When the schedule gods handed down their judgement for the St. Louis Rams 2009, they spared no mercy for a team headed into a desperately needed full rebuild. The folks on Mt. Olympus must approve of the franchise's current direction because the road forward looks slightly more golden.
Yes, there are some tough draws on the docket and the NFC West is no slouch anymore either.
Besides the division games (more on that in a moment) drawing the AFC West is a mixed bag. Denver and San Diego are formidable. Kansas City and Oakland should be on a somewhat more level playing field. Touring the NFC South gives the Rams a chance to get something back from the Saints for a near-miss this year. Atlanta could be a markedly improved team next season with a few good moves. Carolina and Tampa Bay round out that divisional matchup. On top of that, the Rams get rematched with Detroit and Washington.
There's a lot of decision to made between now and next September, but expecting more wins the Rams compiled in the last two seasons (3) is reasonable. Could we top the total number of wins (6) since 2007?
Stay tuned.