St. Louis Rams (Last Year: 7-9)
2014 NFL Season Preview:
Veteran Additions:
QB Shaun Hill, WR Kenny Britt, G Davin Joseph, DE/DT Alex Carrington.
Early Draft Picks:
OT Greg Robinson, DT Aaron Donald, CB/S Lamarcus Joyner, RB Tre Mason, S Mo Alexander, CB E.J. Gaines.
Rams Rookie Forecast
Offseason Losses:
QB Kellen Clemens, TE Mike McNeill, G Harvey Dahl, G Shelley Smith, G Chris Williams, CB Cortland Finnegan, S Darian Stewart.
2014 St. Louis Rams Offense:
The Rams have to be wondering if Sam Bradford will ever take the next step toward becoming a franchise quarterback. Bradford had a solid rookie campaign back in 2010, but has since missed 15 games in the past three seasons. His YPA has never been above 6.7, and it was a very pedestrian 6.4 in 2013. He maintained a 14-to-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio, but most of those scores were thrown in garbage time when his team was way behind.
If Bradford fails again this year, he's as good as gone because he'll be owed about $13 million in 2015. There are no more excuses for him; for the second-consecutive offseason, St. Louis did everything in its power to upgrade the talent around him.
The big name the Rams added this offseason was Greg Robinson, the No. 2 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. Unfortunately, left tackle Jake Long tore his ACL and MCL in December, so he may not be ready for the opener. There's a chance he'll make it back, but even if he doesn't, St. Louis should be in good hands with Joseph Barksdale, who performed well down the stretch at right tackle this past season. If Long can play, he'll be on the blind side, and Robinson will be used at guard.
The best St. Louis can do up front is: Long-Robinson-Scott Wells-Rodger Saffold-Barksdale. Saffold was nearly lost this offseason when the Raiders signed him to a big contract at the beginning of free agency. However, inept owner Mark Davis vetoed the deal, so Saffold was able to return to the Rams at a cheaper price. Wells, meanwhile, is the weakest link up front, but only by default. He's a pretty average center.
The Rams also added Kenny Britt in free agency. The talented receiver has dealt with injuries and personal issues over the years, but he was at his best under Jeff Fisher. Perhaps Fisher will be able to get the former first-rounder to thrive again. If so, he should be able to form quite the tandem with second-year Tavon Austin, who struggled early in 2013, but ended up making some big plays in November before missing the final three games of the season. Fisher told the media that he plans on doing a better job of utilizing Austin now that he knows what he's capable of.
Bradford's other targets include Chris Givens and Austin Pettis, a pair of mediocre wideouts, and Jared Cook, who predictably was a big disappointment last year. Cook has tons of athleticism, but has never been able to put it together mentally. There's still time for that to change, but St. Louis fans should not be optimistic about that.
Something the Rams should feel good about is the rushing attack. The offense really took off in the second half of this past season despite the absence of Bradford because of Zac Stacy's emergence. Stacy posted four 100-yard rushing outings beginning in Week 8, including a 26-134 line versus Seattle on Monday Night Football. With Bradford back in the lineup, opposing defenses won't be able to stay as close to the line of scrimmage as they did when Kellen Clemens was under center.
Speaking of Clemens, the Rams did a good job in securing a capable backup this offseason. Clemens was barely functional when he took over in 2013, but St. Louis now has Shaun Hill if Bradford goes down again. Hill obviously won't be leading the Rams, or any team, to the Super Bowl, but he's a very good backup who can hold down the fort if Bradford gets knocked out for a few games.
2014 St. Louis Rams Defense:
What the Rams are doing on defense is downright scary. They already possessed one of the league's top pass rushes, yet they spent the No. 13 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft on Aaron Donald, an explosive interior disruptor. Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick and Carson Palmer all had to be fuming when that selection was made.
St. Louis' sack total this season could be astronomical if Donald pans out right away. The defensive line is led by Robert Quinn, who had 19 sacks in just his third NFL campaign. Quinn is only 24, so he's just going to get better over the next few seasons. Meanwhile, Chris Long, starting across from Quinn, has a total of 33 sacks in the past three years. He's still in the prime of his career, so there's no reason to expect any sort of dropoff.
The Rams are solid on the interior with Donald joining 2012 first-rounder Michael Brockers and Kendall Langford. Brockers tallied 5.5 sacks this past season and is poised to break out. Langford is only above average, but he'll provide great depth as a decent run-defender.
The front four had to carry the defense for stretches last year because the back seven was atrocious at times. The secondary was especially brutal, as Cortland Finnegan was torched mercilessly on a weekly basis before the Rams benched him in mid-October. Trumaine Johnson stepped in as the starter and did a much better job, though he's probably best off in a nickel role. Second-round rookie Lamarcus Joyner will be used there instead, as he'll join Johnson and Janoris Jenkins in an improved, but still underwhelming cornerback group.
With that in mind, the cornerbacks look like Pro Bowlers compared to the safeties. That position was completely neglected, save for a fourth-rounder used on Mo Alexander. T.J. McDonald and Rodney McLeod will both start there again, yet they were brutal in 2013. On the bright side, McDonald is entering just his second season, so he should be better.
As for the linebacking corps, Alec Ogletree is in the same position as McDonald. A 2013 first-rounder, Ogletree was just mediocre as a rookie, but he figures to improve in his sophomore campaign. James Laurinaitis will also have to up his play after a mediocre season. Jo-Lonn Dunbar will reprise his role as a two-down run-defender.
2014 St. Louis Rams Schedule and Intangibles:
Remember when the Edwards Jones Dome was such a huge advantage for the Greatest Show on Turf? Some of that magic appears to be back. The Rams are 9-6 as hosts the past two seasons despite their sub-.500 overall records. St. Louis was 5-3 in 2013, which included a blowout victory over the Saints and a near-win over the Seahawks with Kellen Clemens under center.
Greg Zuerlein's nickname is "Greg the Leg" because of his massive kicking power. He blasted 7-of-7 tries from 40-49 and 7-of-13 attempts from 50-plus as a rookie, but attempted just two from 50-plus in 2013, hitting one. However, he was an impressive 26-of-28 overall.
Johnny Hekker maintained the highest net-punting average at 44.2, but didn't have very many kicks placed inside the 20.
St. Louis was outgained in both punt and kickoff returns in 2012, but that changed dramatically this past season. Tavon Austin had the only touchdown for or against the Rams on special teams, and the team's punt coverage was one of the league's best.
The Rams have a mixed schedule. In addition to battling the 49ers, Seahawks and Cardinals twice each, they also have to deal with the Broncos, Chargers and Eagles. However, they get to beat up on the other NFC East teams, as well as the Raiders, Vikings and Chiefs.
2014 St. Louis Rams Rookies:
Go here for the
Rams Rookie Forecast, a page with predictions like which rookie will bust and which rookie will become a solid starter.
2014 St. Louis Rams Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):
Quarterbacks ** Offensive Line **** Secondary **
Running Backs **** Defensive Line ***** Special Teams *****
Receivers ** Linebackers *** Coaching ****
2014 St. Louis Rams Analysis: Once the Rams established Zac Stay last season, they were dominant down the stretch despite having Kellen Clemens at quarterback. They'll definitely carry that over into 2014, but the Seahawks and 49ers will be standing in their way. A wild-card berth is very realistic, though that would require Sam Bradford to stay healthy, which is something he has failed to do in two of the past three seasons.
Projection: 10-6 (3rd in NFC West)
