Is there a member of the St. Louis Rams likely to be more scrutinized than QB Marc Bulger? Probably not. Now in the third year of a hefty contract, Bulger is looking make good on his end of the deal after two seasons that mostly helped fans pine for the days of Kurt Warner. If he doesn't put it together this season, he certainly won't be a member of the Rams beyond 2009 and the best he can hope for is a job as a backup somewhere. 

Deciding whether or not Bulger fared worse in 2007 or 2008 is purely academic. He was sacked 75 times in the last two seasons, and 124 times in the last three. Last season, Bulger had a DVOA of -19.8%, the worst among QBs that threw more than 300 passes and generated 259 fewer yards than a replacement level QB, when adjusted for opponents. The season before, Bulger had a -16.5% DVOA and a -142 DYAR. If there is any silver lining to be found in Bulger's last two season is that his accuracy hasn't gone away, and was, in fact, closer to career norms last season. The Rams have made a major commitment to the team and Bulger by taking steps to build a tougher, bigger and younger offensive line, as well as install a playbook that doesn't call for the QB to hold the ball for an eternity in the pocket. Can he succeed?

Best case scenario: The new West Coast offense suits Bulger perfectly. The short drops, more routes in the middle, and the need for accurate and quick releases, all play to his strengths. On top of that, the balance created by having a healthy Steven Jackson and a tough-as-nails offensive line allows Bulger to get his confidence back and he again becomes one the league's top system QBs. The run-first aspect means he won't reach the 4,000 receiving yards plateau, but his TD/INT ratio makes that easy to forget. 

Worst case scenario: Quite simply, Bulger flops. Recovering from the injuries he suffered as the league's tackling dummy over the years proves to be too big of a hurdle, even with a decent offensive line. The receivers flounder with Bulger unable to make the passing game work, and opposing defense stuff eight pieces into the box like the lunch rush at KFC. Boller takes over under center, but questions about his poise look legit and he doesn't fare much better. Hello Sam Bradford.

Most likely outcome: I think what we'll see is an acceptable season from Bulger. On the last edition of Turf Show Radio someone pointed out just how difficult it will be for him to overcome the injuries that befell him the last few seasons, and that's a real concern. Fortunately, Pat Shurmur's offense is built to harness Bulger's strengths and doesn't call on him to do the offense's heavy lifting. I think Bulger will respond to the challenge he faces this season. His numbers won't be elite (though a healthy Jackson and group of TEs and tough receivers like Keenan Burton could mean very pleasing TD numbers), but good enough to make him the QB for another season while the Rams look for their next starter. 

What to watch: First of all, as we go through the first weeks of camp, keep an eye on how sharp his throws are in the 11-on-11 drills. What we want to see is a firm grasp of the playbook, a good connection with the receivers, and throwing off his front foot. If you remember correctly, the Rams have struggled to score in their preseason games over the last two years. Preseason games usually don't mean much, but it was certainly a harbinger of what a slog the season would be for the Rams. This year, watch how the offense flows in the preseason, especially the starters, and look for Bulger to do the things mentioned previously with opposing defenders coming at him. If Bulger and the offense are moving the ball well and scoring some, particularly on passes, it'll be a good sign. 

I know Bulger has his haters out there, but the Rams really need him to play well enough to keep the team competitive while they go through another year of rebuilding. That will also give them a chance to assess their QB options for the future and develop a rookie if need be. 

Past best & worst case posts:

• the offensive line
• the wide receivers

Today might be the toughest day in a tough season of being a Rams fan.

But this...getting unfavorably compared to the Lions...oh, man...that really hammers the point home. From the Sporting News:

The Lions, Chiefs, Raiders, Seahawks and 49ers are all playing with pride, no matter the score. The Rams? They are done when they step out of the tunnel.

Click on the link and read the whole item. Then try to defend the Rams against the charges that they'd the worst team in the league. Not even OJ's legal team, the first one, could make the case otherwise.

Looking at the NFL scoreboard is all the proof you need. Every single one of those teams has been able to score points in recent weeks, not just at garbage time either. And really, it's tough to make a case that any of these teams are more talented than the Rams. With Hasselbeck out, the Rams and the Lions are the only teams with a Pro Bowl quarterback on the active roster...and for the Lions it's something of a default case since they resurrected Dante Culpepper recently.

The Rams have just five games left on the schedule, and compared to the first five games, it's much easier, just one team, the Cardinals, is a playoff team (though the Falcons could sneak in). Unfortunately, the Rams have proven that for them there's no difference between the reigning champion Giants and the 2-win 49ers.

The remaining games offer some start contrasts too. Next week, the Rams host the Dolphins, a one-win team from the year before that was often the subject of a who's worse than the Rams debate. The Dolphins are 6-5 this season after the organization committed to a complete overhaul.

To close out the season, the Rams play the Falcons, a team they actually beat (with Gus Frerotte under center) to earn one of their 3 wins last year. The Falcons, after crushing the Panthers yesterday, are 7-4. Both teams went from punch lines to contenders in a season. The Rams...well, they may have actually gotten worse. And the only question left to ask is whether or not they've hit bottom yet.

A smattering of links to start your Friday morning. But first, a quick programming note. I'm working on a defensive preview for this weekend. That will be up later today.

• Could another summer in Mequon be in the cards? The theory behind practicing in far away, exotic Wisconsin reads that the Rams will have better, more focused practices and develop better team chemistry by being sequestered there. Against Tennessee last weekend they looked anything but focused. Expecting a miracle against the Chargers, arguably the league's best team, may be too much to ask, but we'll be watching for tight, well-executed plays and getting beat honestly rather than by themselves to see if the Rams' Mequon Theory holds any water. 
• O.J. Atogwe emerged into his own last season, his third in the league, when he led the NFC in interceptions and topped all safeties with 8 picks. This season, he's playing with the franchise tag firmly affixed, and signing him ought to be a big priority for the Rams. Playing in his third season this could be Tye Hill's breakthrough year. 
• From Pete Prisco's camp report, only three starters on defense, Little, Chavous and Brown are over 30.
  
• Over the years we've just grown accustomed to bemoaning Alex Barron's failure to live up to his potential. There is a silver lining though. Rams writer Nick Wagoner makes a point about Barron's reliability. He's started 43 games and was the only guy not to go down during last year's o-line masssacre. 

Back at you later.

So that's it for training camp. The Rams wrapped yesterday afternoon in Mequon, WI, and the regular season is nowjust over three weeks away.

And preperations begin for what might be the most important preseason game in the franchise's, ney, the league's history. Already, the Rams first home game of the preseason has yet to sell out, meaning that it'll be blacked out on local TV. That might be a good thing considering Steven Jackson's holdout continues, eventhough there's at least a little, tiny bit of sunshine seeping through the cracks.

Camp wrapped with some positive notes from expected and unexpected quarters. All the good news and all the improved performances in the world won't mean squat, however, if the Rams don't play with a high level of intensity against the Chargers this weekend, the kind we haven't seen from the Golden Horns in a long, long time.

• Without Jackson, the passing game will be key in achieving the illustrious and elusive goal of the first team offense scoring a TD. Second round draft pick Donnie Avery is back practicing and should see action in the game. The Chargers defense was a mirror image of the Titans' last season, tough against the pass. They did struggle against third WRs. Avery missed tons of practice with a hairline fracture on his hip. Don't expect a miracle as he has lots of catching up to do, but this could be a good chance to see him stretch the field on deep balls. 
• Joe Klopfenstein has "his best camp with the Rams," huh? I'm pulling for the guy, but I'll believe it when I see it.
• The competition for WR spots remains intense. 4th round pick Keenan Burton, surprise stand out Derek Stanley and Dante Hall each made some nice catches in practice yesterday. Add that to the news that Reche Caldwell's stock is rising and the resurgent Dane Looker in camp. The Rams brass is going to have some tough decisions to make on the bottom of the depth chart at WR. Last season the Rams had 6 WRs on the roster; right now they've got 12. Holt, Bennett, Avery and Burton are locks, so that leaves two spots for eight guys. Dante Hall will make it as a returner, if not a WR. The battle comes down to Stanley, who can return kicks, worked hard through camp and may be able to play d-back; Looker, who had a great camp and brings veteran experience; and Caldwell, who's played in Saunders' system before in Washington.
  
• Atogwe, Carter, Brown and Bassey sat out practice with various ailments yesterday. None of the maladies will keep them from the regular season, but could well force them out of the game this weekend, leaving the Rams really thin in the backfield, especially at safety. That could definitely impact the run defense, but the return of Witherspoon and Adeyanju will put it above what we saw against the Titans last weekend. Of course, the pressure's not on the defense this weekend; we know that with no significant injuries these guys will shake off the rust. All eyes are on the offense this weekend.
  
• Your daily Steven Jackson holdout tidbit: Linehan will meet with team President Jay Zygmunt today to discuss the situation. You can bet Linehan, with his career on the line this season, really wants to get this wrapped up and Jackson back on the field.  
• Hugging Harold Reynolds got their hands on some camp postcards from the NFC West, including one from Brian Leonard.

Not to drudge up bad memories from last weekend's innuagural preseason tilt with the Titans, but those 340 rushing yards accumulated by a parade of Titans runners are enough to wake even the most seasoned Rams fans with night sweats and visions of the 2006 run defense. Last weekend though it wasn't the ghost of Jimmy Kennedy watching opposing backs breeze right by, with Witherspoon and Chris Draft on the sideline, it was the linebackers forcing us to revisit old nightmares.

In case you missed it, or just couldn't bare to watch it, ESPN's Mike Sando has a nice replay of some of the, er, highlights. Here's a dandy that encapsulates it pretty well.

Titans tight ends Bo Scaife and Alge Crumpler flattened McGarigle on a third-and-2 run up the gut. Third-and-2 is often a passing situation in the NFL, but not when the Rams have this personnel on the field defensively.

Leading up to the game, you'll recall a heated battle was emerging between four linebacker for three spots. Two seventh rounders from the 2008 draft, David Vobora and Chris Chamberlain, sqauring off with undrafted rookies Marc Magro and Marcus Riley and a seventh rounder from 2006, McGarigle. After last weekend, McGarigle will need an excellent week and a good game against the Chargers if he hopes to make the active roster.

Adjust your expectations this week. Victor Adeyanju is back and tackling like a machine, and Witherspoon should be ready to go as well. Safety O.J. Atogwe is close to returning too.

Having those key starters back helps, but there's still a question of whether or not the Rams have enough veteran depth at LB. Linebacker? Acquiring a veteran guy like Brandon Moore, recently cut when the 49ers added Takeo Spikes, would give the Rams some experience behind the starters in their LB corps. Moore's a talented enough guy, who struggled in the "Ted" role this summer with the 49ers defense. (The "Ted" LB, in that system, is the guy who draws the linemen/blockers while the "Mike" LB covers the field and makes the plays.) Moore could add depth in the middle, replacing McGarigle on the depth chart. It wouldn't be a bad for the Rams to make.

Now if someone would just release a good cornerback that we could sign to replace Justin King this season...

The Rams probably weren't planning on using 4th round pick CB Justin King too much this season when camp began. Scouting report after scouting report raved about his raw skills, speed in particular, but emphasized that he was pretty rough around the edges. Naturally he would have to prove those reports wrong, only to have his toe get stepped on to end his rookie season.

King's loss hurts the depth chart, but doesn't dramatically change the picture in the backfield. Hill and Brown are still the starters. Ron Bartell and a much improved Jonathan Wade will take more of the snaps at nickel King might have seen, as well as spelling the starters on occasion. Veteran David Macklin will also see more playing time now. Don't forget about Darius Vinnett either. Vinnett, who made the team last season as an undrafted rookie, has shown much better coverage skills through camp this summer too.

The pass defense was fine on Saturday night, but was that a result of the pass defense itself, a feeble Titans air attack, or the Rams porous run defense that brought back so many bad memories of 2006? Probably a combo of all three factors, but why pass when you can run for 300+ yards? Like I said yesterday, having Witherspoon and Adeyanju out hurt the run defense. Some other notable absences likely hurt the run defense too. With Chris Draft and Witherspoon out, that left McGarigle in the middle to start and the other rookies to round things out at LB, making for missed assignments and guys lining up wrong. Compounding all that was the absence safety O.J. Atogwe. 

There is good news today. Atogwe is close. Second round pick Donnie avery has been cleared for individual drills, and Andeyanju is going to start working this week.

Avery's missed time puts him behind the curve for getting many reps as the team's third WR. One of his strengths cited in reports from the draft this year is his football instinct. He'll need it to get caught up.

So practice is getting a little intense now. I have to agree with BruinFanBaby on this; I'm glad to see the fires burning as these guys get ready to compete. Last year at this time, and I admittedly don't have a photographic memory, I don't remember camp being particularly intense, and we all know how that turned out. It definitely gives this weekend's preseason kickoff an extra edge and could make for some good football.

Who are we kidding though? At this point in time, any football is good football.

Here's some more on the Vanden Bosch/Goldberg matchup and a nice follow up to this morning's post. Apparently, Goldberg put on a blocking show against the Titans Pro Bowl DE. From Mike Sando's ESPN report:

After being blocked to the ground on his rush, Vanden Bosch took a big swing at Goldberg.

So, he's showing his mettle in pass blocking as well as heavy weight bouts. I would expect nothing less from a Wyoming product. The official Rams site has more on Goldberg.

A couple other notes and observations:

• Goldberg wasn't the only Rams lineman to have a standout day practice. Marquee free agent G Jacob Bell had a nice showing in his return to Tennessee battling Pro Bowl DT Albert Haynesworth. Nick Leckey looked sharp, and there was even an Alex Barron sighting, with the PD's Bill Coats noting that Barron "stood out" in team drills and one-on-one work. 
• Donnie Avery sat out again yesterday, still recovering from his cracked pelvis. He's been out since last Tuesday, July 29, and should be back within the next week. He'll need to be. Hopefully, he's studying the playbook in his time out, because he'll have less time to get up to speed on a new offense and a new level of play. Heading into camp, we all expected Avery to see the majority of reps as the team's thrid WR, working out of the slot, but the more practice time he loses, the further behind on that role he'll be, making it more likely that another WR will work in that spot. Burton?
• Yay! For weeks we've been held hostage by the Brett Favre. But now the angry diva has been traded to the Jets. National nightmare over, along with Favre's reputation.

Thanks to Orlando Pace's gradual, deliberate march back to full 11-on-11 contact, Adam Goldberg has been punching the clock with the first team at left tackle. So this was refreshing to hear:

In his one on one opportunities with Vanden Bosch, Goldberg was excellent. Goldberg is quietly starting to really come on and told some reporters later that he feels as good as he has in some time.

Goldberg worked today with none other than the Ram premier free agent acquisition this spring, LG and former Titan Jacob Bell. With Pace coming back, for his 11th season, from consecutive season-ending injuries, columns have been filled with concerns about the team's depth at OT. Yes, yes, yes, it's early on, but Goldberg holding his own at LT during a pretty hot, intense (whoa, that sounds wrong) session of practice against fired up veterans like Vanden Bosch could mean good things for the Rams depth chart.