St. Louis Rams 2008 Season Preview

Football Betting Lines

08/26/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A rash of injuries last year left the Rams at a bit of a crossroads this offseason. Did the club need to get better, or just healthier?

St. Louis answered the question by going out and doing both.

The Rams went just 3-13 last year, the second worst record in the NFL. St. Louis began the year 0-8, turned things around by winning three of its next four, then ended the season on four-game slide. When the dust settled, the Rams had their worst finish since moving to St. Louis in 1995 and worst overall since also going 3-13 in 1991.

The spoiled cherry on top? St. Louis also missed the playoffs for a third straight year before suffering through the death of long-time owner Georgia Frontiere, who passed away in January after a battle with breast cancer.

Last year's dismal season also made St. Louis just 11-21 under Scott Linehan since he took over prior to the 2006 season. That has him on the hot seat for the 2008 campaign.

Fielding a healthy squad would be a great start for the head coach. Last year, the likes of Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson, Orlando Pace and Leonard Little all missed time, in addition to a host of other players.

In fact, behind a makeshift line each week, St. Louis ranked 25th in the NFL in rushing at 95.4 yards per game and 28th in total scoring. The defense didn't fare much better, ranking 21st in total defense (241.1 YPG) and 31st in points allowed.

The club had an early scare when Jackson began camp as a holdout, an absence that lasted 27 days before the running back returned on August 20 prior to signing a new six-year deal. Had Jackson's holdout stretched into the regular season, the Rams would have begun the year behind the eight ball.

In addition to getting healthy, St. Louis turned the second pick of the 2008 draft into Virginia defensive end Chris Long to add youthful energy to the defense, while using its high second-round pick to bring wide receiver Donnie Avery into the mix. Avery's addition will help ease the loss of Isaac Bruce, who spent the first 14 years of his career with the Rams before joining the 49ers as a free agent this offseason.

St. Louis also added clutch kicker Josh Brown to replace the retired Jeff Wilkins, while mixing in Jacob Bell to the offensive line.

The coaching staff didn't go untouched either, as Linehan brought in Al Saunders to take over as offensive coordinator, hoping to return some of the past glory to St. Louis' offense.

And, maybe even help save Linehan's job.

Below we take a capsule look at the 2008 edition of the St. Louis Rams, with a personnel evaluation and prognosis included therein:

2007 RECORD: 3-13 (4th, NFC West)

LAST PLAYOFF APPEARANCE: 2004, lost to Atlanta, 47-17, in NFC Divisional Playoff

COACH (RECORD): Scott Linehan (11-21 in two seasons with Rams, 11-21 overall)

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Al Saunders

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Jim Haslett

OFFENSIVE STAR: Steven Jackson, RB (1002 rushing yards, 38 receptions, 6 TD)

DEFENSIVE STAR: Chris Long, DE (1st Round, Virginia)

OFFENSIVE TEAM RANKS: 25th rushing, 19th passing, 28th scoring

DEFENSIVE TEAM RANKS: 20th rushing, 21st passing, 31st scoring

KEY ADDITIONS: QB Trent Green (from Dolphins), WR Donnie Avery (2nd Round, Houston), WR Reche Caldwell (from Redskins), TE Anthony Becht (from Buccaneers), G Jacob Bell (from Titans), OL John Greco (3rd Round, Toledo), DE Chris Long (1st Round, Virginia), CB David Macklin (from Redskins), K Josh Brown (from Seahawks)

KEY DEPARTURES: QB Gus Frerotte (to Vikings), WR Isaac Bruce (to 49ers), TE Dominique Byrd (released), TE Aaron Walker (to Ravens), C Andy McCollum (not tendered), G Milford Brown (to Panthers), T Todd Steussie (not tendered), DE Trevor Johnson (not tendered), LB Brandon Chillar (to Packers), LB Raonall Smith (not tendered), S Hanik Milligan (not tendered), K Jeff Wilkins (retired)

QB: A healthy season out of Bulger would go a long way in improving the Rams. The signal-caller missed time last year due to a rib injury as well as a concussion, and had a hard time getting comfortable last year behind a banged- up line and no running game. However, a healthy, protected Bulger (2392 passing yard, 11 TD, 15 INT) should have no problem rebounding closer to his 2006 numbers, when he threw for over 4,000 yards and 24 touchdowns while being picked off just eight times. Meanwhile, Trent Green (987 passing yards, 5 TD, 7 INT with Dolphins) returns to St. Louis to serve as Bulger's backup. Green spent the 2000 season with the Rams before playing 2001-06 with Kansas City. He saw action in five games with Miami last year and will at least offer St. Louis a backup with starting experience.

RB: The Rams had little choice than to pay Jackson (1002 rushing yards, 5 TD) given the lack of depth behind him. The playmaking back missed four games last year due to groin and back ailments, but still went over 1,000 yards rushing for the third straight season. Only Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson has posted more consecutive seasons of 1,000 yards rushing in team history, doing so in four straight years. St. Louis needs Jackson on the field, as backup Antonio Pittman averaged just 12.6 yards per game last year and second-year pro Brian Leonard is slated at the fullback spot during camp. Despite missing a large chunk of practice time, Jackson should be ready to go by Week 1 and the Rams desperately need him.

WR/TE: It was kind of ironic last year that 32-year-old Torry Holt (93 receptions, 7 TD) went on to play in all 16 games last year, considering the concern that surrounded his aging knee prior to the season. Though slowed last year by the ailment, Holt still went on to post 1,189 receiving yards while earning a trip to his seventh Pro Bowl. With Bruce no longer lining up on the opposite side of Holt, Drew Bennett (33 receptions, 3 TD) will try to improve on his disappointing 2007 numbers. Avery's potential should give him the edge for the third wideout spot, while veterans Dante Hall, Reche Caldwell and Dane Looker will also battle for time. The Rams brought in former Pro Bowl tight end Randy McMichael (33 receptions) last year, but he was limited to just 429 yards and three touchdowns through the air. St. Louis did add free agent Anthony Becht to help with the blocking.

OL: No unit will aim to rebound this year more than the offensive line. The bad luck started in Week 1 of last year, when Pace went down with a season- ending shoulder injury, marking the second straight season he has suffered an injury. There is little doubt that the offensive line is a different animal with the Pro Bowl tackle in there. After Pace, the Rams saw center Brett Romberg, as well as guards Richie Incognito, Adam Goldberg and Mark Setterstrom all miss large chunks of time due to injury. Things haven't gotten off to a great start this year either, as Setterstrom is already lost for the season due to a left knee injury, while tackle Brandon Gorin, slated to back up Pace, is also lost for 2008 thanks to a shoulder injury. St. Louis did bring in help this offseason in the form of Bell, a left guard who helped block for a solid Tennessee running game last year. Tackle Alex Barron did manage to play all 16 games for the Rams in 2007, and fills out the right side with Incognito. Nick Leckey backs up Romberg at center. The Rams also added depth at the draft in the form of tackle John Greco (3rd round) and guard Roy Schuening (5th round).

DL: The Rams only managed 31 sacks last year, including only one from Little (19 tackles). In his defense, though, Little did miss all but seven games last year due to a toe injury, but is healthy to start this year. He should have less of a spotlight on him as well if Long can make an instant impact on the right side. James Hall (53 tackles, 2.5 sacks) played in 15 games last year at the end spot, but will likely open the season behind Long on the depth chart, as St. Louis aims to improve on its 21st-ranked pass defense. The club wasn't that great against the run either, finishing 20th in the NFL at 115.3 yards per game allowed. However, a full season of experience for 2007 first-round pick Adam Carriker (30 tackles, 2 sacks) and Clifton Ryan (30 tackles, 2 sacks), taken in the fifth round of last year's draft, should help. Carriker will start at the tackle spot alongside 34-year-old La'Roi Glover (39 tackles). Glover led the line with six sacks last year, one shy of the team high.

LB: The Rams are led at linebacker by the speedy Will Witherspoon (110 tackles, 7 sacks), who topped the team in tackles and sacks last year. Witherspoon was asked to do a lot because of injuries to Little, as well as fellow linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa (40 tackles, 2 INT). Tinoisamoa will try to rebound after missing time last year with knee and ankle ailments that limited him to just nine games. With Brandon Chillar now in Green Bay, Chris Draft appears poised to take over at the strong linebacking spot. The 32-year-old Draft (50 tackles, 1 sack) will be pushed, though, by Quinton Culberson, who is 10 years his junior. Rookie Chris Chamberlain, a seventh-round pick out of Tulsa, is slated to back Tinoisamoa.

DB: Last year served as a breakout one for free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, who led the NFC with eight interceptions to go along with 75 tackles. Atogwe should still have a chip on his shoulder though, as he was not selected to the Pro Bowl team. Corey Chavous (74 tackles) will line up along side of him at strong safety, aiming to rebound from a down year. Both left cornerback Tye Hill and right corner Fakhir Brown also missed time last season, though for different reasons. Hill (35 tackles, 1 INT) was limited to just eight games due to injury, while Brown (47 tackles, 4 INT) missed the first four games of the 2007 season after violating the league's substance-abuse policy. Depth is some concern at the corner spot after backup Ron Bartell (67 tackles, 2 INT), since Jonathan Wade and Darius Vinnett were both rookies last year. The club did bring in eight-year vet David Macklin and drafted Justin King in the fourth round in April, but King is lost for the season due to a torn ligament in his toe.

SPECIAL TEAMS: With Wilkins, 36, retiring in February after spending 11 seasons with the Rams, St. Louis was able to find a more-than-capable replacement in 29-year-old Josh Brown. Brown tied an NFL record in 2006 with four game-winning field goals and was a perfect 17-for-17 last year with the Seahawks from inside the 40. Donnie Jones returns to handle punting duties one year after averaging 47.2 yards per punt while putting 18 inside the 20-yard line. The Rams thought the signing of Dante Hall (25.1 kick return avg., 15.1 punt return avg.) would boost their return game last year, and it likely would have if he had stayed healthy. However, Hall missed nine games last year due to injury. Brandon Williams (23.1 kick return avg.) and Derek Stanley (25.5 kick return avg.) shared duties when Hall was out, with Williams returning the bulk of the punts. Chris Massey is the club's long snapper.

PROGNOSIS: If the Rams can stay healthy this year, the club improved enough in the offseason to quickly get out of the basement in the NFC West. St. Louis has nowhere to go but up, but will be put to the test early, as it opens with two games against tough NFC East opponents (at Philadelphia, vs. Giants) before traveling to 2007 division champion Seattle. After last year's beginning, the Rams desperately need to avoid an 0-3 start, especially with road tests against the Patriots (Week 8) and Jets (Week 10) on the schedule, as well as a home date with Dallas (Week 7). Though the Rams aren't good enough to challenge the Seahawks for the division crown, the team is capable of pushing for a Wild Card selection, barring a bad start.