The St. Louis Rams failed to make the playoffs once again, and they haven’t reached the postseason since 2004. The Rams have now won seven games in three of the last four seasons, but they can’t seem to get over the hump, although much of that has to do with being in the tough NFC West.
The Rams’ defense will be very good again in 2014, but they can only go so far as their offense will allow and that will be the main storyline throughout the season.
Strengths
The St. Louis defense didn’t look great in regards to their numbers (19th against the run, ninth against the pass), but their offense left them on the field for far too long for most of the season. However, they have a ton of talent from front to back, and there may not be a better pair of rush ends in the NFL than Robert Quinn and Chris Long, who combined for 27.5 sacks. Quinn will get more attention after his 19-sack season, but the Rams will still be fine throughout the front seven. At the back, rookie LaMarcus Joyner looks like he is going to start right away and if they can get some help from the offense, the Rams will have a top-10 offense.
On the other side of the ball, Zac Stacy will be the focal point after a fine rookie season in which he almost reached the 1,000-yard mark. This takes some pressure off of Sam Bradford.
Weaknesses
He will need it, because the Rams could cut ties with Bradford after this season, and the former Heisman winner has never lived up to the hype as a #1 overall pick. Bradford played just seven games in 2013 and has played in 16 games in just two of his four pro seasons. When he is healthy, Bradford looks skittish in the pocket and checks down much of the time.
That being said, he has never had great weapons. Kenny Britt could be a #1 receiver, but he has had various off-field issues and they didn’t look like they knew how to use the versatile Tavon Austin. The line is better as a run-blocking unit, but the Rams have to protect Bradford and rookie Greg Robinson has to step in right away.
Schedule
Of course, the Rams have the third-toughest schedule in the league because they play in arguably the hardest division in the NFL; that means six games against Seattle, San Francisco and Arizona. The Rams have a brutal three-game stretch between Weeks 8-10 in which they visit Kansas City, the 49ers and Cardinals and then after Denver comes to town, they head to San Diego. That said, the Rams could open the season 3-0 as they start with home games against Minnesota and Dallas with a trip to Tampa Bay in Week 2, but a Week 4 bye makes for a long season.
Outlook
The Rams were 1-5 in their division last year and two wins would be a nice bonus for them this season. They have a very tough road schedule and four road games in five weeks is going to be difficult to navigate. Then you factor in that their quarterback is Sam Bradford, who looks like a very nice person, but he isn’t a good NFL pivot and that is going to hurt them once again.
Pick: Under 8 (-140)
