FanPost

Year 3...

So this is supposed to be the year where the St. Louis Rams compete for the NFC West divisional title and fight for a playoff spot. Yet, I don't see that happening in 2014 unless three important areas show vast improvement. I don't want to sound too pessimistic but we can't go into the regular season with this many question marks and expect a competitive team week in and week out. The question marks I speak of are the offensive line, wide receivers, and secondary.

Offensive Line

With the exception of our starting five offensive lineman we really don't have anyone else on the roster capable of providing Bradford with adequate protection. How devastating will it be for Sam's "make or break" year if the fragile Rodger Saffold (missed 17 games in last 4 seasons) were to go down with another injury or if Jake Long needs more time to recover from his ACL surgery or if the incumbent Scott Wells (missed 13 games in last 2 seasons) gets hurt again? Honestly, pretty brutal if you ask me.

Bottom Line: Fixing the offensive line depth problem should be priority number 1.

Wide Receivers

Austin Pettis will be going into his 4th NFL season and he's never exceeded more then 400 yards receiving. Not exactly the kind of production you would expect/want from your team's veteran wide receiver.

3rd year pro Brian Quick set career highs in receptions (18) and yards (302) last season, let that sink in for a minute. This is supposed to be Quick's breakout year but in all honesty I just don't see it happening unless he magically lives up to his "T.O. and Vincent Jackson" hype but even Jackson didn't hit 1,000 yards until his 4th NFL season so maybe there's still hope for Austin Pettis. Lol

Chris Givens has made some big plays and has put up some decent numbers in his first 2 years as a Ram but he's nothing more then a 1 trick pony (deep threat) and is buried on the depth chart. I don't see him sticking around with the Rams for too long considering the fact that Schotty has never heard of the word vertical.

Last year's 8th overall pick Tavon Austin was supposed to be our electric playmaker who can take it to the house on any given reception but ultimately he struggled with drops and learning the playbook. (How hard can it be after all it's probably written in crayon) Austin gets a pass for his rookie season due to the fact that he didn't have his QB throwing to him and his OC doesn't know how to properly utilize his skill set. Hopefully he balls out this season and becomes the Rams Swiss army knife.

Stedman Bailey is by far my favorite receiver of the group and I believe he will make the biggest impact in Schottys vanilla offensive scheme. Bailey's four game suspension will hurt our passing game a lot because he probably has the best hands on the team and I could easily see Bailey taking over the slot position and being Sam's new blankie. (Sorry Tavon)

Last but not least, Kenny Britt. Expectations are high for "The Incredible Hulk" and the Rams are hoping he can become the player he once was before his 2011 season ending knee injury. So far so good for the talented wide out who is getting nothing but positive reviews from the Rams organization. IF Britt were to have a solid campaign this season then expect him to demand a huge contract. Kenny is all about the Benjamin's as he visited with multiple teams looking for the right contract before signing with the Rams. So I guess this situation would be both good and bad for the Rams.

Bottom Line: There's potential for this young talented receiving group but if the offensive line can't keep it together then be prepared for a horrifying domino effect. (Something we're all too familiar with as Ram fans) If the offensive line is playing good then the running game should be effective and an effective running game will open up the passing game so hopefully these talented wide outs can take advantage of every given opportunity.

The Secondary

Free Safety is obviously our biggest need but I can see McDonald playing FS and Alexander stepping in at SS. Jenkins and Johnson are locked in as the starting cornerbacks and although their play wasn't up to par last season I expect both to have a bounce back year under newly defensive coordinator Greg Williams. Rookie corner Lamarcus Joyner will man the slot with E.J. Gaines and Marcus Roberson backing up Jenkins and Johnson. (Hopefully)

Bottom Line: I hope we play tight man to man coverage with McDonald playing deep so the opposing offense can't neutralize our front four with quick short passes.

Now that I think about it it doesn't sound too bad like I thought it was going to be. Damn you preseason for making me second guess my beloved Rams lol but in all seriousness I'm hoping the offensive line stays intact, the receivers sync with Sam and the secondary gets used the right way and not Tim Waltons way. Thanks for reading and letting me vent. Go Rams!!