St. Louis Rams: Predicting Every Game For 2015

[Ram Quixote]

San Francisco - Talk about a possible fall from stardom. The 49ers simply are not the same team from three years ago. However that means nothing in this matchup. One thing that has always stood to be true, when these teams play each other, no matter how well or poor one may be playing, the game is a classic. The niners will likely be struggling at this point in the season, but I fully expect a statement to be made in what is the most underrated rival in the NFL (65-63-3 all time, niners lead)

Lose: 23-20

Really? Lose at home? That won't happen again.

@Minnesota - I have the Vikings picked as a sleeper team this year. Teddy Bridgewater is the real deal. And now he has the best running back in the NFL - back and pissed the heck off - playing with him for the first time in his young career. Teams will focus on the run allowing him to have easier reads and match ups. Also, the Vikings defense should be very strong this season. Mike Zimmer is a pretty good defensive coach and they have some really good pieces in place. Plus, the Rams simply do not have a good history against Adrian Peterson.

Lose: 31-20

Last year, the Rams had Petersons' number. The problem was Cordarelle Patterson.

@Baltimore - The Ravens are similar to the Steelers in that they have long been known for their great defense and good run game. Nowadays though, their defense is simply just good and not great. But their offense has become so much more balanced and has a legitimate threat of a passing game. The difference here, as opposed to the game against the Steelers, the Ravens are going to shut down the run.

Lose: 23-13

The Rams D will be the deciding factor here. And don't forget Gurley.

@Cincinnati - the Bengals are the NFL's scariest team. How can that be you ask? Because everyone knows they are going to beat the hell out of someone really good every year, but no one knows when. And it makes them scary because no one wants to be that team that they use to remind everyone of how good they can be, if only they played more consistently. As long as they're healthy (enough) the Bengals passing and rushing might be too much to handle.

Lose: 26-20

As the OP says, the Bengals are inconsistent. So, why wouldn't the Rams win this one?

Arizona - Not much has changed here. In fact at this point in the season I fully expect Seattle and Arizona to be duking it out for first place in the division and maybe the conference.

Lose: 20-17

See, I don't have a problem with losing to Dead birds in their house, but losing at home? Not gonna happen.

@Seattle - With the playoffs on the line the Rams must win out to control their destiny. But its just something about the Rams playing in Seattle that haunts this team. I have every bit of faith they will start off leading. Most likely something like 13-10 at half-time, but some how some way things always crumble for this team in the second half up at century link field.

Lose: 27-16

What I have a problem with here is the score. This is a FG goal game for sure.

 

[Warner4Prez]

Az defense is what won them a ton of close games that will not happen this year.Losing the DC and Cromartie will hurt that D alot imo I think we sweep them.

There wasn't much to love about that defense last year outside of Cromartie and Peterson. Now Dockett is gone (even though he didn't play last year), their NT Williams is gone, Cromartie left and Bowels, who really coached that unit way up, is gone. I'm not buying AZ.

 

[azcards]

Az defense is what won them a ton of close games that will not happen this year.Losing the DC and Cromartie will hurt that D alot imo I think we sweep them.

While I've said in other threads the DC is a big loss, corner play last year on the team was trash. Cro and Peterson got burned a lot.

 

[azcards]

There wasn't much to love about that defense last year outside of Cromartie and Peterson. Now Dockett is gone (even though he didn't play last year), their NT Williams is gone, Cromartie left and Bowels, who really coached that unit way up, is gone. I'm not buying AZ.

Corner play was very very bad last year, neither played well. I thought the d-line played better than the backfield.

 

[DVontel]

There wasn't much to love about that defense last year outside of Cromartie and Peterson. Now Dockett is gone (even though he didn't play last year), their NT Williams is gone, Cromartie left and Bowels, who really coached that unit way up, is gone. I'm not buying AZ.

Aand we picked up Sean Weatherspoon and Corey Peters(who was the only bright spot on that Falcons' D outside of Trufant). Dan was a solid contributor but he only played 40% of the team's snaps.
Our lack of pass-rush is what killed us last year more than anything, & I hope by overdosing for pass-rush talent in the draft, it will be solved soon I don't think losing Cro will be as a huge loss as people want it to be. He did what he was supposed to do as a #2 CB, but one thing I won't miss from him is being afraid to tackle.

We'll see how Bettcher(the new DC) does his first year as a DC. I wouldn't be surprised if we took a stepback, but I do remember opposing teams saying the same when Horton left.

 

[Rams43]

Predicting regular season games before camp has even started is inherently foolish.

But since this is just for fun, I'll chip in my two cents worth, too.

I see us sweeping the Niners as they are currently constituted. Anything less would be a major disappointment, I think. They are a mere shadow of their former selves, IMO.

I could easily see us beating the Bengals. Certainly wouldn't be an upset in my mind.

As to the Cards, I see us splitting, at the very worst. It's not as if they dominated us last year while we played a 3rd string QB behind a porous OL. Hell, Palmer may not even be healthy when we play them.

I respect the Cards a great deal, but no more than the Seahawks. And I fully expect to split with the Seahawks, so.....

That means we win 10-11 games this year. And have a good shot at the playoffs, where anything can happen.

Just ask yourselves this question. Would you want to play the Rams in the playoffs after their QB, WR's, TE's, and OL have fully gelled together? Me neither. Lol.

 

[Rams43]

Aand we picked up Sean Weatherspoon and Corey Peters(who was the only bright spot on that Falcons' D outside of Trufant). Dan was a solid contributor but he only played 40% of the team's snaps.
Our lack of pass-rush is what killed us last year more than anything, & I hope by overdosing for pass-rush talent in the draft, it will be solved soon I don't think losing Cro will be as a huge loss as people want it to be. He did what he was supposed to do as a #2 CB, but one thing I won't miss from him is being afraid to tackle.

We'll see how Bettcher(the new DC) does his first year as a DC. I wouldn't be surprised if we took a stepback, but I do remember opposing teams saying the same when Horton left.

I expect a couple of knock down, drag out games with the Cards this year, DVontel. No question.

But the Cards are not the only team that has added players and coordinators this offseason. We replaced Schotty (hardly a respected OC promoted to HC) with Cigs. I like that move a lot. So, iow, we improved at OC while the Cards probably took a step back at DC. Advantage Rams.

There's the addition of Fairley and Ayers on D, both significant upgrades to a top 5 unit in the second half of the season last year.
Foles is a HUGE upgrade over Davis.
Gurley looks like a potential beast at RB.
Our new starters on OL should be upgrades over the previous starters, especially after getting a chance to gel before we play the Cards.
Quick is expected back. Another big upgrade.

And doesn't Palmer turn 37 this year? I mean, doesn't his health concern you just a little bit while playing vs the D's just in our division? Especially the Rams?

I would be stunned by another Cards sweep this year. I see a split from the Rams POV, at worst.

I'll just leave it at that. Don't want my alligator mouth to overload my hummingbird ass. Lol.

 

[snackdaddy]

I hate to say it, but the Seahawks are the only team going in that doesn't many question marks. Maybe the fact that they weren't that great on the offensive line and they lost two of their better ones. And we all know Jimmy Graham doesn't block much. And they want to run the ball. So maybe that trade won't be the difference maker they're hoping.

The 49ers lost so many players and their head coach, its hard to see them doing much of anything. It'll all be on Kapernick's shoulders. If I were a niner fan I wouldn't be too confident with that.

The Cardinals lost some key players too and their defensive coordinator. They have a quarterback with health issues akin to Bradford. And we cut ties with Bradford. I think when it comes down to it, players play and their defense will still be pretty good. So the loss of the DC shouldn't hurt that much. But if they lose Palmer again, I would expect them to struggle on offense.

The Rams are expected to have a solid defense. Possibly Challenging the Seahawks defense for best in the division. But a very inexperienced offensive line can't give us a lot of confidence early on. I think we have to expect some struggles on offense the first half of the season. I think we'll be better at quarterback with Foles. But they have to protect him.

All in all, I think the Rams are gonna have to rely on winning some 13-10 games if they want to survive the first half. Maybe the offense starts gelling in the second half. But they can't be trying to recover from a 3-5 start if they have playoff aspirations.

 

[MTRamsFan]

 

[Rams43]

@snackdaddy.

Just a thought to possibly ease your mind about our young OL early in the season.

They were experienced and very effective run blockers in college. And other than Wichmann, in big time renowned college running game programs, at that.

Yeah, I know that the NFL isn't the Big 10. But I also know that the leap in the run blocking isn't as great as in pass pro. And Fisher has left little doubt that he intends to call more running plays this season.

So it won't be a surprise to me if we have a decent, and effective, running game right from the start. And if the D creeps up to stop that running game...

Well, let's just say that it could cost them dearly. Lol.

Anyway. I must admit that I'm fairly optimistic about our early OL effectiveness.