Last Year
There were several signs pointing to a disastrous season for the St. Louis Rams and those premonitions became realities for Mike Martz. He hung his quarterback and offensive line out to dry — once again — and didn't run the ball enough — again. Now the Rams have a new coach, a new direction, and a lot of talent left over to work with, but will they finally stop underachieving now that Martz is gone?
What We Learned From Last Year
As many first-round busts as the Detroit Lions have endured on offense, the St. Louis Rams can match them player-for-player on defense.
Up front, particularly on the defensive line, the Rams burned first-round selections on tackles Damione Lewis, Ryan Pickett, and Jimmy Kennedy. None of them emerged as premier talents although, for the most part, poor coaching held them back.
Nonetheless, many opponents were able to penetrate the Rams defense on a consistent basis because of a leaky front line.
Without much protection up front, the Rams were the worst tackling defense last season.
Veteran linebacker Dexter Coakley was signed in an effort to shore up exactly that weakness, but performed below expectations. The Rams were clearly short on linebackers and Pisa Tinoisamoa were overmatched doing all the work by himself, even though he led the team in tackles.
Strong safety Adam Archuleta was the defense's best chess piece, but he didn't play like it last year. In fairness, like Tinoisamoa, he didn't have much help around him.
The secondary lost starting cornerbacks Jerametrius Butler (season) and Travis Fisher (eight games) for long-term periods and was forced to thrust inexperienced defensive backs like DeJuan Groce, Jerome Carter, and Ron Bartell into bigger roles.
The main problem on the defensive side of the ball was that they pretty much gave up halfway through the season. The coaching staff was battling with the front office and lost most of its credibility with the players.
The same can be said on the offensive side of the ball as the whole unit never looked on the same page.
Mike Martz never took a liking to pounding the football, even though he drafted stout running back Steven Jackson in the first round, and pundits often questioned him about that decision.
He instead had a penchant for airing out the football, which put a strain on quarterback Marc Bulger and an average offensive line.
The front five simply couldn't sustain in pass protection so much and Bulger ended up taking many big hits. Bulger threw 9 interceptions in the 10 games he played.
Both on offense and defense, coaching was one of the main factors in why the Rams collapsed. There is enough talent to believe that the Rams can be competing for a playoff spot and it will be up to new head coach Scott Linehan to develop offensive balance and keep a weaker defense off of the field.
This Year
With Marc Bulger, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, and Steven Jackson, the Rams still have the constituents of an explosive offense, but their success will be contingent on the offensive line.
On paper, it looks like a solid unit, but they need to develop some cohesiveness.
Orlando Pace is still one of the best left tackles in the game, while Alex Barron, who is anchoring the right side, should be more disciplined in his second season.
The middle three spots are up to center Andy McCollum and guards Adam Timmerman and Richie Incognito. Incognito has yet to play a snap of regular season football, but he is a raw, aggressive blocker. Timmerman needs to bounce back from an injury-plagued season.
All in all, this can be a very good line, but they will need to do a better job of protection Bulger, who has suffered shoulder injuries in the past two seasons.
The key on offense will be Steven Jackson. He is a burgeoning NFL superstar and he needs to get 20-25 carries a game to help control the clock and keep the defense off the field.
The passing game figures to still be effective as Holt and Bruce are still present, along with dynamic third, fourth, and fifth wideouts Kevin Curtis, Shaun McDonald, and Dane Looker. But expect the wide receivers on the back end of the depth chart to see less work as Linehan prefers to use tight ends instead of them.
The Rams drafted two tight ends early in the draft in Dominique Byrd and Joe Klopfenstein and the latter will start. Both he and Byrd are better as receivers, though, and it is worth keeping an eye on to see if they can become dual threats.
The offense will still score points at a healthy rate, even though they are no longer the Greatest Show on Turf.
The defense is now coached by former Saints head coach Jim Haslett and they will be expected to do more than just keep up.
Up front, the Rams have added a veteran presence in the heart of their defensive line because the youth movement never panned out for them. La'Roi Glover will start next to Jimmy Kennedy, the only of the aforementioned three first-round defensive tackles that was retained. Glover will be able to get to the quarterback from the inside, while Kennedy will be asked to attract double-teams. With impressive rookie Claude Wroten and veteran Jason Fisk as subs, the tackle position should be more deep and effective than it has been in recent memory.
On the ends, the Rams return last year's starters Leonard Little and Anthony Hargrove. This is still a very good duo as pass rushers, but they leave some to be desired in run defense.
The Rams signed free agent Will Witherspoon to secure their linebacking corps, but he was an outside linebacker in Carolina, who will be asked to play in the middle. If the tackle play is solid up front, he should be fine.
Witherspoon is a playmaker, but his presence should have a ripple effect on Tinoisamoa and allow him to feel less pressure and make more plays, as well. They will both be solid in pass coverage while the other starter, Brandon Chillar, is stouter against the run.
The secondary figures to be much improved with the return of Butler, the drafting of Clemson cornerback Tye Hill, and the signing of free agent Fakhir Brown. Travis Fisher, the only holdover from last year to play in the regular season, has had a strong offseason. Brown, Butler and Hill all have number-one cornerback potential and Fisher can be a solid number two guy. This position is very deep and much improved over last season. Ron Bartell, who surprised while filling in for injured starters last year, gets lost in the shuffle.
At the back end, the Rams added Corey Chavous to go along with steady strong safety O.J. Atogwe. Chavous brings a lot of experience to an otherwise young group, but the secondary will be expected to be much more competent than last season.
Believe it or not, there are some high expectations for a defense that was simply atrocious last year. Haslett plans to implement a more disciplined mindset this season and add an element of toughness. There could be as many as seven new starters and considering how fragile this defense was mentally and physically last year, that is a good thing.
If they are proficient, and the offense is comfortable in Linehan's system, the Rams do have wildcard potential. Pundits around the league are not expecting much from them, but that's usually how a sleeper starts.
Over/Under: 7
Although the Rams are not stuck with Martz' stubbornness anymore, it is unclear what kind of coach Linehan will be. Are his teams going to overachieve or underachieve? Will he get the most out of his components? It is difficult to assess at this point, so my guess is the Rams will be around 8-8. The play: DEN, @SF, @ARZ, DET, @GB, SEA, @SD, KC, @SEA, @CAR, SF, ARZ, CHI, @OAK, WAS, and @MIN.
Fantasy Sleeper
It's hard to call a guy like Steven Jackson a sleeper, but considering he is not making the top 10 in some drafts, maybe I should reiterate his value. He is a unique running back with uncanny power and very good speed. He should be a force in the red zone and will likely be a top-five selection in next year's fantasy drafts.
This is the fourth consecutive season of comprehensive NFL previews by Dave Golokhov. Stay tuned as he brings you previews for all 32 NFL teams! He can be reached at [email protected].
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