St. Louis Rams 2008 Preview

The St. Louis Rams finished up the 2007 season with a record of 3-13. Strangely, when you take a look at the talent on the team, it's actually pretty good. It makes evaluating the team this year very difficult. This is the most difficult in the entire NFL for me because it's hard to predict if I overrated them in the first place. Does this team have talent and no heart? Or was last year just a strange unexplainable year? Read on as I break down the team indepth. The quarterback position is in good hands with Marc Bulger. Bulger got hurt early last year and just never got things going. He is much better than he showed last year. I would expect Bulger to bounce back to being the top notch quarterback that he is. If he doesn't, the Rams will have another tough year. His backup is Trent Green, who could fill in capably in case of an injury.

The running backs are another area where the production dropped considerably. Steven Jackson should be one of the best in the league. Last year he was not. Jackson had a long holdout this year, so I'm not sure what to expect from Jackson. I'll guess he rushes for 1,200 yards. His backups are in good hands with Brian Leonard and Antonio Pittman. Both could be probably be featured backs if the need arises.

Due to the natural aging process I'm going to rate the Rams receivers as only average with starters Isaac Bruce and Drew Bennett. If Bolger can bounce back both receivers will have much improved numbers.

The offensive line starters will be: Orlando Pace, Richie Incognito, Mark Setterstrom, Jacob Bell, and Alex Barron. If this unit can stay healthy, the offense will be much improved. If not it could unravel in a hurry.

The defense does not play as good as the sum of its parts. On paper they look fairly solid, when you watch them it's quite different. The defensive line appears quite good behind starters: Chris Long, La'Roi Glover, Adam Carriker, and Leonard Little. Carriker was a first pick in 2007, and Long is a first round pick in 2008. So much is expected of this group, like the rest of the team it bears watching.