NFL 2008: St. Louis Rams
After a 3-13 Season There is Only One Direction To Go in '08.
Injuries make the St. Louis Rams a difficult team to evaluate moving into 2008. Last year 27 players combined to miss 152 games due to injury. Continuity was a problem as with each passing week the lineup was consistently in a state of flux. The Rams have the 2nd overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, let’s breakdown the team needs.
Offense
The Rams really struggled on offense as injuries ravaged their offensive line, with future hall of fame T Orlando Pace missing 15 games with a shoulder injury, G Richie Incognito missing 12 games with knee and ankle injuries, C Brett Romberg missing 4 games and G Mark Setterstrom missing 13 with a bad knee. The offensive line had problems opening holes for running backs in the beginning of the season, but seemed to improve as the season went on (and Steven Jackson returned) but had problems protecting the quarterback all year long. The Rams gave up 48 sacks ranking them 28th in protecting the quarterback. There needs to be a long look at bringing in some highly drafted (Jake Long) players as age is catching up with this group.
The running back position isn’t a problem as long as Steven Jackson is healthy. Jackson missed the first four games of the season, but still managed to go over 1,000 yards for the year. The positive spin coming from the injuries is that the Rams were able to get long looks at two rookies, Brian Leonard (330 yards) and Antonio Pittman (139 yards), who displayed the talent to make the position one with depth and backs capable of taking some of the load off of Steven Jackson.
Torry Holt returned successfully from off season knee surgery to have another stellar season accounting for 1,189 yards and 7 touchdowns. Isaac Bruce is finally showed signs of slowing down after 14 years of service with the Rams; Bruce missed 2 games with a bad hamstring but still managed to pull in 55 receptions for 733 yards. The Rams may look to improve their receiving corps this year in the draft. The tight end position should improve as Randy McMichael adjusts to his role in St. Louis’ offense.
The lack of an early season running game and injuries had their effect on Marc Bulger this season. The beatings he took from the quarterback position left him banged up (he missed 4 games due to injury) and when he came back late in the season his confidence in the offensive line had waned. The fact that Brock Berlin and Gus Frerotte started games for the Rams last season that is a signal that the QB position as a unit needs to either; stay healthy or be upgraded.
Defense
Going into the season, the Rams knew this unit was going to be a problem. They tried to address this in the 2007 draft selecting 4 defensive players that all ended up seeing action this season. The Rams ranked 31st in scoring defense, giving up 27.4 points a game. Talent is needed everywhere as this unit was beaten on the ground giving up 115.2 yards per game and through the air allowing 225.8. The most help could be used in the front seven as the Rams could only muster 31 sacks on the season. Once again injuries robbed the Rams of their most accomplished pass rusher, Leonard Little missed 9 games, but St. Louis has to find other ways to put pressure on the QB.
The defensive backfield is young and athletic, and actually made some plays (tying for 11th in the league with 18 interceptions) but blown assignments led to a lot of big plays. Corey Chavous is the key to the secondary, but he too a couple of games this season. His body holding up is very important in the development of this young secondary.
Overall
The Rams head into 2008 with many holes to fill. Coach Scott Linehan appears to be safe for another season, but other coaches may fall. The talent needs to be upgraded overall as age and injury is starting to show on the team. Looks like another long year for the St. Louis Rams.
