The Rams, as you've seen these past two weeks seem to be coming together more and more. Steven Jackson ran well, the offense put up points and the defensive "bend but don't break" strategy worked. So when is the team going to win?
Well, that's tough to pinpoint. The team certainly had a chance to last week, but unfortunately Donnie Avery forgot how to hold on to the ball. Regardless, progress was made. The problem is that they are about to hit a rough patch. They play the Packers this week, who have a 1-1 record (a win against Chi-Town, and a loss to the Team of Hard Knocks). They have the 6th highest DVOA in the league, (11th on the offensive side, 5th on the defensive side- I might add they are 2nd in the league against the pass). Seems somewhat daunting, doesn't it? Greg Jennings and Donald Driver facing off against a secondary who doesn't get any (pressure) help doesn't exactly sound promising.
But for some reason, I feel as though we can win this game. Donnie Avery's case of BrandonMarshallitis is troubling, but luckily Keenan Burton appeared out of thin air last week to make some catches. Laurent Robinson has been everything we hoped he would and Steven Jackson, well, is Steven Jackson. Even the offensive linemen have been playing above their typical false-start level.
So you can call me crazy. You can call me a lot of things. You probably already do. But with our linebackers playing well (and only likely to get better with experience) I wouldn't be surprised if the Packers had to move the ball through the air. Ryan Grant has a 3.6 YPC and last week Aaron Rodgers was sacked SIX, yes SIX times (He was sacked four times against Chicago). If this was ever a game where the Rams could sneak up on a good team, this would be it.
Which is why, for some insane reason, I'm picking the Rams to win this one. Not a, "as a fan, I think we can, but as a realist, the Cubs will win the world series before we win this game," type prediction. So here it is:
20-17 Rams.
(Note to Spagnuolo: Go out their and don't make me look like a complete moron. Thanks).