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(Full feature via link below intro serves up 17 separate points including why losing Bradford is not necessarily a death sentence, why Quick is ready to roll, much talk on the stadium, a look at the run game, four under-the-radar players to watch and much more. Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoy it):
Notables and Predictions for Rams in 2014
Shane Gray (@ShaneGmoSTLRams)
Oftentimes, people focus on specific St. Louis Rams opponents in attempting to diagnose the most difficult portion of the schedule. And while there is certainly some merit in doing so, each and every year teams that are expected to flourish eventually fail and clubs expected to flounder take flight.
*But the sequence of home and away matchups is invariable, and thus the most predictably difficult stretch of the Rams’ season will come in Weeks 8-12 – a brutal five-game period that includes three straight games on the road and four matchups occurring away from the Edward Jones Dome.
*Prior to Sam Bradford’s disappointing season-ending injury, I had St. Louis going 10-6 and earning a wild-card berth.
After reassessing the team following his trip to the injured reserve list, I have the Rams finishing just one game worse at 9-7.
*Obviously, I don’t view Sam Bradford’s injury as necessarily equating to some sort of death sentence for the upcoming campaign.
While Bradford looked terrific in the preseason and appeared poised for a possible breakout season, history proves that teams with a great defense, a good running game and a solid quarterback – quarterbacks of similar ilk to that of projected St. Louis starter Shaun Hill – can not only survive but thrive.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl with Brad Johnson throwing the rock, the Baltimore Ravens earned a title with pedestrian Trent Dilfer at QB and the Washington Redskins took home the prize with backup Doug Williams under center.
Like these aforementioned teams, the Rams have the pieces in place to unleash a defense dominant enough and a run game rugged enough to win with a marginal-to-average quarterback.
And while one would be foolish to project a deep playoff run with a backup signal-caller running the offense, one would be just as erroneously presumptuous to write off the club’s chances of earning a postseason berth just because Hill is at the helm.
*In fact, some of the numbers would suggest that St. Louis might potentially be better off with the veteran quarterback in the lineup.
Albeit in relatively limited activity, Hill’s career completion percentage and quarterback rating are superior to Bradford’s. In addition, Hill’s 13-13 record as a starter easily betters Bradford’s 18-30-1 mark and corresponding .370 winning percentage.
While not suggesting that the Rams will flourish without No. 8 and certainly not predicting improvement because of his absence, it isn’t as if St. Louis lost Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers, either. The Rams lost a quarterback who has yet to perform that much better than one’s average, run-of-the-mill starting NFL pass-thrower to this point of his five-year career.
*Four under-the-radar players to watch in regard to making more impact than most expect: cornerback E.J. Gaines, linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong, tight end Cory Harkey and running back Trey Watts.
*It’s time for third-year wide receiver Brian Quick to shine.
Quick, at 6-4 and 225 pounds, possesses prototypical height and size. Furthermore, “Quickie” boasts elite athleticism, plus-rated speed and above-average strength.
In short, the tall receiver has everything in the toolbox necessary to become a force in this league.
This year, Quick produced what most observers labeled his best training camp to date, displaying the abilities that enticed the Rams into making him an early second-round pick. Additionally, Quick had a very impressive preseason, running some great routes and making several big plays.
While he struggled to adapt to the intricacies of an NFL playbook in his first two seasons after using a limited one at small-school Appalachian State, he told me the struggles are behind him.
For the full feature and talk on the stadium situation, Robert Quinn, why I like the Rams run game even more than a season ago, Forbes values and much more, please click below. Thanks!:
http://www.101sports.com/2014/09/02/ram ... iscussion/
_________________
http://101sports.com/
https://twitter.com/ShaneGmoSTLRams
Notables and Predictions for Rams in 2014
Shane Gray (@ShaneGmoSTLRams)
Oftentimes, people focus on specific St. Louis Rams opponents in attempting to diagnose the most difficult portion of the schedule. And while there is certainly some merit in doing so, each and every year teams that are expected to flourish eventually fail and clubs expected to flounder take flight.
*But the sequence of home and away matchups is invariable, and thus the most predictably difficult stretch of the Rams’ season will come in Weeks 8-12 – a brutal five-game period that includes three straight games on the road and four matchups occurring away from the Edward Jones Dome.
*Prior to Sam Bradford’s disappointing season-ending injury, I had St. Louis going 10-6 and earning a wild-card berth.
After reassessing the team following his trip to the injured reserve list, I have the Rams finishing just one game worse at 9-7.
*Obviously, I don’t view Sam Bradford’s injury as necessarily equating to some sort of death sentence for the upcoming campaign.
While Bradford looked terrific in the preseason and appeared poised for a possible breakout season, history proves that teams with a great defense, a good running game and a solid quarterback – quarterbacks of similar ilk to that of projected St. Louis starter Shaun Hill – can not only survive but thrive.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the Super Bowl with Brad Johnson throwing the rock, the Baltimore Ravens earned a title with pedestrian Trent Dilfer at QB and the Washington Redskins took home the prize with backup Doug Williams under center.
Like these aforementioned teams, the Rams have the pieces in place to unleash a defense dominant enough and a run game rugged enough to win with a marginal-to-average quarterback.
And while one would be foolish to project a deep playoff run with a backup signal-caller running the offense, one would be just as erroneously presumptuous to write off the club’s chances of earning a postseason berth just because Hill is at the helm.
*In fact, some of the numbers would suggest that St. Louis might potentially be better off with the veteran quarterback in the lineup.
Albeit in relatively limited activity, Hill’s career completion percentage and quarterback rating are superior to Bradford’s. In addition, Hill’s 13-13 record as a starter easily betters Bradford’s 18-30-1 mark and corresponding .370 winning percentage.
While not suggesting that the Rams will flourish without No. 8 and certainly not predicting improvement because of his absence, it isn’t as if St. Louis lost Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers, either. The Rams lost a quarterback who has yet to perform that much better than one’s average, run-of-the-mill starting NFL pass-thrower to this point of his five-year career.
*Four under-the-radar players to watch in regard to making more impact than most expect: cornerback E.J. Gaines, linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong, tight end Cory Harkey and running back Trey Watts.
*It’s time for third-year wide receiver Brian Quick to shine.
Quick, at 6-4 and 225 pounds, possesses prototypical height and size. Furthermore, “Quickie” boasts elite athleticism, plus-rated speed and above-average strength.
In short, the tall receiver has everything in the toolbox necessary to become a force in this league.
This year, Quick produced what most observers labeled his best training camp to date, displaying the abilities that enticed the Rams into making him an early second-round pick. Additionally, Quick had a very impressive preseason, running some great routes and making several big plays.
While he struggled to adapt to the intricacies of an NFL playbook in his first two seasons after using a limited one at small-school Appalachian State, he told me the struggles are behind him.
For the full feature and talk on the stadium situation, Robert Quinn, why I like the Rams run game even more than a season ago, Forbes values and much more, please click below. Thanks!:
http://www.101sports.com/2014/09/02/ram ... iscussion/
_________________
http://101sports.com/
https://twitter.com/ShaneGmoSTLRams
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