by Michael Conroy - AP

Can Donnie Avery give fantasy owners something to dance about?

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One win and a near upset of the undefeated New Orleans Saints and all of the sudden the St. Louis Rams aren't so easy for fantasy players to ignore. The team still lacks reliable, every week fantasy players outside of RB Steven Jackson. At this point, guys like Donnie Avery, Brandon Gibson and Daniel Fells offer respectable, sneaky bye week options. This week's game against the Arizona Cardinals will go a long way toward answering whether or not those players could move beyond bye week fill-ins to guys worthy of keeping on your roster. The first question we need to ask is whether or not we are seeing real progress from the Rams offense? Three things indicate that the answer is yes.

1. The offensive line is playing well. Signing C Jason Brown and drafting Jason Smith represented a major investment for the team and provided the basis for the rebuilding project as Spagnuolo builds from the foundation up. Smith is anchoring the right side of the line, overcoming any preseason questions about his adjustment to the three-point stance. The Rams favor the middle and right side for their running game, and Jackson continues to rack up more and more yards thanks to the entire offensive line functioning well as a unit.
2. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is finally opening the play book. Besides a stellar job in run blocking, the OL is giving Marc Bulger time in the pocket, and the passing game is now throwing the ball downfield to Donnie Avery, forcing defenses to respect his speed and ability to get behind safeties.
3. The WR situation may be resolved. Maybe. Last week, Bradon Gibson, acquired from Philly in the Will Witherspoon trade, made a real impression, pressed into service for the injured Keenan Burton. One week wonder or not? It's hard to say, but against the Saints Gibson showed great hands and the athleticism to get yards after the catch, exactly what the Rams have been missing from the wide receivers this season. If he's the real deal, the Rams might have an effective enough passing game to score some points.

Obviously, Steven Jackson is a must start this week or any week. The Cardinals gave up 123 yards to Justin Forsett against the Seahawks last week. In week 8, DeAngelo Williams picked up 158 yards.

Donnie Avery looks like a good player to start this week too. The Cardinals allow 253.4 yards passing on average, and have allowed the fourth most, 32, passing plays of 20 yards or more.

Brandon Gibson is a risky start because he's still relatively unknown. If he has another good week, definitely grab him off the waiver wire.

More photos » by Ted S. Warren - AP

C.J. Ah You becomes the latest Ram to hit the IR list

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The St. Louis Rams will send their ninth player this season to the injured reserve list. This time it's defensive end C. J. Ah You. 

Ah You surprised everyone this year, earning a roster spot and fitting into a nice job as a role player. Spags used him inside on those 4 DE packages. He had some surprise moments you'll recall. He was a Spagnuolo favorite...or so it seemed. 

It's a tough break for the Rams. 

by Jeff Roberson - AP

St. Louis Rams offensive tackle Jason Smith is making his presence known.

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Offensive line stats are a strange animal, but leave it to the guys at Football Outsiders to measure the grunts up front who make it happen. As anyone following the St. Louis Rams knows, head coach Steve Spagnuolo and GM Billy Devaney have made the rebuilding the offensive line a top priority, investing lots of money to get younger and tougher up front. How's the investment paying off so far?

Well, early in the season there were times when the line looked like the same old unit that caused so much consternation in seasons prior. It was a little rough at first, as players learned the system and how to function as a unit. The pass protection has been mostly solid all year long, with a few exceptions here and there. But over the last few games, the offensive line has looked like a much better, more cohesive unit, getting the best of both the Lions and the Saints defensive fronts. Let's look at some numbers.

(a quick note, FO uses the Adjusted Line Yards (ALY) measurement, which account for the OL's role in terms of yards gained on rushing plays, i.e. they take the running back out of the equation. Here's the full definition for ALY.)

First of all the total ALY for the Rams this year, through nine games is 4.08 ALY, good enough for 17th best in the league. Last season, that number was 3.73 ALY, and in 2007 it was 3.72 ALY. Both numbers from the past two seasons ranked 28th in the league.

The directional numbers are the most interesting, showing big jumps over the last two games.

Check it out, through week 10:

Left End, 4.61 ALY, 11th
Left Tackle, 6.28 ALY, 1st
Mid/Guard, 3.91 ALY, 23rd
Right Tackle, 4.71 ALY, 5th
Right End, 2.05 ALY, 30th

In two games, their ALY at Right Tackle have gone from 3.97 ALY to 4.71 ALY. Wow. That's a huge jump, and Jason Smith gets lots of credit for that. They've improved at Mid/Guard too, up from 3.74 ALY. I don't worry about the middle as much, since that's where the Rams 51% of the rushes, and teams are cramming the box to hold back Steven Jackson.

Progress.

by Jeff Roberson - AP

Steven Jackson is running his way into the Rams' record books.

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St. Louis Rams RB Steven Jackson was his usual dominant self in the team's near upset of the undefeated New Orleans Saints last week, rushing for 131 yards on 26 carries and scoring his second touchdown in two weeks. It was Jackson's third 100+ yard performance in a row and fifth of the season, giving him 915 yards rushing on the season, third best in the NFL.

He also ran his way into the history books, passing Lawrence McCutcheon for third on the Rams all-time leaders in rushing yards. To date, SJ39 has a 6,206 rushing yards for his career, spent entirely with the Rams. He trails legends Marshall Faulk who 6,959 yards rushing and Eric Dickerson with 7,245 yards rushing.

Jackson needs just 753 more yards to pass Faulk and 1,039 to pass Dickerson. Can he pass those Rams icons this season and engrave his name into the team's history?

Right now, Jackson is averaging 101.7 yards rushing per game. At that pace, he'll pick up another 711 through the Rams' last seven games. Of course, the schedule will have something to say about that. Below is a chart with the Rams next seven opponents and their average yards rushing allowed per game (note: The Rams have two more games against Arizona, so I've only included them once in this list).

That's not the best predictor for Jackson's chances in the weeks ahead, but give you some idea of the kind of rushing defenses he'll face. At his current pace, Jackson will finish the season with 1,626 rushing yards, his best total ever. That will leave him just 42 yards short of Faulk's total with the Rams. However, if the line continues its strong play and the team stays inspired from their recent run an extra 42 yards might be well within reach.

Sometime early next season, Jackson should be the Rams all-time leader in rushing yards.

I don't know about any of you, but I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for this Sunday to come up. I can't wait to see if the Rams can continue the success we've seen through the last month (it's almost been that long since Detroit!?) and hopefully come out with a win against a good team. Going right into the buffet today, we have:

• Jim Thomas takes a look at the chimera approaching that is Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston. The Rams might not be able to sit back in the blitzing department this week, as dropping into coverage against these guys isn't going to be easy. Arizona has a tall, fast and physical passing game and it is going to take some creativity (gulp) to try and stop these guys.
  
• Mike over at Ramsgab has his Ram View series about the Saints game. The link is to part five, where he breaks down some of the defensive line play. This week, the view isn't from the couch, as he was at the game. How will the Rams defensive line play against Arizona? Hopefully we can contain Beanie Wells.
• The one and only Mike Sando takes a look at our emerging powerhouse offense. Ok, maybe that's going to far, but one can't hope to be optimistic. A number to remember? 796. That is the total amount of yards the offense has gained. In the last two games.
• Andrew from Revenge of the Birds is here to answer any questions you may have about the Cardinals game this Sunday. I'd say he thinks the Cardinals need to have a better gameplan then not party too much the night before (rub it in, rub it in).
  
• In case you missed it, here is the link to an excellent edition of Turf Show Radio. VanRam and his PIC 3k take a look at college football, the draft, plato, forehead tattoo's and more. I'd have to agree, we are definitely a good bad team. I wouldn't mind a flip of the two by the end of the season but that may be too wishful of thinking.

Enjoy your Thursday and GO RAMS

Trolling for some Wednesday evening fun? Nobody to talk pigskin with after a long day at work? Man, have we got a deal for you. Get your St. Louis Rams and football fix tonight on Turf Show Radio, happening live at 7 p.m. Central. Listen and call in at this link.

Can't make it? Use this thread to post comments and questions for 3k and I to answer on the show.

(Note from 3k: In case you don't take notes while you're listening, and you know you damn well should, here's my watch list for Saturday's college football action.  Also, if you're listening live, you can catch Dan LeFevour (QB, Cent. Michigan) right now over on ESPN2.)

Some quick hits for the rest of the afternoon:

• Jim Thomas gives us a little background on Brandon Gibson.
• A little more on the newest Ram WR, Jordan Kent.
• Mike Sando counts Adam Goldberg and Brandon Gibson among his Super Subs for the NFC West.
• The Rams are +7 at home against the Cardinals this week. Even though the wins aren't there yet, it seems Vegas is respecting the Rams more and more each week. Earlier in the season this line would have been much higher.
• Jim Thomas on the tough schedule for the Rams in the past few weeks. And, of course, Kurt Warner is coming back to town.

GO RAMS

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Geez, what do you guys want from me!?!?

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Poor Marc Bulger. The embattled St. Louis Rams starting quarterback muscled through his best game of the year last week, nearly upsetting the undefeated New Orleans Saints. For some, that just wasn't enough.

Football Outsiders runs down the week's individual performances in their "Quick Reads" column, and for once Bulger's numbers stood out as above average. His total DYAR (Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement) was 124 yards, meaning he waas worth 124 more yards than a scrub off the bench. That was good enough for 7th best for week 10. His Pass DYAR was 120 yards, and his rush DYAR was 5 yards. That wasn't good enough for FO, who said:

If this was the best Marc Bulger had left, well, it's good, but not good enough. His conversion on fourth down to Brandon Gibson to extend the game with 1:21 left nearly ended it; he saw an open receiver and promptly hit him in the shoelaces. Converting four of the 12 third downs he faced wasn't particularly impressive, especially considering the good situations he was being placed in by the effective running of Steven Jackson -- on those third downs, he had an average of 7.2 yards to go. That leaves a fair amount of makable ones that weren't, especially considering that one of the plays he converted was his 29-yard touchdown pass to Donnie Avery on third-and-15.

Ouch. I can't pin the loss on Bulger, but I can't excuse him totall either. A game that close could have been decided by any one play, and ugly dropped balls from McMichael and Amendola get make great targets to point you inger at too. However, it is clear that Bulger's skill set is fading, reflected in diminished accuracy and some questionable decision making, i.e. the mid-field check downs on the two minute drill. Yes, I wonder what he might have been able to do with just another better-than-competent WR to throw to. More and more it looks like his best course for the future is a backup on a well-stocked team.

The St. Louis Rams made Jordan Kent the latest receiver to cycle through the roster yesterday. He's a big guy at 6'4" and hasn't played football since last season.

The Seahawks released him before the start of this season because of an ankle injury. Tampa Bay and Cleveland were also interested in Kent, but the Rams made the call yesterday. He'll join the team for practice today as part of the 53-man roster, nabbing that coveted 5th receiver spot...which should come with some sort of voodoo insurance policy since being a Rams receiver is now considered a high risk job. 

Interesting tidbit about Kent: he's a former high school classmate of Rams LB David Vobora. Kent didn't play football in HS though. 

Here's ESPN's Mike Sando:

The Seahawks spent two seasons working with Kent, a former record-setting track athlete at Oregon who needed considerable polish as a receiver.

Here's the scouting report from SBNation:

A supreme athlete with long frame. Former track star and basketball player who brings elite speed and leaping ability to the field.

A late bloomer. Still very raw in terms of technique. Doesn't have a lot of experience producing big numbers at any level.

That kind of makes him sounds like a real diamond in the rough. We'll see about that. The great thing about a team like the Rams this season is that it's a great place for guys to buff out the rough and let the diamond show through. And, yes, a 5th wide receiver merits more than one post for the Rams. Will he see any playing time? Eventually, but remember Spagnuolo seems strangely committed to keeping just 4 receivers active on Sundays.

Don't forget to tune into Turf Show Radio tonight at 7 p.m. Central, it'll be titillating.

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

Will Atogwe go another 8 games without a turnover?

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It's been a long time coming, but two days ago this Rams teams finally started to play with a ferocity, finally started to lay it all on the line. The team that has all to often given up by the fourth quarter, by the half, finally found some swagger. Marc Bulger wasn't sliding a yard short for first downs, Donnie Avery had more touchdowns then fumbles, Alex Barron didn't almost cost us the game. All was good. But how long will this nothing-to-lose strategy apply for?

Sure, the team is 1-8. They really don't have that much too lose in the way of...well, anything this year. But mentally, having come so close to defeating the Saints, it must have been quite deflating to see the scoreboard after the game. To know it was in your grasp, yet have it slip through. It was definitely a tough loss for the team to go through.

These next few weeks are going to be crucial for the development of this team, for them to trust in Coach Spagnuolo. It's one thing to point at glaring deficiencies and huge mistakes that cost the team a chance at competing. It's one thing to see all the problems that went on during a game and see the score be a blowout. "Same old Rams," you could say. But this team gave it their all against the Saints and narrowly came up short. The Rams next few opponents aren't nearly as complete of a team as the Saints, which means that the Rams easily have a chance to win (if they can almost beat the Saints, they can almost beat anybody, in my opinion). Granted, there were areas to improve upon, but that game has to have been the high point so far in the season.

Spagnuolo has this team competing, their is no doubt about that. But after the win against the Lions, everyone said the team needed the win. Going 0-8 into the bye, people thought the team would've crumbled. That same chance of crumbling away has reared it's ugly head again. Can the team pick itself back up after the disheartening loss? Can they keep up the swagger? Or will they crumble apart? Was this merely a flash in the pan or will Bulger return to 2006 form? (Do you even want him to, or are you done with him at this point?)

Everyone is about to see what this coaching staff and team is made of. The team believes in Spagnuolo, sure, but their morale at 1-8 surely isn't, "sitting on the top of the world." If Spagnuolo can guide this team out of the darkness right now, then the future looks extremely bright.