St. Louis Rams
Read the introduction here
2011 Record: 2-14
Key Acquisitions: Cortland Finnegan, Scott Wells, Michael Brockers, Brian Quick, Steve Smith
Key Departures: Brandon Lloyd, James Hall
This team is trying, I think. Sam Bradford is returning from injury, but he wasn't great when he did play last year. Steven Jackson's body is breaking down, and the division is no longer terrible now that the 49ers have improved. Head Coach Jeff Fisher is very good, and can probably get this team to overachieve.
Offense
Sam Bradford was bad last year. He threw 6 TDs in 10 games and his TD-to-INT ratio was 1:1. 6 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Not good. The worst part is the reason why I thought he shouldn't be first pick in the draft is because of his injury history. He had 2 shoulder injuries in college and a high ankle sprain last year. On top of that, his offensive line is terrible, and he gets sacked a lot. He's going to get hurt many times during his career. The backup is Kellen Clemens, (here comes my Jets fan) he shouldn't have a job in the NFL.
They don't have a good backup running back, and when the starter is Steven Jackson, that's bad. Everyone know that he's going to go down at some point this season, and it's going to be a bad injury.
Their wide receiving corps is beyond terrible. Danny Amendola is their best receiver. Yeah. Brian Quick is a nice draft pick, and for their sake, I hope he develops into at least a legit #2 wideout, because that team is full of #4s. No Steve Smith, you don't count.
This offensive line is just bad. Outside of Scott Wells, so has been a solid center for the Packers throughout his career, the next best guy on their line is Robert Turner. As a Jets fan I'll say this, Turner has his moments of greatness, and he's pretty versatile, then he'll whiff on a block on the next play. Trust me.
Defense
This is the best unit on the team, and that's not saying much at all. James Laurinaitis is a machine, and combined with Chris Long, they can brutalize a running back for a game. They can really take over games. Robert Quinn is a very good, young defensive end who will continue to improve. Michael Brockers was a really odd draft pick and he's most likely going to be a bust. I may be wrong, but I doubt it.
Cortland Finnegan can be good as long as he stops getting fines for being stupid on the field. He's a good cornerback with good hands and he can frustrate receivers (without punching them, please Cortland!) Quintin Mikell is reliable. I'm interested in seeing how Janoris Jenkins does at cornerback, I've heard that he's a dynamic athlete.
Special Teams
Both their kicker and punter are gone from last year and I don't know what to expect at all. They must see something in Greg Zuerlein since they cut Josh Brown after drafting Zuerlein. Their kick returner is probably going to involve a combination of Amendola, Jenkins, Mikell, and Finnegan. Decent options, some potential there.
4-12, 4th in NFC West
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