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You probably will not find too many people picking the St. Louis Rams to beat the Detroit Lions on the road this weekend. The season opener in front of a rejuvenated fan base at Ford Field against an offense that can score 30 points without trying ... yeah, I get the pick, but that's doesn't mean I'm going to accept it.
After the jump, I imperil my already limited credibility!
Peter King is picking the Lions to win by a score of 37-27. I'm not surprised by him picking the Lions, but my jaw hit the floor when I saw his prediction of the Rams scoring 27 points. I'll get to that in a minute. First, some nitpicking with King's projection.
Welcome to the NFL, Janoris Jenkins. Just to let you know: You won't face an arm like Matthew Stafford's every week. And you won't find a jump-baller like Calvin Johnson either. Whether Cortland Finnegan is on Johnson much of the day -- which I expect -- Jenkins didn't see a whole lot of players like him at North Alabama. Or Florida, for that matter.
No, Jenkins did not see a player like Calvin Johnson on the reg, as they say, but he did do battle, successfully, with many first class receivers, including A.J. Green and Julio Jones, perhaps you've heard of those two.
Watch Jenkins battle those two in this video.
Okay, and where is King getting 27 points for the Rams (other than fear of incurring the wrath of the TST community)?
But the real issue here is, how can I pick the Rams to score 27 points? Simple reason: The Lions' secondary, which is already a bad one, didn't have its best player, safety Louis Delmas, or its best corner, Chris Houston, working in practice on Thursday due to injury. Will they play in this game? Probably not. Even if they do, they're not going to be near full strength. This should be a day for the Rams offense to build some confidence.
No doubt about it, if the offensive line can keep Ndamukong Suh, Cliff Avril, etc. out of Sam Bradford's face, the Rams can score points. Steven Jackson will set the tone for the offense too, helping keep those wolves at bay.
How about you, what are your predictions?