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JD’s Keys and Week 6 NFL Picks

Key #1 – Respond and React.  For the second game in a row the Rams are thrust into a situation in which they must respond to a drastic set of changes.  Randy McMichael is out for the season.  Scott Linehan is gone and Jim Haslett has taken over.  Marc Bulger returns at quarterback.  This team responded surprisingly well in the first half of their game against the Bills, playing with intensity and passion unseen this season until that point.  Can the Rams use the upheaval of the past two weeks to galvanize the remainder of their 2008 campaign?
 
Key #2 – Scheduling Shenanigans.  Yikes.  The St. Louis Rams are preparing to enter into quite a gauntlet.  This week they face the surging Washington Redskins; next week, the prohibitive favorite to win the NFC in the Dallas Cowboys; the following Sunday, the New England Patriots, sans Tom Brady, but Bill Belichick remains.  The Rams then face two high flying offenses led by grizzled old men who are proving that a big arm really is the last thing to go, in the Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets.  I’m not sure how many of their next five games are realistically winnable, but getting off to a great start with a victory over the Redskins would catapult them into the next stretch of their schedule.
 
Key #3 – Plan Ahead.  Unless Jim Haslett has been working some miracles over the past couple of weeks, this team is going to get a very high draft pick, nearly guaranteed for the top three.  The Rams will also need to be considering jettisoning some of it’s older players who are still serviceable in exchange for draft picks so this franchise is able to build for the future.  The Rams front office must pay close attention to collegiate players who will be draft eligible and begin their plan of action because in order to turn this ship around, the Rams are going to need to begin making better draft selections, starting with the 2009 draft.

The Rams will play hard but ultimately be outclassed by the surprising Washington Redskins, who will NOT cover the 12.5 point spread, you know, if gambling on sports were legal.

My Prediction: Redskins 28- Rams 21

Week 6 NFL Picks (Season Record: 45-29) Predicted Winners in Bold

Sunday

Bears @ Falcons

Dolphins @ Texans

Lions @ Vikings

Raiders @ Saints

Bengals @ Jets

Ravens @ Colts

Panthers@ Buccaneers

Jaguars @ Broncos

Packers @ Seahawks

Cowboys @ Cardinals

Eagles @ 49ers

Patriots @ Chargers

Monday

Giants @ Browns

Forced Ascendancy

The St. Louis Rams have a lot in common with the American economy.  Thankfully for Rams fans, this season cannot get much worse; the only direction the team can go is up.

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Rams- Bills game a little over a week ago.  Yes, the Rams lost that game in a particularly gut- wrenching, yet not unexpected fashion andin another foregone conclusion, Scott Linehan was fired a day later; but that game showed me something about this team.

The Rams care about winning, not embarrassing themselves or this franchise, not disappointing the fans of St. Louis (who were definitely spoiled by the early successes of the “Greatest Show on Turf”), but maybe most importantly, that they can be a good team this season.  Now, I am backing away from my earlier claims that this team might be able to sneak into the playoffs by beating up on it’s division rivals, that no longer looks very feasible at all, but the first half of the game against the Bills was a display of the way that the Rams are capable of playing. 

Although a stalwart contingent of Buffalo fans never ceased to let their presence be known in the endearing fashion so well perfected by New Yorkers, the downtrodden, yet exuberant, Rams faithful created an electric environment in the Edward Jones Dome.  The first half excitement was probably equal parts disbelief and genuine excitement about the team.

The Rams defense actually stopped the Bills offense and the pitiful St. Louis offense was able to sustain drives and score two touchdowns (baby steps)!  The second of those two touchdowns was the 29 yard scamper up the sideline by Steven Jackson.  As the crowd erupted and Jackson ran through the endzone, he jumped up onto the railing and climbed into the seats to celebrate with the fans in a symbolic shrugging off of a season and a half of frustrations.  Maybe, everyone in the dome must have been thinking, this would be the moment that turns this season and franchise around.  The Rams went into halftime with a 14-6 lead; but were obviously outscored 25-0 the remainder of the game to dash hopes for an instant resurgence.

Although the Rams were only able to put together one half of football, it was the best football they had played all season.  Perhaps Linehan’s final move of inserting Trent Green at quarterback did the trick or maybe it was the desperation felt at all levels of the franchise.  Whatever it was, the St. Louis Rams displayed promise for the first time this season and that gives me hope as a fan that this team will be competitive the rest of the year and certainly win a few games before it’s said and done.

Week 5 NFL Picks

The St. Louis Rams have this weekend off.  For their sake, hopefully they take this time to do some serious soul- searching and to regroup in the wake of the turmoil that has enshrouded this franchise since last season.   The way that the team responds against the Redskins next Sunday will be indicative of the performances we should expect over the next 12 games.

Week 5 NFL Picks (Season Record 36-24) Predicted Winners in Bold

Sunday

Chiefs @ Panthers

Bears @ Lions

Falcons @ Packers

Chargers @ Dolphins

Seahawks @ Giants

Redskins @ Eagles

Titans @ Ravens

Colts @ Texans

Buccaneers @ Broncos

Bills @ Cardinals

Patriots@ 49ers

Bengals @ Cowboys

Steelers @ Jaguars

Monday

Vikings @ Saints

Green Experiment Finished

Interim Head Coach Jim Haslett ended the Trent-Green-as-starting-quarterback-of-the-St. Louis-Rams trial as his first order of business in his new position; re-instating Marc Bulger for the remainder of the season.  The team is also in negotiations with cornerback Fakhir Brown who was unceremoniously cut during Linehan’s last ditch attempts to shake up the team.

The developments of the next week and a half as the Rams prepare for a match-up against the Washington Redskins will be intriguing.  Haslett most likely will attempt to begin changing the culture of this team; removing complacency and getting back to fundamentals.  Haslett is not prepared to give up on this team, thus his vote of confidence for Bulger, but rather wants to squeeze every ounce of talent and effort out of his franchise.

Jim Haslett might not be the man for the job indefinitely, but he is certainly off to a positive start.  Only time will tell if his methods produce results where it matters in the NFL; on the field.