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I can't believe this will be the 19th season of Rams football in St. Louis. It's gone by so quickly, even through the drudgery of 12 losing seasons. I suppose the depressingly bad football was the price for all of the enjoyment we experienced when the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Rams averaged more than 500 points per season to win two NFC Championships and one Super Bowl.
Anyway, since this is Year 19 of the Rams in St. Louis, here are 19 quick-hit comments on the 2013 edition of the Rams:
1. Say what you want about Rams owner Stan Kroenke, but he spent a lot of money to hire coach Jeff Fisher and bring in GM Les Snead to install a virtually new football operation, and better times are ahead because of Kroenke's commitment to winning.
2. Offensive left tackle Jake Long can recapture his Pro Bowl form in large part because of Fisher, who does an excellent job of protecting veterans by not getting them beat up in practices.
3. Other than pure excitement, I don't know what to expect from rookie WR Tavon Austin, but in the 10-year period ending in 2012, 470 rookie wide receivers saw action in the NFL regular-season, and only 26 of the 470 accumulated 750 or more receiving yards.
4. I've talked a lot about the inexperience at WR and RB, but there's also been a reordering of the offensive line, where only two starters (center Scott Wells and right guard Harvey Dahl) will line up in the same spot as a year ago.
5. Rookie OLB Alec Ogletree will get his head turned around, and we'll see him running to the wrong place at times, but it will be a lot of fun watching him make plays and chasing down mobile NFC West quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Colin Kapernick.
6. Steve Serby of the New York Post picked the Rams to make it to the Super Bowl and lose to New England; because Serb is a longtime friend I am concerned about his mental health.
7. Fisher has an eye for coaching talent; that's why I think Tim Walton will be a terrific defensive coordinator.
8. In my opinion second-year specialists Greg Zuerlein (kicker) and Johnny Hekker are the most talented kicker-punter tandem to play for a St. Louis NFL team, though old-timers still appreciate the duo of Jim Bakken (K) and Chuck Latourette (P) _ and Josh Brown (K) and Donnie Jones (P) were pretty damned good.
9. Right defensive end Robert Quinn is set for a big year.
10. Cornerbacks Cortland Finnegan and Janoris Jenkins must be more consistent this season, and I'm not sure if the Rams will be any better at safety.
11. I don't know how things will shake out among the Rams' young running backs, but in the five-season period that ended in 2012, six rookie RBs rushed for 1,000 yards and nine produced at least 700 yards; backs have an easier transition than wide receivers.
12. In Sam Bradford's two healthy 16-game seasons at quarterback, the Rams weren't eliminated from the playoffs until Week 17 (2010) and Week 16 (2012), and for some reason people insist he hasn't made an impact.
13. This note from Rams historian John Turney: In his first three NFL seasons Bradford had 17 starters on the offensive line and 12 starters at wide receiver; 11 of the 17 O-linemen and 6 of the 12 wideouts are no longer in the NFL.
14. If Benny Cunningham can make some magic happen on kickoff returns, and with Tavon Austin handling the punt returns, the Rams' overall return game could be in for a dramatic reawakening and that's a big plus for field position; this team hasn't had a dangerous set of returners since the days of Tony Horne and Az-Hakim.
15. Given their run-heavy backgrounds, will Fisher and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer really turn it loose with the passing game?
16. A big key to the season is takeaways by the Rams defense; last year they had only 21, which was tied for 23rd; when the Rams had a takeaway in a game last season they went 7-2-1 and when they didn't force a turnover they were 0-6-1.
17. It's time for second-year players Brian Quick (WR) and Isaiah Pead (RB) to start making more plays; that's what you expect from players that were drafted 33rd and 50th overall, respectively.
18. I think it will be more difficult for the Rams to defeat the 49ers and Seahawks this season, because the surprise-attack element won't be there; that's why it's even more critical for the Rams to take care of business against beatable opponents and not squander easier opportunities for victories.
19. The Rams will make the playoffs if the defense forces 27 takeaways and the offense scores 26.4 points per game; that's what the 12 playoff teams averaged in 2012.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie
I can't believe this will be the 19th season of Rams football in St. Louis. It's gone by so quickly, even through the drudgery of 12 losing seasons. I suppose the depressingly bad football was the price for all of the enjoyment we experienced when the 1999, 2000 and 2001 Rams averaged more than 500 points per season to win two NFC Championships and one Super Bowl.
Anyway, since this is Year 19 of the Rams in St. Louis, here are 19 quick-hit comments on the 2013 edition of the Rams:
1. Say what you want about Rams owner Stan Kroenke, but he spent a lot of money to hire coach Jeff Fisher and bring in GM Les Snead to install a virtually new football operation, and better times are ahead because of Kroenke's commitment to winning.
2. Offensive left tackle Jake Long can recapture his Pro Bowl form in large part because of Fisher, who does an excellent job of protecting veterans by not getting them beat up in practices.
3. Other than pure excitement, I don't know what to expect from rookie WR Tavon Austin, but in the 10-year period ending in 2012, 470 rookie wide receivers saw action in the NFL regular-season, and only 26 of the 470 accumulated 750 or more receiving yards.
4. I've talked a lot about the inexperience at WR and RB, but there's also been a reordering of the offensive line, where only two starters (center Scott Wells and right guard Harvey Dahl) will line up in the same spot as a year ago.
5. Rookie OLB Alec Ogletree will get his head turned around, and we'll see him running to the wrong place at times, but it will be a lot of fun watching him make plays and chasing down mobile NFC West quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Colin Kapernick.
6. Steve Serby of the New York Post picked the Rams to make it to the Super Bowl and lose to New England; because Serb is a longtime friend I am concerned about his mental health.
7. Fisher has an eye for coaching talent; that's why I think Tim Walton will be a terrific defensive coordinator.
8. In my opinion second-year specialists Greg Zuerlein (kicker) and Johnny Hekker are the most talented kicker-punter tandem to play for a St. Louis NFL team, though old-timers still appreciate the duo of Jim Bakken (K) and Chuck Latourette (P) _ and Josh Brown (K) and Donnie Jones (P) were pretty damned good.
9. Right defensive end Robert Quinn is set for a big year.
10. Cornerbacks Cortland Finnegan and Janoris Jenkins must be more consistent this season, and I'm not sure if the Rams will be any better at safety.
11. I don't know how things will shake out among the Rams' young running backs, but in the five-season period that ended in 2012, six rookie RBs rushed for 1,000 yards and nine produced at least 700 yards; backs have an easier transition than wide receivers.
12. In Sam Bradford's two healthy 16-game seasons at quarterback, the Rams weren't eliminated from the playoffs until Week 17 (2010) and Week 16 (2012), and for some reason people insist he hasn't made an impact.
13. This note from Rams historian John Turney: In his first three NFL seasons Bradford had 17 starters on the offensive line and 12 starters at wide receiver; 11 of the 17 O-linemen and 6 of the 12 wideouts are no longer in the NFL.
14. If Benny Cunningham can make some magic happen on kickoff returns, and with Tavon Austin handling the punt returns, the Rams' overall return game could be in for a dramatic reawakening and that's a big plus for field position; this team hasn't had a dangerous set of returners since the days of Tony Horne and Az-Hakim.
15. Given their run-heavy backgrounds, will Fisher and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer really turn it loose with the passing game?
16. A big key to the season is takeaways by the Rams defense; last year they had only 21, which was tied for 23rd; when the Rams had a takeaway in a game last season they went 7-2-1 and when they didn't force a turnover they were 0-6-1.
17. It's time for second-year players Brian Quick (WR) and Isaiah Pead (RB) to start making more plays; that's what you expect from players that were drafted 33rd and 50th overall, respectively.
18. I think it will be more difficult for the Rams to defeat the 49ers and Seahawks this season, because the surprise-attack element won't be there; that's why it's even more critical for the Rams to take care of business against beatable opponents and not squander easier opportunities for victories.
19. The Rams will make the playoffs if the defense forces 27 takeaways and the offense scores 26.4 points per game; that's what the 12 playoff teams averaged in 2012.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie
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