Well, it's go time.  The first divisional game of the year, and a statement game to be made if one exists in our first 4 games.  With Buffalo coming to St. Louis in week 4 and the bye week after, this game is of monumental importance to this season.  A loss drops the Rams to 0-3, and reminds us of the 0-8 run we had to open the 2007 season.  A win, and the Seahawks drop to 0-3, 0-2 in the division after last weekend's loss to the 49ers.

  Is it possible for a week 3 game to be a must win?  Is it possible that the fates of Coach Linehan (and President of Football Operations/GM Jay Zygmunt) rest on the outcome of this game?  Is it possible for Steven Jackson to get at least 15 carries in a single game?!  One can only hope.

  It's the battle to avoid the bottom of the NFC West.  Breakdown after the fold.

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  I left for Poland (don't ask) before the sun came up on Sunday.  I was stuck in a forest until Thursday, and had no chance to watch the game, check the score, or do any of the things I normally do as a Rams fan.  So on Thursday night when I returned, I immediately opened two tabs in my internet browser: one to ESPN's NFL scoreboard and one here to TST.   Thanks for the warm welcome, Rams.

  Given Sunday's performance, I think I should preface this week's entry with some perspective.  In my hometown of Dallas, Texas, there is an incredible radio show on ESPN called Galloway and Company (website here), hosted by Randy Galloway from the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  The Monday show following every Cowboys game is dubbed "Overreaction Monday".  I still remain in awe of the perfection of that title.  Is there anything more characteristic of a committed football fan than the immediate overreaction before the talking heads have arrived to play devil's advocate?

  In my week 1 breakdown, here, I wrote that week 1 "is a tone game."  After the Rams' performance on Sunday, I feel this is true more than ever.  One game in the NFL season makes up 6.25% of the season.  It takes 11 games in baseball to match that amount.  What I mean when I suggest that week 1 is a tone game is that the theme of the first third of the season is almost automatically set by the first game.  Given Sunday's result, the theme that our team has most blatantly created is "underperformance."  Whether it's the defense, the offensive line, or (most popularly) the coaching staff in developing both the tactical and emotional environment for the team, the only thing we could possibly take away from last weekend is that our team underperformed and for that, I'm ashamed as a Rams fan.

  So should I chalk up the vitriolic rhetoric TST readers unloaded here and my embarassment at my team's weekend misadventure to overreaction?  Possibly.  The calls for Linehan and Haslett to be fired are, IMO, premature.  Nevertheless, an underperformance like Sunday's should be absolutely unacceptable by any standard to any organization in the NFL that has a modicum of desire to compete.  If the Rams can make the most out of this weekend's home opener, it should hold off the displeasure which the Eagles game evoked from the Rams faithful.  If they don't, I will be eager to see everyone here unloading their frustrations again following the game.  Chances are, I'll be joining in.

Week 2 breakdown after the fold.

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Ah, mid-decade. Credit was still easy to get, YouTube was born, and all the kids were talking dancing to songs about humps, lovely lady humps. Across the state, the high flying Kansas City Chiefs missed the playoffs despite a 10-6 record. Fans of the old days may not be able to shake their humps to the similarly titled song anymore, but they can watch the NFC West if anyone's interested in keeping up with the diaspora of former Chiefs from that year.

Already having Dante Hall on board and Al Saunders in house to coordinate the offense, the Rams tried to capture a little more of that magic by signing WR Eddie Kennison.

Now, comes news that the receiver-challenged Seahawks got in on the retro fun and added former Chiefs WR Samie Parker to their roster.

Nobody's going to argue that the NFC West is the most exciting division in football, but nostalgists might appreciate it a little more now.

UPDATE: The Rams will sign Eddie Kennison and release David Vobora by the end of the day, according to PD's Jim Thomas.

With Bennett out, the Rams will take a close look at veteran free agents still floating around on the open market.

Possibilities include former Rams and long-time Chief Eddie Kennison. The biggest advantage the 35-year-old Kennison brings is his familiarity with Al Saunders' offense. Kennison suffered a hamstring injury in his first game last season, and watched his career descend into oblivion before being released by the Chiefs this year. The PD story linked here cites team sources who say that Kennison will visit Rams Park today, most likely taking a physical.

Other veteran free agent receiver possibilities include Joe Horn, 36, and Keenan McCardell, 38(!). McCardell played for Saunders in Washington last season. The Seahawks are desperate for receiving help too.

While I do understand the Rams need for a veteran to round out their depth at WR, I remain convinced that the best option for the Rams is to throw Keenan Burton into the fire right away. He was a better option than Bennett from the start, showing a better grasp of the playbook than Bennett and better rhythm with Bulger through the preseason. More importantly, as I said this morning, Burton's young and hungry, eager to cement his place in the NFL. That would give the Rams something they desperately lacked this weekend, players with a little fire in the belly.

The lack of depth at WR claims being hurled at the Rams annoy me. Compared to the other teams Al Saunders' has worked for, other than the Rams, the Rams have a better #1 WR in Torry Holt and a more than capable #2 WR in Drew Bennett. By the way, I think Bennett will be better served not working out of the slot as much. The third spot on depth chart at WR is still up for grabs, but two of the candidates, Dante Hall and Reche Caldwell, have played WR at the third spot or below on the depth chart for Saunders before.

I also wondered what to expect from the Rams wide receivers this season, playing in a new offense. The chart below contains the receptions, yards, and TDs for the first three wide outs of each Saunders-led offense. Now, worth noting is that Saunders was not the OC in 1999; Martz was, and still ran the offense in 2000 as head coach bu elevated Saunders to a position more akin to that of an OC. Also, tight ends have played huge roles under Al Saunders systems, as you may have heard, and with the receiver-poor teams he's coached the TE often led the team in receiving. To note that here, I've put one asterisk (*) next to the season if the TE led the team in receptions and a double asterisk (**) next to the season is the TE led in receptions and receiving yards. I left out the running back receiving totals, but suffice it to say that the running backs played big roles in each season, something we can expect Steven Jackson to do this year, once he finally signs a contract. Asterisks next  to a players' stats indicate that it was a rookie season. For the '02 Chiefs that was Marc Boerigter and for the '99 Rams it was none other than Torry Holt.

Needless to say, I think claims about the Rams being understaffed at WR are overstated. As you can see, the TE plays a role much more aligned with that of a WR in Saunders' system. McMichael may not put up Tony Gonzalez numbers, but he's sure bet for 50 or more receptions, maybe even enough catches to put him right behind Holt on this season's team leader board. Don't be surprised if Steven Jackson round out the teams top three in receptions and yards too.

Holt's had 90 or more receptions every year since 2001, even when he missed two games in 2005. I doubt anyone on the team not named Torry Holt leads the Rams in receptions and receiving yards, but with McMichael and Jackson both set to see plenty of action, Holt might not top 90 catches this season. Still, Saunders' knows what kind of weapon he has in Holt, and isn't going to relegate him to Eddie Kennison status.

Bennett and the #3 wide receiver, whoever that turns out to be, won't see those Martz-ian like numebrs for the second and third WRs. There just won't be that many balls to go around with Holt, Jackson and McMichael eating up the bulk of the passing plays. That's good news, because with teams keyed in on those three, Bennett and the third WR should have increased effectiveness by being the open man on multiple receiver sets or plays using the big three as a foil to create mismatches for the another WR, i.e. plays designed to put a speedy slot guy like Avery behind the defense. Bennett's a much better fit as a #2. In 2004, his career year, he played second fiddle to Derrick Mason.

Now, if Holt misses time, that means more emphasis on Jackson and McMichael. That would hurt the Rams, but I don't think it would be debilitating. Yes, it means more work for Bennett and either Hall or one of the others moving up to the #2 spot. However, McMichael essentially becomes the #1 WR, a la Gonzalez or Cooley, in that situtation.

If the Rams were to lose McMichael, Holt's role is elevated along with Bennett, who'll be picking up more of the workload in the passing game. I still think he can handle it if he's healthy and the rest of the offense isn't suffering like last season.

Of the big three - Jackson, Holt and McMichael - losing Jackson would hurt the most because that would create a huge imbalance between the rush and passing game. And the question marks on the depth chart behind Jackson are far bigger than the question marks on the depth chart behind Holt.

Don't get me wrong, losing any of those guys would hurt the team, especially with the schedule we've got. But, this looks like a pretty well balanced attack, and I think that makes concerns about depth at WR somewhat overstated.

The hope/excitement of the draft has yet to wane and with reports of Chris Long breezing through the love fest that was the Rams minicamp, thoughts of rookie sensations are sweeping through my head.

And with nothing much happening on the Rams front for awhile, what better time than to pull the cib webs off the ol' history book, crack it open and take a look back at some of the better rookie seasons in Rams history.

Unfortunately, you've got to have a long, really long memory for stuff like that, as football just hasn't established the footprint on the web that baseball has, where a click or two of the mouse gets you arse deep in history and tradition. So, I thought I'd break it down by memory, starting now with the Rams' history since coming to St. Louis in 1995. Again, not to slight the team's history, but I have a much better recollection of the Rams after they came to St. Louis than before. We'll get into the Los Angeles period later this week.

Kevin Carter, 1995
Taken by the Rams with the sixth overall pick in the 1995 draft , we all hope Chris Long enjoys a long and prosperous career like Carter's. In his rookie season, the team's first in a new city, playing in that old bowl shaped monument to the functionalist architecture of the 1960s, Carter started all 16 games, recorded 33 tackles, 6 sacks, and a safety for good measure.

Eddie Kennison, 1996
That's right, before he was the Chiefs' possession guy, he had a three season stint with the Rams , who drafted him 18th overall in the 1996 draft. His rookie season, it turns out, would be his most memorable for awhile, until he landed with LC in 2002. With the Rams in 1996, Kennison caught 54 passes for 924 yards and a 9 touchdowns. Not bad for the Tony Baks era. It would be his best season until 2004 with the Chiefs, when offensive coordinator Al Saunders' system helped EK, at 31, get his first 1000+ yard season and 8 TDs to boot. If there's ever been a reason to feel confident in the Rams WR picks, it's now, with Al Saunders on board.

Orlando Pace, 1997
There's not really much in the way of stats for the o-line, but Pace started 9 games for the Rams in his rookie season. That year, the Rams allowed 44 sacks and passed for 3,198 yards and 14 TDs. The year before, the Rams allowed 57 sacks, passed for 2,765 yards and 18 TDs. It was the beginning of something beautiful.

Tony Horne, 1998
Finding something good about the '98 season taxes even the most optimistic fans, but Horne picked up 1308 yards on 56 kick returns, including one for a 102 yard TD.

Torry Holt, 1999
Who didn't have a good season in 1999? Holt, the 6th overall pick in the draft , madea splash with 52 catches, 788 yards and 6 TDs, behind only the great Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce in receptions and receiving yards in the year the Greatest Show on Turf was born.

Kurt Warner, 1999*
Technically, Warner's rookie year was 1998, but since he made only one appearance and threw just 11 passes, maybe we can make an exception. Besides, Warner was kind of an exception already, getting his into to hte NFL in his late 20s. Anyway, it's not hard to remember Warner passing for 4353 yards and 41 TDs. It's easy to see why fan boards are still filled with "bring back Warner" posts.

Adam Archuleta, 2001
Fans take note, another Rams first round pick had an impact season in their rookie year. Arch Delux didn't lead the team in any one category, but the safety became a solid contributor out of the defensive backfield in his rookie year. He posted 2 sacks, 47 tackles, a forced fumble and 3 pass deflections.

Marc Bulger, 2002
Starting seven games in place of the injured Kurt Warner, Bulger made his mark as the future franchise QB passing for 1826 yards, 14 TDs and just 6 INTs.

Pisa Tinoisamoa, 2003
Arguably his best season so far . The Rams newest LB and 2nd round pick recorded 2 sacks, 67 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 7 pass deflections and 3 INTs. Injuries have conspired to hide all that Pisa is capable of for the last two seasons, and the Rams will be counting on him to have a healthy and productive year in 2008.

Steven Jackson, 2004
Not his most memorable season  by any means, but on 134 carries, SJ had 673 yards and 4 TDs. Faulk, who played in just 14 games that year, had 774 yards on 195 carries and just 3 TDs, ruining fantasy hopes across the country. Jackson also had 138 yards on 19 receptions.

Tye Hill, 2006
Sour times for Rams fans and rookies. You really have to get the magnifying glass out to see the team's bright spots in the middle part of this decade. Hill, the Rams first round pick, had 47 tackles, 6 pass deflections, and 3 INTs, tying him with Brown and Atogwe for the team lead in a season where the Rams defense was forgettable at best. His second year marred by injury, we're all anxious to see what Hill can do this year.

Clifton Ryan, 2007
You thought I was going to say Carriker here, huh? Well, intangibles aside, Ryan owns the better rookie numbers from last season. The surprise stand out from the 5th round played his way into an indispensible role at DT. In the process, he accumlated 24 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 sacks. Nothing huge, but enough to help put the Rams defense back on the road to respectability.

Ok, feel free to add your own picks in the comments below. The encouraging thing here is that there's a solid history of Rams rookies making their presence known right away. This season, there are several candidates to have a big impact on the team's fortunes. The easy pick is Chris Long, but guys like Donnie Avery, Keenan Burton, Roy Scheuning, John Greco, Justin King and even Mr. Irrelevant, David Vobora, could surprise us all. Care to venture a guess?