Philadelphia Eagles - 5 - New York Giants
San Francisco 49ers - 15.5 - Jacksonville Jaguars
Detroit Lions - 3 - Dallas Cowboys
Kansas City Chiefs - 9 - Cleveland Browns
New England Patriots - 7 - Miami Dolphins
New Orleans Saints - 11 - Buffalo Bills
Pittsburgh Steelers - 3 - Oakland Raiders
Cincinnati Bengals - 6 - New York Jets
Denver Broncos - 13 - Washington Redskins
Arizona Cardinals -3 - Atlanta Falcons
Green Bay Packers - 10 - Minnesota Vikings
Seattle Seahawks - 12 - St. Louis Rams

Bye Week - Bears, Titans, Colts, Chargers, Ravens & Texans

Per ProFootballTalk Rams quarterback Sam Bradford who injured his knee Sunday in a 30-15 loss to the Carolina Panthers has a torn ACL. The diagnosis has been made via MRI performed on Sunday night. Bradford will undoubtedly have surgery, and he’ll be done for the rest of the year. Kellen Clemens is currently the only QB on the Rams roster so look for them to pick up or try out a QB on Monday. This was just an awful day for the Rams who fell to 3-4 after being embarrassed by the Panthers all day. The Rams next game will be on Monday Night Football against the Seattle Seahawks, as they say nobody feels sorry for you in the NFL.

The St. Louis Rams will look to make it three straight victories as they take on the Carolina Panthers (2-3) today at noon. During their two game winning streak the Rams have outscored their opponents (Jax & Hou) 72-33. A win puts the Rams above .500 this late in the season for the first time since 2006.

Last Sunday against Minnesota Cam Newton threw for three touchdowns, ran for another and posted a career-best 143.4 passer rating in a 35-10 win. Carolina played a great opening game against Seattle Seahawks in a 12-7 loss and had a heartbreaking last second lost to the Buffalo Bills so they could easily be 4-1 and Vegas must also believe in them as they are a 7 point favorite in this contest.

Both teams will head into this game about as healthy as they can be and both teams play similar styles as they would like to run the ball and use play action to attack the secondary. The Panthers have been very successful shutting down the run as they are fourth in run defense (88.8 yards a game), second in scoring defense and third in total defense in the NFL. The Rams will look to attack that defense with upstart rookie Zac Stacy who is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Watch linebacker Luke Kuechly today he was the NFL defensive rookie of the year in 2012 and is a amazing player that many have not had a chance to watch.

Through the air Cam Newton will try to get the ball to Steve Smith, Ted Ginn Jr and Brandon LaFell. Sam Bradford who statistically is having a great start to the season likes to spread the ball around as the Rams have 6 players with at least 12 receptions. Both of these teams are very similar and this should be a battle for turnovers and field position.

I am not sure I believe the Rams are ready to win two straight on the road but they have to start somewhere. Last week the Rams won 38-13 against the imploding Houston Texans, however the Rams only had 225 yards of offense in that contest. The Rams lead the NFC in red zone efficiency and are third overall in the NFL and it will be important for them to maximize their opportunities that they get today in Carolina.

Whoever runs the ball better on Sunday should have an edge in this game. We have not heard much from Greg Zuerlein this year with the Rams red zone efficiency but I think today he could provide the defense with his leg. I think everything points to a Panthers victory today but I think the Rams have learned how to win under Fisher and will find a way to steal this one on the road.

Prediction St. Louis Rams 23- Carolina Panthers 20

Bye Week - Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints

Last Week 10- 5

2013 Year-To-Date Results – 56 – 36 (61%)

2012 I was 166 – 89 - 1 (65%) on predictions

2011 I was 176-80 (69%) on predictions

Seattle Seahawks - 7 - Arizona Cardinals
San Diego Chargers - 9 - Jacksonville Jaguars
Detroit Lions - 3 - Cincinnati Bengals
Miami Dolphins - 7 - Buffalo Bills
Atlanta Falcons - 7 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New England Patriots - 3 - New York Jets
Philadelphia Eagles - 3 - Dallas Cowboys
Chicago Bears - 1 - Washington Redskins
Carolina Panthers - 6 - St. Louis Rams
San Francisco 49ers - 4.5 - Tennessee Titans
Green Bay Packers - 10 - Cleveland Browns
Kansas City Chiefs - 7 - Houston Texans
Pittsburgh Steelers - 1 - Baltimore Ravens
Denver Broncos - 7 - Indianapolis Colts
New York Giants - 3.5 - Minnesota Vikings

Bye Week - Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints

The St. Louis Rams (2-3) will take on the Houston Texans (2-3) at Reliant Stadium at Noon this Sunday. This could be a crossroads game for each team as the loser will fall to 2-4 and will have a long way to climb to try to make it into the playoff picture.

Two weeks ago the St. Louis Rams were embarrassed on Thursday Night Football 35-11 at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers and last week the Houston Texans were embarrassed on Sunday Night Football 34-3 to those same 49ers. Those two games told me the key is to get back to basics like the 49ers did, don't try to be something you are not or to live up to others expectations.

I believe this is not a good matchup for the Rams who are coming off a much needed 34-20 win over the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars. The Houston Texans are not living up to the hype and pressure of the 2013 season to date and mainly because of the lack of confidence and terrible decisions that Matt Schaub has been making nine interceptions and four “pick 6’s. He is killing the Texans and they will get back to who they are today with a power running game and a efficient passing game against the Rams. Gary Kubiak will get back to basics today and take the ball out of Schaub's hand and put it in the hands of Arian Foster and Ben Tate who have combined for 646 rushing yards and 807 total yards from scrimmage. The Rams are 28th against the rush and the Texans will look to exploit that area of the game.

The St. Louis Rams are 29th in total offense, 30th in rushing and have yet to score a rushing touchdown this season and will face the top ranked defense in the NFL. Zac Stacy who had a nice game against Jacksonville last week will make the start for the Rams with a rib injury against the best front seven in the league. The Rams must be able to run the ball and stay balanced to help keep Whitney Mercilus 4.5 sacks and the leagues best defensive player J.J. Watt 3,5 sacks away from Sam Bradford.

The Rams seem to lack identity and confidence as well heading into game 6 of the NFL season. Sam Bradford has nice stats but he continues to miss some receivers and reads and rarely gives the Rams a first half lead. Jeff Fisher and Brian Schottenheimer who love to run the ball yet they went into the season with a questionable stable of backs behind an offensive line that seems to have issues run blocking.

I believe the Rams will find it very tough to move the ball against the Houston Texans. The Rams are 0-2 on the road and just do not seem to ever have that spark or big play ability to get over the hump in a game like this. The Texans need to win this game Kubiak knows the way to do that is to pound the ball on the ground and put Matt Schaub in position to succeed in the play action passing with Andre Johnson the leagues leading receiver (37 receptions). The Rams secondary is depleted and Cortland Finnegan who has not played well at all in 2013 will most likely not play in this game.

I don't see the Rams being able to run the ball against Houston and sadly based on the first five games of the season I don't expect Jeff Fisher to outcoach or come up with a game plan to beat them either. I hope I am very wrong but I believe we have seen games like this in the past.

Prediction Houston Texans 27- St. Louis Rams 10

Chicago Bears - 9 - New York Giants
Cincinnati Bengals - 9 - Buffalo Bills
Houston Texans - 9 - St. Louis Rams
Minnesota Vikings - 3 - Carolina Panthers
New York Jets - 3 - Pittsburgh Steelers
Philadelphia Eagles - 1 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Kansas City Chiefs - 8.5 - Oakland Raiders
Green Bay Packers - 3 - Baltimore Ravens
Detroit Lions - 2.5 - Cleveland Browns
Seattle Seahawks - 14 - Tennessee Titans
Denver Broncos - 27 - Jacksonville Jaguars
New England Patriots - 1- New Orleans Saints
San Francisco 49ers - 11.5 - Arizona Cardinals
Dallas Cowboys - 6 - Washington Redskins
Indianapolis Colts - 1.5 - San Diego Chargers

Bye Week - Atlanta Falcons & Miami Dolphins

The St. Louis Rams beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-20 Sunday in a game they simply just had to win. No matter what the outcome of this game Rams could really only earn a "W" since you really can not read much else into a game against a terrible 0-5 Jacksonville squad who will be very lucky to win a game in 2013.

The key moment in this game came late in the first quarter with the Jaguars already leading 7-0, with 1st and 10 at the Rams 47 yard line the Jaguars had a chance to get more points on the board. Instead Blaine Gabbert who was simply awful in this one 9 of 19 for 181 yards, a TD, 2 interceptions and a 59.2 QB rating threw the ball down the seem while Justin Blackmon ran the post and Matt Giordano easily intercepted the pass and returned it 82 yards to tie the game at 7.

The Rams had one great drive during the game and it was right before halftime as they drove 90 yards with the drive ending in a Bradford to Austin Pettis 4-yard TD pass putting the Rams up 24-10 with 27 seconds left in the half. Austin Pettis had 4 catches for 49 yards and 2 TDs on the afternoon.

Jacksonville who earlier in the week traded OT Eugene Monroe lost OT Luke Joeckel to a fractured ankle late in the first quarter. I was slightly disappointed that the Rams could only get two sacks on the afternoon against a depleted Jaguars offensive line.

On defense the Rams allowed 366 total yards and just 4:29 into the game were torched for a 67 yard Gabbert to Blackmon TD. Justin Blackmon returned to action after his four game suspension and played very well catching 5 balls for 136 yards and a TD. The Rams defense also allowed the opposing team to open the scoring for the 5th week in a row, the Rams are simply not good enough to keep playing from behind.

On the positive note the Rams did win an NFL game by 14 points something to not take for granted. On the ground Jeff Fisher finally started the game with Zac Stacy at RB and it paid off as he ran well gathering 78 yards on 14 carries. I was puzzled by the fact they kept pulling him out for Daryl Richardson who only managed 48 yards on 13 carries. Sam Bradford was 19 of 34 for 222 yards and 3 TDs passes and the Rams did not turn over the ball while forcing three turnovers.

The Rams will now take on the Houston Texans (2-2) next Sunday.

The St. Louis Rams losers of three straight games hope that former local Parkway West High and Missouri Tiger alumni Blaine Gabbert, is a site for sore eyes Sunday as they will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Noon at the Edward Jones dome. The Rams have been outscored 97- 42 over the past 3 weeks, and they have trailed in each of those games by 20+ points. The Rams look at this as a must win and they must play with that type of urgency against the 0-4 Jaguars.

Sam Bradford simply must play better and the Rams and Rams fans need to quit coddling the 2010 #1 overall draft pick. Sam Bradford who is 10th in passing yardage has not played well this season. This is year four for Sam and people need to look deeper into his production. Bradford has only completed 58% of his passes while seemingly only throwing dump off passes. Sam is 24th QB rating out of starting QBs and has failed to give the Rams leads in games or drive them to success early. Sam is getting yardage in garbage time but not crunch time. Its time for step up and put a beating on the hapless Jaguars who have allowed 129 points in four losses this season.

The Rams have serious secondary problems after safety T.J. McDonald fractured his leg last week in the 35-11 lost to the rival 49ers. In addition to McDonald being out, Cortland Finnegan has an injured thigh and is Doubtful and Trumaine Johnson has been sick this week. The Rams are very thin in the secondary and with the Jaguars getting second-year wideout Justin Blackmon who missed the first four games while suspended for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy back look for our soft zone coverage to continue.

The Rams simply must win this game and they could not ask for a better opponent to help with that and hopefully their confidence. The Rams need to win this game and look impressive doing it. The Rams are an eleven point favorite against arguably the worst team since the 2008 0-16 Detroit Lions. The Rams should have three hours to iron out there rushing game and to get Bradford into the flow again. This has to be a victory for the Rams and will be.

Prediction St. Louis Rams 30 - Jacksonville Jaguars 14

The St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers are both coming off two straight losses and will look to bounce back tonight at 7:25 CST in the Edward Jones Dome. The loser will fall to 1-3 and most likely need to win at least 8 of their remaining 12 games to have any shot to make the playoffs.

Many credit the Rams with improving the 49ers last year as Colin Kaepernick
came on the seen only after Jo-Lonn Dunbars crushing hit on Alex Smith in week 9 of a 24-24 tie in San Francisco. Most forget that at the time of that hit Smith was the league’s highest rated quarterback, completing 70 percent of his
passes and had 13 touchdowns before suffering a concussion on the play. From their Kaepernick led the 49ers to a 5-2 record and leading the team to Super Bowl XLVII against the Baltimore Ravens.

The 49ers have struggled so far on offense early this season and the Rams defense will need to continue to keep them off balance to have a chance to win this one. The 49ers are 29th in points and 27th in total yards as teams have been able to contain Kaepernick for the most part. On the ground even Frank Gore a Rams killer has only averaged 3.5 yards per carry and is getting upset about the lack of carries so expect a large dose of Gore tonight. Through the air Anquan Boldin is the 49ers only receiver with more than 9 receptions, Boldin has 19 for 282 yards and a TD.

Many Rams fans wonder where the weapons are on the team and why the Rams continue to dump the ball off instead of going down field to Givens and Austin who should pose a deep threat. The Rams Tight Ends and Running backs have 45 catches already on the season which is 15 per game! Sam Bradford who has nice stats; 88 of 141 for 891 yards 6 TDs, 2 INTs and a 88.7 QB rating has rung up most of them in garbage time or just playing catch up. Sam has to play better in the first half of games and try to give the Rams a lead. Sam is checking down way to much and still seem to be much too conservative in his decision making.

The Rams have also struggled to run the ball behind some poor run blocking, Daryl Richardson leads the team with 30 carries for 98 yards, no other back has more than 7 carries. The Rams must establish the running game against the 49ers to loosen up the defense and allow Sam to get the ball downfield to his playmakers.

This game appears much like the week 2 match up against the Atlanta Falcons, when the Falcons had many of their players hobbling into that one. In addition to Aldon Smith the 49ers leading pass rusher with 4.5 sacks and one of the leagues best out, many other 49ers stars come into this one at less than 100 percent; Patrick Willis, Vernon Davis, Nnamdi Asomugha, Justin Smith, Navorro Bowman & Frank Gore. Its very simple the Rams need to focus on Kaepernick, Gore and Boldin. The Rams need to dump the passive one-on-one coverage of the first 3 weeks and come up to the line of scrimmage and play bump and run with the 49ers receivers. Janoris Jenkins needs to lock up Boldin and the Rams need to get after the Quarterback.

The Rams looked just terrible the last two weeks but this is a division game and a home game for the Rams. This is the type of game Fisher is building the Rams for. The Rams will be hungry tonight and look like a totally different team. Greg Zuerlein has been quiet for three games but tonight he will become the difference.

Prediction St. Louis Rams 19 - San Francisco 49ers 17

The St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys will both be trying to bounce back from tough road losses last week when they meet at Noon at AT&T Stadium. Both the Rams and Cowboys have been very similar early in the 2013 season. It very early to call a game a must win but with the 49ers coming to town Thursday night this is a very important game for the Rams.

Call me crazy and old school but I believe the team that runs the ball the best will win this game. If you look at NFL stats everyone is throwing the ball and some of the best teams in the league are down near the bottom in rushing yards but I believe dominance still starts with your O-line and running game which will allow you to pass the ball even more efficiently. The Rams come into the game 25th in rushing yards per game while the Cowboys are 26th. DeMarco Murray who has struggled with 111 yards on 32 carries tore right through the Rams in their last meeting in 2011 for 253 yards rushing.

The Rams played from behind most of their first two games as they allowed Carson Palmer and Matt Ryan to pick them apart. Tony Romo has been very efficient 66 of 91, 73% completion rate for 561 yards and 3 TDs. The Cowboys like to spread the ball around as they already have 4 receivers with 11 or more receptions. Dez Bryant is still the stud of this offense as he already has 13 receptions for 163 yards and a TD, look for him to have a huge game on Sunday against a Rams secondary who have been playing soft and well off the ball.

Sam Bradford arguably has better stats than Romo 59 of 93 for 651 yards and 5 TDs. The Rams currently are 4th in the NFL in passing yards however most of the yards are after the Rams have fallen behind. 35 of the Rams 51 points have come between the final two minutes of the third quarter and the end of the game. Sam must be much better taking care of the ball and starting over better to get the Rams an early lead. I am still waiting for the Rams to go to more hurry up and to get the ball downfield more to Givens, Austin and Quick.

On the ground Daryl Richardson leads the Rams with 98 yards on 30 carries and comes into this game listed as probable with a foot injury. Isaiah Pead the Rams 2nd round draft choice from 2012 has 1 carry for 1 yard so far this season, but should see more action on Sunday.

I still think this game will come down to who is better on the ground and the edge has to go to DeMarco Murray over the Rams committee of backs. I also believe Dez Bryant is going to have a monster game if the Rams do not change their approach. The Rams must have Janoris Jenkins play tight one-on-one coverage on Bryant throughout this game. Its like the old question what came first the chicken or the egg? Are the Rams playing soft bend but don't break coverage in the secondary because they do not have enough confidence in their cornerbacks or are they doing it to cover up for their last of talent at safety? If the Rams can't play tighter coverage they will have trouble in this one.

This should be another very close game that comes down to the very end. There are many story lines and pros and cons for each team. The Rams need the lead, the Cowboys need Romo to play smart mistake free football, which one will happen? I still don't believe the Rams have all of their offense in yet and are still getting up to speed. This game is so close I am giving the edge based on home field advantage.

Prediction Dallas Cowboys 24 - St Louis Rams 23

The St. Louis Rams have signed 6'8 345 lb OT Max Starks. Max Starks is a two time Super Bowl champion who had a 9 year career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Starks started all 16 Steelers games in 2012 at LT, however the Steelers did not resign him in the offseason. On May 21st, Starks signed a one-year contract with the San Diego Chargers, but was cut three months later. In 2011 Starks suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a 29-23 first-round playoff loss to Denver. With the constant injury issues of Rodger Saffold Starks provides a good veteran insurance policy behind Joe Barksdale. I like that coach Fisher and the Rams are planning ahead. I am skeptical of Max Starks ability, he was unable to beat out King Dunlap in San Diego and Dunlap could not even stay on a Eagles team that was in desperate need of offensive lineman. The Steelers have also had offensive line issues the last couple of years so I am not sure how much Starks may have left in the tank.

The St. Louis Rams look to start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2001 in route to their second trip to the Super Bowl. The Rams are coming off a hard fought 27-24 come from behind win against the Arizona Cardinals. The Atlanta Falcons will try not to start the season 0-2 as they are coming off a 23-17 road loss to the New Orleans Saints.

The number one story heading into this game is the injury report. As we know injury reports can be manipulated and you can never quiet be sure how accurate they are until game time. The Falcons have both Roddy White and Julio Jones listed as questionable however they have already stated both will play but how healthy are they? Sam Baker is also listed as questionable and if he can not go Ryan Schraeder will need to faceoff against Robert Quinn who had a monster three sack game against the Cardinals last week. On the Rams side Chris Long is Questionable and if he is out the Falcons will be able to double team Quinn. In addition the Rams starting running back Daryl Richardson has a foot injury which has him listed as possible which means we will see more of Isaiah Pead who was far from impressive in the preseason.

Steven Jackson will be looking to take it out on the Rams today. Jackson had a very nice opening week with 11 carries for 77 yards and 5 receptions for 45 yards however he did drop a possible game winning TD on the Falcons final drive. Even if Jones and White are limited the Falcons still have Hall of Fame Tight End Tony Gonzalez who caught his 104 TD pass last week and is a constant threat and used to also clear out space for their Falcons outside receivers.

Sam Bradford was able to throw for 299 yards against the Cardinals however 199 yards of that were to tight ends and running backs. The Rams are still very young at receiver but the Rams will need Tavon Austin and their other young receivers to step up today. The Rams will need to improve on the 67 yards rushing they had last week to be able to open up the passing game against the Falcons.

The Rams are catching the Falcons on the perfect week with all of the injuries to key starters. The Rams also led the NFL in sacks last year and with Baker hurting the Rams may be able to get to Ryan throughout the day. The Rams did however allow Carson Palmer to throw for 327 yards in his first game with the Cardinals. The Rams did have 4 sacks last week but the Cardinals dominated much of the game with 390 yards and a 50% 3rd down conversion rate.

Week 2 is often the opposite of week 1 in the NFL and this is a must win for the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were 7-1 at home in the Georgia Dome last year and play very well there. Jeff Fisher and the Rams seem to be in every game so as with most games turnovers are the number one decision maker in games. This is the perfect week for the Rams to win however I just don't see the Falcons starting 0-2.

Prediction Atlanta Falcons 27 - St Louis Rams 17

The 2013 NFL Season is finally here as the St. Louis Rams will take on the Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome at 3:25 PM CST on Sunday. The Rams behind head coach Jeff Fisher look to improve upon their 7-8-1 record in 2012 and to make the playoffs for the first time since 2004. The road will not be easy for the Rams who
play in the toughest division in the NFL and have the 3rd toughest strength of schedule (.539) in the league.

The Rams will face the new look Arizona Cardinals who look to just save face in the NFC West. The Cardinals have a new head coach in Bruce Arians who was named AP Coach of the Year after going 9-3 as the interim coach of the Indianapolis Colts. The Cardinals also have a new defensive coordinator in Todd Bowles. On the player
side of things the Cardinals went out and picked up QB Carson Palmer as things did not work out well with Kevin Kolb and Ryan Lindley at the helm in 2012. The Cardinals and Arians hope to be able to run the ball with Rashard Mendenhall who should be an upgrade as the Cardinals had no backs reach the 400 yard mark in
2012.

On defense the players to watch will be Patrick Peterson, Calais Campbell, Darnell Dockett and Karlos Dansby who can all be a handful. The Cardinals played well on defense in 2012 and have also added big named college players Kevin Minter, Tyrann Mathieu and Alex Okafor to the fold.

The Rams swept the Cardinals in 2012 by a combined score of 48-20, however the Cardinals did outgain the Rams in both contests. The Rams sacked Kevin Kolb 9 times in the first game and put it away late with a nice bomb from Bradford to Givens. The second game was dominated by Janoris Jenkins who had two pick 6's of
Ryan Lindley in a 31-17 victory.

The Rams and Sam Bradford had a tough time moving the ball on the Cardinals last year. Sam Bradford completed only 15 passes TOTAL in the two games however four went for touchdowns. Sam was given a couple extra weapons to use with the pickup of TE Jared Cook and top draft choice WR Tavaon Austin.

The Rams will look to once again attack the Cardinals O-line who already lost their top draft pick OT Jonathan Cooper who broke his leg in the preseason. Cardinals quarterbacks were sacked 58 times in 2012 and the Rams led the NFL with 52 sacks so this is a great matchup for Chris Long, Kendall Langford, Michael Brockers and Robert Quinn to tee off.

The Rams haven’t won a season opener since 2006 but they should win on Sunday. This is a great draw for the Rams who will try to use their new weapons and work out any rust they may have. The Cardinals were the lowest scoring team in the NFC last year but they still have a big threat in Larry Fitzgerald who had 27 targets in the two contests last year. The Cardinals offensive line is just no matchup for the Rams pass rush and stationary Carson Palmer will be under siege for most of the day. I believe the Rams in front of a raucous home crown will dominate in this one.

Prediction St. Louis Rams 27 - Arizona Cardinals 10

St. Louis Rams 2013 Preview

The 2013 St. Louis Rams will look to improve upon their 7-8-1 record from last season. Sam Bradford must improve in his 4th season and second season with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.  The Rams have added some new weapons for Sam by drafting Tavon Austin, Stedman Bailey, Zac Stacy and picking up free agent TE Jared Cook and LT Jake Long. Sam has just been a middle of the road quarterback and the offensive line and weapon excuse will no longer be valid in 2013.

The Rams face many challenges this season and the biggest challenge is probably playing in the NFC West now considered the toughest division in football. The Rams have the 3rd toughest strength of schedule in 2013. The Rams face tough non-division foes Atlanta, Dallas, Indianapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis and New Orleans.

In addition to the tough schedule the Rams have a lot of questions entering the 2013 season. We all know that the Rams are hoping their new weapons step up and have a huge impact but hope will not be enough, they have to step up for the team to improve and have any shot at the playoffs. The Rams lost their top running back Steven Jackson to free agency. Jackson had 296 touches, 1366 total yards and 4 TDs in 2012 and the Rams hope Daryl Richardson and others can make up for that loss. The Rams also lost their top two receivers in Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson. Again fans may say Amendola is a injury risk and Gibson is not that good but the two did combine for 114 catches, 1357 yards and 8 TDs. The defense has also been affected as both starting safeties from 2012 Quintin Mikell  and Craig Dahl are both gone and will be replaced by Darian Stewart and Tim McDonald. Just last week the Rams released LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar the 2nd leading tackler last season. The void of all of these players must be mad up to move forward.

On the flip side the Rams, coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead are in the process of building a team and within that process there will be a lot of turnover. That turnover has made the Rams the youngest team in the NFL and with that comes potential much more potential than we have had in a decade. The Rams were 4-1-1 in the NFC West last year and Fisher has built this team to compete in the NFC West. By going out and getting Jake Long and Jared Cook and drafting Tavon Austin and LB Alex Ogletree Fisher has more players to worry NFC West foes. Add to that the 2012 draft picks of Michael Brockers, Brian Quick, janoris Jenkins, Chris Givens and Daryl Richardson you can see that the Rams have more team speed and attitude than they have had in a long time.

In my opinion Sam Bradford is the x-factor. If Sam can become a top 10 type of QB and win games for the Rams their potential is unlimited heading into 2013. My next concern is depth along the offensive line if Jake Long or Rodger Saffold go down the Rams may be in a lot of trouble. Next up would be the fact that Daryl Richardson and Tavon Austin must have big years and put up starter type numbers.

Jeff Fisher, Les Snead and the Rams are on the right track and will be a force for quite some time if all goes as planned. My problem with the Rams was lack of scoring which most seemed not to notice because we were winning some games. The Rams had 10 points or less heading into the 4th quarter of ten games! It 2013 and this league now demands more scoring than that. I like where the Rams are heading but I think they are a year away or will need to catch a few breaks. My head says 8-8, my heart says 10-6 but when I look at the schedule objectively I keep coming up with:

Prediction St. Louis Rams 9-7

With the NFL season getting underway – everyone will be placing their bets to see who will come out on top! It appears to be anyone’s game and there are varying opinions as to who will win. It looks as if there will be 4 main players in the upcoming season who all have a fair chance.

The Cincinnati Bengals have proved to be performing well – and their Quarterback in particular Andy Dalton who has had a huge jump with his passer rating progressing by 7 points is playing superbly so this is definitely going to give this team a push. Then there is the Detroit Lions! The offense will be on top form with the acquisition of Reggie Bush and Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairly is all set to be making their mark on the oppositions offensive players. Some fresh blood should give the team a great energy injection.

The Indianapolis Colts were the first team ever to win 11 or more games – so there is no denying that they will be a force to be reckoned with. This team has a proven track record of turning deficits around and coming back strong. Another team to look out for is the Kansas City Chiefs, they opened the season at a low 6.5 – however they have pulled themselves up to reach 7.5! The new boss Andy Reid will breathe fresh life into the team and a tactical change that should make the difference.

As you can see there isn’t much separating these teams so it’s very difficult for you to place a bet confident that it could provide you with a return. If you are a bit of a gambler – it may be better to head to an online casino site to place a cheeky bet as nobody really knows what the outcome could be here! You can find casino odds from both sides of the spectrum – so whether you would like something with a little less risk or you want to take a huge gamble – they can accommodate.

If you do fancy a little taste of Vegas you can try out some mobile casino apps and check them out just by using your hand held device. You can find out about the best mobile casinos in this site. www.casinojuggler.com

What an effort from the St. Louis Rams today in a 20-13 loss in Seattle. The Rams played a great game and finish the season 7-8-1 and fans should be fired up and ready for 2013. This team is for real and the defense is here to stay with Fisher. I would like to thank coach Jeff Fisher for coming to St. Louis and turning this Rams franchise around in just months! I would like to say congratulations to Steven Jackson on another 1000 yard season. What a great game from the Rams defense who finished with 6 sacks and held the Seattle Seahawks to 20 points. What a great job by the Rams offensive line today. The interior of the line was Robert Turner, Scott Wells and Shelley Smith and they kept Sam off the ground all day. Sam Bradford played very well today, I am always tough on him and I thought he had one of his best games today. Get ready for the Rams in 2013 it won't always be pretty under Fisher we are going to see a lot of 16-13, 20-17 type games but we know how to win those games now. The future is very bright and fans should be very proud of the effort the Rams put out in a meaningless week 17 game on the road, very impressive!