Athlon Sports Rams 2014 Team Preview and Predictions

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August 15, 2014 at 4:00 pm #4063

RamBill
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St. Louis Rams 2014 Team Preview and Predictions

http://athlonsports.com/nfl/st-louis-rams-2014-team-preview-and-predictions

With a strong defense already in place, the Rams need a healthy and productive Sam Bradford if they hope to contend for a playoff spot this season

In their first two years on the job, coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead have brought the Rams back to respectability, a commendable achievement in itself given the sad state of the franchise when they arrived in 2012. All along, they’ve pointed to Year 3 of their rebuilding project — the 2014 season — as the year to get over the hump. The year to end what is now a string of 10 straight seasons without a winning record. The year the blockbuster “RGIII Trade” with Washington would bear its last fruit. Well, here we are. The selection of offensive lineman Greg Robinson represented the last piece of property gained in return for giving the Redskins the right to draft quarterback Robert Griffin III. It’s time to see results in St. Louis.

OFFENSE

The Rams were forced to start a backup quarterback for more than half of the 2013 season and played nine top-10 defenses, yet they still scored their most points since 2006. But the bar has been set pretty low. They need to find another field goal here, another touchdown there to push their way into the postseason. The approach to that task involves two potential risks — sticking with Sam Bradford at quarterback and standing pat at wide receiver in a draft in which Sammy Watkins was there for the taking. Those are the kinds of decisions that can lead to contract extensions if they work, but pink slips if they don’t.

Bradford was headed to a career year statistically when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Game 7 at Carolina. He was nearly at full strength during OTAs, so his status for the regular-season opener is not in question. His group of pass-catchers — wideouts, tight ends and running backs included — needs to provide more help by minimizing drops and doing a better job of creating separation. Chris Givens failed to make a leap after a strong rookie season. He caught only 34 passes for 569 yards last season. Tavon Austin, a 2013 first-round pick, needs to polish his craft in every area, and the coaching staff must do a better job of utilizing his skills. Brian Quick is talented but has yet to catch more than 18 passes in a season. Kenny Britt, signed as a free agent, had flashes of brilliance during his five years with the Titans but lacked consistency and had difficulty staying out of trouble. Tight end Jared Cook, another former Titan drafted by Fisher, had a career-high 51 catches in his first season with the Rams, but he too needs to be more consistent.

The Rams are well stocked at running back, with third-round draft pick Tre Mason, the former Auburn star, joining Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham, and Isaiah Pead. The addition of Robinson in the draft provides power to an offensive line that must grind out yards on the ground and keep Bradford from hitting the ground.

DEFENSE

The Rams already had arguably the best defensive end tandem in the league in Robert Quinn and Chris Long. Now they’re adding the best interior pass-rusher in the 2014 draft in tackle Aaron Donald. And let’s not forget what could be the biggest offseason addition of all — Gregg Williams as the Rams’ new defensive coordinator. This was supposed to happen a couple of seasons ago when Fisher first took the job. But less than two months after being hired by Fisher during the 2011-12 offseason, Williams was suspended by the league for a year for his role in the “Bountygate” scandal in New Orleans. That led to a falling out between Fisher and Williams, one that included Fisher’s ouster of Williams’ son Blake after the ’12 season. But the two long-time friends patched things up in January, and two years later Williams finally gets to work his magic on the St. Louis defense.

The cornerstone will be that defensive line, which also includes two solid tackles in Michael Brockers and Kendall Langford, plus a superb utility man in end William Hayes. The Rams have five first-round picks in their front seven.

The linebacker corps returns all three starters in James Laurinaitis (middle), Alec Ogletree (weak side) and Jo-Lonn Dunbar (strong side). Ogletree had a strong rookie year and has big-play potential. Laurinaitis remains dependable, durable and productive.

Williams will earn his pay trying to get the secondary up to snuff. The entire unit has only 71 games’ worth of NFL starting experience. Starting corners Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson remain raw and mistake-prone. And at safety, starters T.J. McDonald (strong) and Rodney McLeod (free) are far from finished products. It’s not going to work unless the entire secondary cuts down on mistakes and does a better job avoiding big plays. Rookie LaMarcus Joyner, who will play nickel back, must make an instant contribution.

SPECIALISTS

The Rams are close to becoming one of the best special teams units in the league. Fewer penalties and a little more juice in the return game can make that happen. Austin has flashes of brilliance on punt returns as evidenced by a long TD against Indianapolis and a TD called back against Dallas last year. He’s a slithery change-of-direction demon who needs just a little daylight to make a lot happen. Meanwhile, the Rams have been searching for a dynamic kickoff returner since the days of Tony Horne and the Greatest Show on Turf. There is no clear-cut favorite for that job, and it’s a certainty there will be auditions throughout the preseason. Cunningham, a backup running back, doesn’t look or run like a classic kickoff returner, but he has shown a knack for at least providing decent field position.

Punter Johnny Hekker and placekicker Greg Zuerlein are developing into a consistent, productive pair. Hekker has that rare combination of hang time, distance and directional skill, setting an NFL record for net punting (44.2 yards) a year ago. Zuerlein was nearly automatic in ’13, avoiding the midseason slump of his rookie campaign. He’s got one of the league’s strongest legs.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Improvement is needed at wide receiver and tight end. An offensive line that includes three players with recent injury histories — Jake Long, Rodger Saffold and Scott Wells — needs to stay healthy. It’s shaping up as a make-or-break year for Bradford, who’s had injury issues of his own in two of his four Rams seasons. There’s nothing but inexperience in the secondary and next to no depth at linebacker. OK, the D-line has the makings of “great.” Still that’s a lot of “ifs” for what figures to be the youngest team in the NFL for the third consecutive season. And in case you’ve forgotten, the Rams reside in the toughest neighborhood of all, the NFC West. Throw in a non-division schedule that includes Denver, Kansas City, and Philadelphia — all playoff teams from a year ago — and the Rams may need more than a GPS tracker to find the postseason.

PREDICTION: 4th in NFC West

August 15, 2014 at 5:39 pm #4066

rfl
Participant

Just had a flash of memory with this post.

For a number of us nomads, the Rams were never home. We followed them from all parts of the nation. I started following them growing up in Chicago (horns + Fearsome Foursome + Roman Gabriel + boring Bears) and then moved to Minny from where I have remained faithful for decades.

Which meant that media coverage of the Rams was nearly unavailable. Neither the Tribune, Sun Times, Pioneer Press, or Star/Tribune ever covered the Rams. Neither did local radio or TV. There was no ESPN nor, of course, was there a web.

And that meant that, at season’s end, I would go for months with no Rams news. Until, finally, the preseason previews came out. Just like this one.

SI would have pigskin previews with thumbnails on each team. And the dedicated season preview pubs would come out with–gasp!–a couple of pages on each team! I’d finally be able to hear a bit about draft picks, acquisitions, and prognosticators’ take.

Then, when the season started, there’d be write-ups of the games–AP thumbnails for the Rams unless they had played the Vikings. And that would basically be it. The sum total of my media-acquired learning about the team.

Now, I look at a preview like this and, besides remembering what it was like to depend on these blurbs, I am astonished at how pedestrian it is. I mean, with the Web and ESPN and NFL Network, we know vastly more than this. There isn’t a bit of information here that we haven’t hashed over for weeks or more. There isn’t an analytical angle we don’t know by heart.

It’s a throw-back to another era. A simpler one, perhaps a better or worse one, certainly one less jaded. But I wonder how an outfit like this can still sell copies? Lots of nostalgic old buffers like me I guess.

By virtue of the absurd ...

August 15, 2014 at 6:17 pm #4068

zn
Moderator

rfl wrote:

Just had a flash of memory with this post.

For a number of us nomads, the Rams were never home. We followed them from all parts of the nation. I started following them growing up in Chicago (horns + Fearsome Foursome + Roman Gabriel + boring Bears) and then moved to Minny from where I have remained faithful for decades.

Which meant that media coverage of the Rams was nearly unavailable. Neither the Tribune, Sun Times, Pioneer Press, or Star/Tribune ever covered the Rams. Neither did local radio or TV. There was no ESPN nor, of course, was there a web.

And that meant that, at season’s end, I would go for months with no Rams news. Until, finally, the preseason previews came out. Just like this one.

SI would have pigskin previews with thumbnails on each team. And the dedicated season preview pubs would come out with–gasp!–a couple of pages on each team! I’d finally be able to hear a bit about draft picks, acquisitions, and prognosticators’ take.

Then, when the season started, there’d be write-ups of the games–AP thumbnails for the Rams unless they had played the Vikings. And that would basically be it. The sum total of my media-acquired learning about the team.

Now, I look at a preview like this and, besides remembering what it was like to depend on these blurbs, I am astonished at how pedestrian it is. I mean, with the Web and ESPN and NFL Network, we know vastly more than this. There isn’t a bit of information here that we haven’t hashed over for weeks or more. There isn’t an analytical angle we don’t know by heart.

It’s a throw-back to another era. A simpler one, perhaps a better or worse one, certainly one less jaded. But I wonder how an outfit like this can still sell copies? Lots of nostalgic old buffers like me I guess.

I remember those days. Then adding PFW to the list. I would go weekly to Borders, sit in the coffee shop, and read PFW and the USA Today weekly game preview edition. In the late summer along with the coffee I would stack up a couple of those season preview mags.

Before sports bars, after I no longer lived in southern California, nomads like me were dependent on nationally broadcast games. Which at one point meant years of Monday nighters where they played Atlanta, season after season.

Then, in 98, it was the net.

August 15, 2014 at 6:33 pm #4069
wv
Participant
rfl wrote:

Just had a flash of memory with this post.

For a number of us nomads, the Rams were never home. We followed them from all parts of the nation. I started following them growing up in Chicago (horns + Fearsome Foursome + Roman Gabriel + boring Bears) and then moved to Minny from where I have remained faithful for decades.

Which meant that media coverage of the Rams was nearly unavailable. Neither the Tribune, Sun Times, Pioneer Press, or Star/Tribune ever covered the Rams. Neither did local radio or TV. There was no ESPN nor, of course, was there a web.

And that meant that, at season’s end, I would go for months with no Rams news. Until, finally, the preseason previews came out. Just like this one.

SI would have pigskin previews with thumbnails on each team. And the dedicated season preview pubs would come out with–gasp!–a couple of pages on each team! I’d finally be able to hear a bit about draft picks, acquisitions, and prognosticators’ take.

Then, when the season started, there’d be write-ups of the games–AP thumbnails for the Rams unless they had played the Vikings. And that would basically be it. The sum total of my media-acquired learning about the team.

Now, I look at a preview like this and, besides remembering what it was like to depend on these blurbs, I am astonished at how pedestrian it is. I mean, with the Web and ESPN and NFL Network, we know vastly more than this. There isn’t a bit of information here that we haven’t hashed over for weeks or more. There isn’t an analytical angle we don’t know by heart.

It’s a throw-back to another era. A simpler one, perhaps a better or worse one, certainly one less jaded. But I wonder how an outfit like this can still sell copies? Lots of nostalgic old buffers like me I guess.

Exactly.

…these kidz today and their 24-hour-sports-tv and internet…
w
v
- This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by wv.
August 15, 2014 at 9:33 pm #4079

Hram
Participant

I sat on the Egyptian/Israeli border, half the time on a base camp and half the time on two different outposts, for 6 months in 1988 waiting for the stars and stripes edition that provided 3-4 lines of print about each game so I could feed, even that tiniest bit, my craving for Rams information.

August 15, 2014 at 9:34 pm #4080

zn
Moderator

Hram wrote:

I sat on the Egyptian/Israeli border, half the time on a base camp and half the time on two different outposts, for 6 months in 1988 waiting for the stars and stripes edition that provided 3-4 lines of print about each game so I could feed, even that tiniest bit, my craving for Rams information.

And we have a winner.

Where are you stationed now? Or can you say?

.
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