Last week, the St. Louis Rams got beat by the Eagles. It was a closer game than the score and the stats will bare that out. Losing to NFC title contenders isn't that bad; what is bad is the list of starters that were injured. The Rams only had one injury to a receiver, and that was a horrible injury to Danny Amendola.
The game against the Eagles showed every fan what they were hoping not to see, and that was an embarrassing showing from the Rams' key pass catchers. However, the Eagles have a hell of a secondary. That's why it's hard to say: these are the same old Rams receivers. It's unfair to judge them after one game, against a great secondary, and adjusting to a new offensive system.
The Rams wide receivers weren't the only letdowns last week. There was a lot of build up hype for Lance Kendricks and Big Mike during the preseason leading up to the game. Then Big Mike gets injured and couldn't play, and Lance Kendricks caught more rookie nerves than he did balls against the Eagles. The only TE that looked good was Billy Bajema, who could have had a big game on one catch if Bradford led him more . Bajema could play a big role in the Rams' offense if Big Mike can't shake the injury bug and Lance Kendricks plays like he did last Sunday.
With both Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola most likely missing this week, the Rams will have to rely on Bradford and hope his weapons produce for him. The Rams can't win many games dropping 6 balls against good teams. How the Rams overcome those two losses will define the game against the Giants and the other games in the horizon.
Two Rams who should play a bigger role this week are Greg Salas and Big Mike. The Rams most likely didn't want to start Salas in the slot this early in his career, but there aren't any other options. It's unlikely that he produces as well as Amendola has right off the bat, but he could help this week. Also Big Mike will help in the two-TE system, if he is healthy enough to go. Mike is sure handed and knows how to get open, when he's healthy.
It's time for the Rams wide receivers to stand out this week. They had a bad matchup against one of the best secondaries in the league. The Giants secondary isn't as good as the Eagles and this week should give them a good opportunity to flex their muscles. Brandon Gibson had an okay game, but his partner Mike Sims-Walker only had one catch. Hopefully one of these guys stand out; it would help Bradford a lot if they did.
Is it bad that Cadillac Williams was the second leading receiver with 49 yards? He had a good game on the ground and receiving. It will be hard to expect him to get that many yards this week against a solid Giants linebacker core. It will be interesting to see if the Rams will try to set up short passes for Jerious Norwood and see if he can get big yards for the offense.
Also, it will be interesting to see if Austin Pettis and Danario Alexander will play against the Giants. There is a good chance that Alexander will play this week. It will be interesting to see if Pettis has earned the right to be active on game day. Pettis could play, but I wouldn't bet on it yet. However, if he doesn't play now, how will he get playing time when Mark Clayton and Danny Amendola come back?
This week will give the Rams good insight into the weapons surrounding Bradford. If the weapons around Bradford don't do well this week, it might be a long road to that first division game against the Arizona Cardinals in week 9.