 NFL Draft to help turn their franchise around. The Raiders and Rams simply need to get better and put more points on the board. These two were the only teams to score under 200 points in 2009 and both started the year off by scoring 13.

On offense the St. Louis Rams will look to be more balanced this week against the Raiders. The Rams will hopefully not have Sam Bradford throw 55 times in this one. The Rams are going to need to feature Steven Jackson against the Raiders who allowed 205 yards and 5.3 per carry to Chris Johnson and the Tennessee Titans last week. Jackson had 26 touches against the Cardinals but he did not seem to have any impact on the game. Jackson who only had four touchdowns in 2009 needs to find a way to get the ball into the end zone for the Rams. The Rams move the ball between the 30's but they fail to utilize Jackson in the red zone. If the Rams are patient and stay with the run they should be able to make Sam Bradford more successful with play action and roll out passes. Sam Bradford will look for his new target Mark Clayton who had 10 catches for 119 yards against the Cardinals in Week 1 after being traded away from the Baltimore Ravens.

On defense the Rams were hurt by injuries to the secondary against the Cardinals. Ron Bartell and the rest of the Rams did a nice job against Derek Anderson and the Cardinals wide receiving core. The Rams defense just needs to keep getting off the field by forcing some punts. The Raiders were 3 of 14 on 3rd down conversions against Tennessee. The Raiders will test the Rams deep with Darrius Heyward-Bey, but most of the time look for Jason Campbell to dump the ball off or run with it. Campbell targeted Darren McFadden and Zach Miller 17 times last week in the passing game, and he also ran 7 times for 35 yards. The Rams should stay deep and make the Raiders put together long drives to score.

On offense I expect Jason Campbell to be Jason Campbell which is an inconsistent QB that can put up some decent looking stats but no end results. Jason Campbell likes to pull the ball down and likes to be safe however he still tends to make mistakes. Last week Campbell fumbled twice and threw an interception. This looks like the same Jason Campbell that played at Washington, he will not wow you but he can beat you if you let him. With Michael Bush injured look for Darren McFadden to get a lot of touches against the Rams. The Rams need to be aggressive stack the box and put the Raiders in passing situations. With Bey and Louis Murphy the Raiders are young and inexperienced at wide receiver just like the Rams. I look for Zach Miller to be the best option for the Raiders. The Rams struggle with Tight Ends that can get down the field, and they are also thin at linebacker due to some injuries.

On defense if Richard Seymore is out the Raiders will be in big trouble trying to stop Steven Jackson. The Raiders can lock Nnamdi Asomugha onto Mark Clayton and hope to bait Sam Bradford into some ill-advised throws. A lot of pressure will be on the Raiders linebackers Kamerion Wimbley, Ronald McClain, and Trevor Scott to stop Steven Jackson.

I will keep saying it until they do it, the St. Louis Rams still need to learn how to win again. The Rams have lost 9 straight games, and 26 of their last 27. So with that being said they have to show me that they can win a close game and beat some of these other bad teams. I really don't believe the Raiders should win this game but they are at home and coming off a pasting, and I think they will do enough to pull it out.

Prediction: Oakland Raiders 17-16 over St. Louis Rams

Houston Texans @ St. Louis Rams Matchup

Rams. The high flying Houston Texans (6-7) are coming off their best performance of the season a 34-7 victory against the Seattle Seahawks. Those are the same Seahawks that have beaten the St. Louis Rams 10 straight times and outscored the Rams 55-17 this season.

At 6-7 Houston has an outside chance of finishing 9-7 and making the playoffs. Last week in their victory both sides of the ball were explosive. The offense rolled up 365 yards by halftime behind Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. Andre Johnson is arguably the best WR in the game. Through 13 games he has 81 receptions for 1237 yards and 8 TDs. Schaub could be the best second tier QB in the NFL. He is posting great numbers this year, 324 of 473 for 3814 yards a 68.5 completion percentage and a QB rating of 98.2. On the ground the trio of Steve Slaton, Ryan Moats and Chris Brown have been disappointing but have combined for 10 rushing TDs. Slaton is also dangerous on of the backfield with 44 receptions. Look for the Texans to match him up against the slow Rams outside linebackers.

On defense the Texans are middle of the pack but are coming off their best game of the season last week against Seattle. Houston had an amazing 15 tackles for loss in their game last week. Look for more of the same this week as Mario Williams and company will try to break through the Rams patchwork offensive line to attack Steven Jackson and Keith Null. As great as we think James Laurinaitis has played with his 104 tackles, don't overlook the Texans first round draft choice Brian Cushing who has 112 tackles and 2.5 sacks. I thought last year Cushing could be the best pro of all of the USC linebackers that came out. With the Rams starting O-line of Barron, Greco, Brown, Setterstrom and Goldberg look for the Texans front 7 to manhandle the Rams. As if you want to see another piece of the puzzle the Rams are missing check out Bernard Pollard today. Pollard is the Texans Strong Safety who they picked up after the Chiefs threw him away. Pollard is the kind of hammer the Rams need. If Null hangs out Gibson or Avery today look for Pollard to lay a missile shot on them.

What can you say about the St. Louis Rams offense? The Rams are last in scoring and lately have had trouble getting to 200 yards of offense in a game. With injuries to the O-line, sickness among many of their starters, and Keith Null possibly starting don't look for things to get any better today. If Steven Jackson can not go because of his back injury and sickness the Rams will turn to Gado and Darby. If that happens the Rams may easily be shutout today. Even with Jackson in the game the Rams have score 10 or less points in seven of their thirteen games. On defense today I have no idea what the Rams can do. The front four is going to have to create a lot of pressure on Schaub or this one will be over early. At Free Safety the Rams are starting David Roach and at Right Cornerback Quincy Butler. The Rams do not move Ron Bartell around so Andre Johnson will be able to freely move to create the matchups they are looking for. I am sure Johnson is not afraid of the Bartell matchup but you have to think they will test and burn Quincy Butler all day. The Rams are several pieces short of having a decent defense and once you add the injury issue to that they are even worse. Only the Detroit Lions have allowed more points than the Rams this year.

Overall it is a good day to go see a team that the Rams rarely play. In addition you can see some great players like Johnson, Schaub, Williams, and Cushing. I plan the spend the day in the Bud Light Party Zone wondering why the Rams have not put pieces like this together? Dez Bryant and Colt McCoy, anyone?

Prediction Houston Texans 34 - St. Louis Rams 3

Week 6 – Rams @ Jacksonville Matchup

Well Rams fans it has now been over a calendar year since the St. Louis Rams won a NFL regular season road game. a 19=17 victory over the Washington Redskins. The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off a 41-0 pounding against the Seattle Seahawks. Even the Rams only lost 28-0 to the high powered Seahags. On the positive side the Jags lost 41-0 so they must not be very good right, or will they be that more pissed off and take it out on the St. Louis Rams? The Jags are 30th on defense in total yards and passing yards allowed. On the flip side the Rams are 31st in points allowed and 32nd in points scored, an awful combination.

The Jags took an interesting approach to the offseason one that the Rams could have taken. With their first two picks in the 2009 NFL Draft the Jaguars selected offensive tackles Eugene Monroe & Eben Britton. The Jaguars have each already in the starting lineup, while the Rams are still trying to get Jason Smith on the field at RT. The Rams were looking for more long term upside but meanwhile we are losing game after game, will the gamble ever pay off? The Jags then followed up drafting a DT, CB and 2 WRs seems like they had the same needs heading into the draft that the Rams had. Which has done a better job of filling their needs?

As for this game I think you simply have to follow the numbers. David Garrard has 5 TD passes in two home game, while the Rams have only scored 4 touchdowns the entire season and NONE on the ground even with Steven Jackson. The Jags are capable of putting some points on the board while the Rams rank 31st in points against. In addition the Jags will be getting WR Mike Sims-Walker back today. With Sims-Walker and Torry Holt on the outside and the Rams inexperience at CB the Rams could struggle again today. Maurice Jones-Drew and David Garrard are very hard to tackle so it will be very important for the Rams to get a great game from their front four today.

The Rams will have Marc Bulger back in the saddle at QB today. The Rams are only completing 56% of their passes which is bad news since rarely do they even throw the ball more than 10 yards down field. Bulger is coming back from another injury and I expect him to stay rusty. Steven Jackson has been putting up numbers and is on pace for 1400+ yards rushing but he has ZERO touchdowns, has fumbled a couple of times and continues to miss blitz pickups. I expect Maurice Jones-Drew to outplay Steven Jackson today.

The bottom line is there is still no reason to believe that the Rams believe they can win a game. Until they can believe it and do it, we will continue to pick against them. The numbers are just too heavy against them. In addition to losing 15 straight games, the Rams have also been outscored 146 to 34. Jacksonville is coming off an embarrassing loss and Jack Del Rio is not going to let that fly. I expect Jacksonville to be nasty on defense today and try to knock the Rams around and out. The most telling number may be the fact that in Las Vegas the Rams are a 10 point underdog to a team that just lost 41-0. The Jags can also still salvage their season with 3 straight games against the winless Rams, Titans, and Chiefs. Could the Jags be 5-4 through 9 weeks? I will exit with a quote from Brian Billick "Rams need more talent
Jacksonville has shown signs of being a very good team. I'm not sure St. Louis has the talent yet to beat anybody".

Prediction Jaguars over the Rams 31-10