The St. Louis Rams have officially wrapped up the 2009 season. No matter how you describe it - transition, change, rebuilding, etc. - it's on to the next phase of the new regime at Rams Park.
The game itself wasn't so different than what we've seen every Sunday this season. THe defense played well, but eventually had their flaws exposed. Chris Long finished the season strong. The Rams have a capable player in S Craig Dahl, and rookie James Laurinaitis concluded his season giving us glimpses of a bright future. The mostly replacement offensive line was a wreck, allowing eight sacks and never opening many running lanes. Keith Null was pulled because of the line's inability to protect the rookie. His receivers didn't help matters any, never getting open with any consistency. Kyle Boller remains Kyle Boller. Steven Jackson probably should have been on the bench before the end of the game. He carried the ball 20 times for just 63 yards, his third lowest total of the season. SJ39 finished his season with 1,416 rushing yards, the second best total of his career. Josh Brown nailed another long field goal and missed a shorter one. The post-games write themselves this year.
With today's loss to the San Francisco 49ers the Rams secured the first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. That pick figures heavily into the plans for next season, stating the obvious, but before we start to map out a draft strategy, let's discuss the season that was.
One-win tops the last two seasons in futility. However, there are plenty of things that seem to be going right for the long-suffering Rams; a young roster, development of recent draft picks, Steven Jackson and the team seems to be pleased with the direction of head coach Steve Spagnuolo. We'll delve head-long into the season that was on more specific topics, but for now let's hear your thoughts on the season that was. Are you disappointed? Did you expect more? Are you optimistic about the future?