Missing starters

by Ryan Van Bibber on Dec 5, 2008 8:00 AM CST in 2008 St. Louis Rams season

Try as you might, I just don't think you can blame the Rams results this season on injuries.

However...injuries aren't helping the team either. We've seen the difference Steven Jackson can made when he returned to the lineup - along with some more inspired play up front - after effectively (his still injured return against the Cardinals in week 9) missing the previous five games.

Check this out. ESPN's Mike Sando runs the numbers to see how many players from each NFC West team have started all 12 games through week 13.

For the Rams, just six...six players have started all 12 games this season. Some of that is not due to injury though, as the Rams have been forced to bench a few guys along the way.

It's definitely not an excuse for the level of play we've seen from the Rams through the better part of this season, but it carries an impact to be sure. And thus it's question time. Why have the Rams been plagued by injuries to such an extent for two seasons in a row? In my own uninformed, not a doctor opinion several factors explain at least part of it. With aging players at so many key positions - e.g. Orlando Pace - that happens. Also, being a bad team contributes, e.g. the porous offensive line over the years has contributed to the injuries and general decline of Marc Bulger. I also think - and here's the uninformed part - that the team's poor play gets players beat up a little more.

Still, I wonder if they don't need to review their strength and conditioning program. Chronic injury outbreaks like this, on the surface, seem to be more than just flukes. Or am I just being overly neurotic?

Tweet Comment 2 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

They need to channel their inner Aaliyah

you know, “age ain’t nothin’ but a number” …

Mike Sando posted early in the season that the Rams are the second-oldest team in the NFL on both sides of the ball. With Bulger, it’s not age, but wear, like a tire with 50,000 miles on it. His head has been run over so many times that the folds of his brain are losing their tread.

And yeah, I think there’s something to the idea that poor play causes more injuries, especially on the offensive line. These guys are supposed to move as a unit, in a rhythm, to create a wall. But if they’re tripping over each other and getting generally pushed around, that’s when players start falling awkwardly on other guys’ legs and such.

"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz

by taiko on Dec 5, 2008 10:07 AM CST reply actions

defense

i was thinking with defense too. they’re caught out of position so often they have to make tackles from unusual angles and more chasing than they should be

by Ryan Van Bibber on Dec 5, 2008 3:23 PM CST up reply actions