It's a game only a fan could love, the St. Louis Rams vs the Detroit Lions, if that doesn't spell excitement...
We've had some sensitive visitors from the Lions side of the ball stop by TST lately. I feel where the guy's coming from. When you're a fan of a team that's been losing season after season, you wear a thin skin. You have to. It's a position all Rams fans should be aware of, if not familiar with. That said, it's no reason to be obnoxious in the comments section. The posters at TST don't get malicious and the commentors shouldn't either.
From now on, you get one warning for inappropriate comments, and you're banned the second time. That's it. Now, let's all go be adults in the comments.
On the injury front, the Rams should have DE James Hall, DT Clifton Ryan and WR Donnie Avery in uniform today. That's good news. The Lions have a sack rate of 9.1%, 27th in the NFL, so Hall's presence helps the Rams DL, as does Ryan's, obviously. Ryan was out some during the week with illness.
Avery should help the Rams passing game (how many times have we said that this season?). The Lions secondary allows #1 WRs a 23% DVOA this season. What should be really encouraging for the Rams is that the RBs have a 63% DVOA against the Lions defense, worst in the league. Speaking of, is it just me, or do get the sense that the Rams aren't passing to SJ as much as they should?
It looks like newly acquired WR Brandon Gibson will suit up today as well. Will he see some throws?
The Lions will have QB Matt Stafford and WR Calvin Johnson. No rest for the weary.
Take nothing for granted. Detroit or not, the Rams have to play air tight football today. They may be more evenly matched against the Lions, but they're still not good enough to overcome stupid mistakes like dropped passes, missed assignments, blown routes and all those things that have plagued the Rams on their 2-21 run since the start of the 2008 season.