2009 Rams Draft - A Look Back

Jason Smith - Jason Smith appeared to be a project to start with and still may be going into the 2010 season. Jason played in eight games in 2009, starting in five of them. Jason still appears to be more suited to play RT than LT, he is also still way better at run blocking than pass blocking.

James Laurinaitis - James was a great pick right out of the box. James filled a huge need at MLB. Laurinaitis started all 16 games and was outstanding. Laurinaitis made 120 tackles had two sacks a forced fumble and two interceptions. James needs some better cover skills but other than that he had a great year. Laurinaitis fell to the Rams as did Rey Maualuga, looks like the Rams made the better choice here.

Bradley Fletcher - With the surprising release of Tye Hill Fletcher got an early chance to play. Fletcher played in seven games and started in 3. Bradley was having his best game of the year against Indianapolis when he was injured. Bradley suffered two torn ligaments in his right knee and missed the final nine games of the 2009 season. Fletcher will try to return by 2010 training camp after recovering from a couple of knee surgeries.

Dorell Scott - Dorell did not get much playing time in preseason. Late in the season coach Steve Spagnuolo gave some of the younger players more oppurtunities and Scott made the most of it. Dorell started five of the last 6 games the Rams played recording 18 tackles and playing very well inside. I would love to see the Rams draft offensive weapons in the upcoming 2010 NFL Draft, and continue to develop Clifton Ryan and Dorell Scott inside.

Foster Brooks - A preseason injury to Foster Brooks sidelined him for the whole 2009 NFL season. Brooks suffered a serious ankle injury against the Jets requiring surgery. While Foster is a great athlete I still do not understand drafting the 3rd best receiver on the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a senior Brooks only caught 30 passes and in 2007 Brooks did not start in any game. Brooks will most likely have a hard time making the 2010 Rams roster.

Keith Null - With the injury to Marc Bulger and Kyle Boller's lack of production along with the Rams terrible record Keith Null was pressed into service. For a late round draft pick from West Texas A&M, it is pretty impressive that Keith could do as well as he did. By NFL standards he failed but he did not seem overwhelmed by being in the NFL which is a great sign. Keith completed 73 of 119 passes for 566 yards, including 3 TDs and 9 interceptions for a QB rating of 49.9. Keith probably did enough to earn his way onto the 2010 Rams.

Chris Ogbonnaya - Chris had a hard time making the Rams squad bouncing between being cut and being on the practice squad. Ogbonnaya was finally given a chance and promoted to the active roster on November 28, 2009. Chris was on the Rams active roster from week 12 through the end of the season. Chris was able to get into two games were he had 11 carries for 50 yards and one reception for 19 yards. Steven Jackson spoke highly of Chris several times about his work ethic. With the lack of backup running backs on the Rams Chris will have a chance to once again be on the roster in 2010.

Rams Place Jacob Bell On Injured Reserve

Most Rams fans already turned off the Rams game Sunday against the Tennessee Titans before Keith Null's 4th interception of the day. While the interception was in a 33-7 game was meaningless the play itself was not. As Tennessee Titans safety Vincent Fuller returned the interception for a TD, Jacob Bell gave chase and pulled his hamstring. The injury was severe enough for the Rams to already place him on injured reserve. So the Rams O-line already without Jason Smith will now also be without Jacob Bell and Richie Incognito for the rest of the 2009 season.

Week 7 – Indianapolis @ Rams Matchup

Sunday Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts should be in for an early Thanksgiving against the St. Louis Rams. This could be one of the biggest mis-matches in NFL history. The Indianapolis Colts have won 14 straight games, while the St. Louis Rams have lost 16 straight games. The Colts are a 14.5 point favorite as the road team. If your a Rams fan every stat is a nightmare to scary to even look at. On paper the Rams should never be in this one on Sunday.

The Rams have allowed opponents to complete 67% of their passes and on Sunday they will face Peyton Manning one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. Manning has been on fire early in the 2009 NFL season with a 73.5 completion percentage and a QB rating of 114.1! Manning has started the season with five consecutive 300-yard passing games. With Ron Bartell coming back from a concussion and Justin King possibly out with a groin injury it will be like shooting fish in a barrel for Manning.

Dallas Clark who leads the Colts in receptions with 35, and already has 441 yards in only 5 games will be licking his chops coming into this one. The Rams who traded Will Witherspoon earlier in the week to the Philadelphia Eagles will be starting journeyman Paris Lenon, rookie James Laurinaitis and second year man Larry Grant as their starting linebackers. Look for Clark to have a huge game, the Rams will have no answer for the Manning to Clark duo.

Are the Rams already afraid of the Colts? The Rams are leaning toward starting Adam Goldberg at right tackle even though rookie first-round choice Jason Smith is healthy enough to play. The Rams are worried about Robert Mathis handing it to Smith. Either way we are looking at Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney against Alex Barron and Adam Goldberg, yikes. The two have combined for 10.5 sacks already. With Marc Bulger holding the ball too long and probably playing from behind look for the Colts to just tee off.

The Colts are 5th in scoring offense while the Rams are 30th in points allowed. The Colts are 1st in passing offense while the Rams are 27th against the pass. The Rams are dead last in points scored while the Colts average 27+ points per game.

The Rams who have ZERO rushing touchdowns will have to beat the Colts through the air and that means Marc Bulger will need to out dual Peyton Manning. Sorry I just started laughing a little. With the Rams defense allowing opponents to keep the ball with a 50% 3rd down conversion rate look for Manning to move the Rams around like chess pieces and put on a clinic in this one.

Prediction Colts over the Rams 35-10

Roll 'em Up Rams Fans!

Well I hate to be Donnie Downer but the 2009 St. Louis Rams season is over. That's right I am calling it. Sure not many fans had a vision of playoffs this year but there are still those of you out there thinking we are turning the corner and can win 5, 6, or even 7 games. Well I am here to crush those dreams, another season has ended for our beloved Rams. Facts are that since the playoffs were expanded to 12 teams in 1990 only 3 out of 204 teams that started the season 0-3 made the playoffs. Don't even start thinking we will be the 4th.

The Rams have lost 13 straight games, including 6 straight at home. In addition since the 2006 NFL Season the Rams are 5-30! That is an outstanding winning percentage of 14.2. Although I was and am behind the hiring of Steve Spagnuolo this franchise has been run into the ground and I do not see us turning the corner soon. The drafting and free agent signings this decade have been worse than awful. All of our talent and playmakers have moved on or retired and we have not backfilled as needed.

The most depressing part of our current situation is that we have salary cap issues. Based on our talent level how can that be? Well it is easy, more mistakes by the front office over the years. We are apparently so strapped for money we cut Chris Draft over $380,000. The 2009 NFL salary cap is set at $127 million, and we were forced to worry about $380,000. Let's recap where some of the money is going. We have 60+ million dollar contracts with Marc Bulger, Chris Long and Jason Smith. Chris Long is not even starting at the moment and is unable to provide any push on the front line. Jason Smith is the starting right tackle when healthy but he was drafted second overall in the draft a spot reserved for outstanding left tackle talent. I don't even want to discuss the contract that was given to Marc Bulger. We can then drop to the second tier decisions. The Rams gave out 30+ million dollar free agent contracts to Drew Bennett, Jacob Bell, and Jason Brown. Brown looks like a nice NFL center but should he be the highest paid in the NFL? In addition to these expenses we are starring at another top 5 draft pick in the 2010 NFL Draft which will cost the Rams another $60+ million. Still with all this money going out the lack of talent, experience, and depth on this team is staggering. We enter Week 4 of the 2009 NFL season with the worst wide receiving group I have ever seen. At corner only Ron Bartell really has any NFL experience and no other cornerback on the roster has shown me anything. So don't make fun of the Raiders, Browns, and Lions of the world because we are going down the long winding road along with them.

In the words of Chevy Chase Roll 'em Up!

Jim Thomas Talks About The Rams on ESPN 101

Jim Thomas was on ESPN 101 this afternoon talking to Bernie Miklasz about the St. Louis Rams. I will give you a brief overview of what Thomas had to say. The Rams went to Lambert airport a little after noon to take their charter flight to New York. Jim said Steve Spagnuolo is organized, has a presence about him and exudes confidence. Spagnuolo can play a big room better than Scott Linehan. This means when he walks in the room he is respected and the players are playing attention. Jim alluded to the fact the Rams never seemed to really do that for Linehan. The Rams starters should play one quarter give or take a couple plays depending on how long teams keep the ball. Adam Goldberg will start the game as the starting right tackle. Jason Smith will then come in with the second team Mark Setterstrom, Roy Schuening, John Greco, and Phil Trautwein. Thomas says that Jason Smith is not ready to start an NFL game yet. Thomas and Miklasz believe the Rams should play Jason Smith as much as possible during the preseason to get as much work in as possible. We look forward to watching the Rams tomorrow night on Fox 2.