All week it's looked as though the St. Louis Rams would start rookie QB Keith Null against the Cardinals, but now Fox Sports is reporting that the team is leaning toward starting Kyle Boller, citing concern over the leaky protection offered by the offensive line.
Last week, the offensive line, missing three starters, allowed three sacks against the Texans, who have just five more sacks on the season than the Rams. Arizona on the other hand has 38 sacks on the season, the fourth most in the league. So protecting Null from his own line is a valid concern, especially with LT Alex Barron lapsing into his old habits lately. Of course, it's kind of like avoiding sending your child out into the world for fear they'll get hornswaggled by someone calling themselves the "wallet inspector;" they have to learn to deal reality sometime.
Here's my two cents on why they should start Null. The Rams played with real passion last week, before ultimately being outmatched, but they were a much better team. Do not adjust the chemistry. There's more to it than just Null, but I think his play has been a big part of it. Formula's are complex and adjusting one seemingly little element of it throws the whole thing out of whack.
After the Null/Boller question, the next pressing issue will be what happens with CB Jonathan Wade. He was the starter along side Ron Bartell when the season began, but was quickly replaced by an emerging Bradley Fletcher. When Fletcher was injured Wade still sat, being replaced by a combination of Justin King and Quincy Butler. Now with Quincy Butler out for the season will Wade get some playing time or will King get more and Cord Parks, recently added to the roster, get more time in Wade's stead? Stay tuned for the battle of the third string cornerbacks!!
Some links....
- Jason Brown could be Pro Bowl bound. The rosters will be announced Tuesday night.
- Something for the Draft Suh fans, since 1980 every team that led the league in defense (per points allowed) has been to the playoffs, nine teams won the Super Bowl and two more went to the big game and lost.
- The NY Times takes up the case for Suh.
- Don't expect a miracle, but here's a note of hope about the current Rams team.