2015 St. Louis Rams: Looking At The Schedule After Week 2 Of The NFL Season

Well Rams fans, we will always have week 1 right? To be serious though, the week 2 loss to the Washington Redskins is no more an indicator of the Rams ineptitude as their week 1 win over the Seattle Seahawks was a sign they finally made it. The NFL season is a long one, and as Rams fans we all knew this team was going to have some growing pains. When the schedule was released I looked at the five game stretch before the bye and was hoping for 2-3 at the break. Was I almost certain one of those two wins would come in week 2? Absolutely, but if the Rams could steal one of the next three games they would still be in good shape coming out of the bye. Let's take a look at the rest of the Rams 2015 schedule.

The next two games on the schedule are certainly going to be tough. The Pittsburgh Steelers come to St. Louis this weekend, and after the way they dismantled the San Francisco 49ers last weekend the Rams better bring their A game. After the week 3 home game against the Steelers the Rams take the show on the road, visiting the NFC West leading Arizona Cardinals in week 4. Let's take a look at each weeks matchup a little bit closer.

Week 3 the Rams return to the friendly confines of the Edward Jones Dome. The Steelers (1-1) will be coming to town, and bringing with them their explosive offense. Leveon Bell will be back from his suspension, and paired with the rejuvenated Deangelo Williams, could pose some serious problems for the Rams run defense. If the Steelers running game is allowed to get rolling it opens things up for Ben Roethlisberger to find receivers open downfield. While the Steelers will be without Martavis Bryant, they will still have Antonio Brown who is one of the most dangerous receivers in the NFL. The Steelers defense struggled mightily in the opener, with a few notable plays where they left Rob Gronkowski completely uncovered. They showed some improvement against the 49ers though, and if the Rams running game can't get going it could be a long day for Nick Foles.

In week 4 the Rams will travel to Arizona to take on the division leading Cardinals (2-0). Last weekend the Cardinals really poured it on the Chicago Bears, racking up 48 points and showing how dangerous the Carson Palmer to Larry Fitzgerald connection can be. With a healthy Carson Palmer in the lineup, the Cardinals might have a legitimate argument as one of the best teams in the NFC. Chris Johnson proved he still had what it takes to keep the defense honest last weekend racking up 72 yards on 20 carries. The Cardinals defense did a great job on 3rd down against the Bears, limiting them to just 2-12 for the game. The Cardinals offensive line also managed to keep Palmer from being sacked, although that may be as much about the Bears defense as they have yet to record a sack in 2015.

Week 2 was disappointing for Rams fans to be sure, but the youngest team in the NFL is going to have its bumps along the way. The offensive line is the very definition of the word green, and until they start to gel as a unit and build consistency the offense is going to struggle. As much as I can't wait to see the debut of Todd Gurley and the return of Brian Quick, neither will matter much without improved protection from the five guys up front. Even after the debacle in D.C, I believe in this version of Jeff Fisher's Rams more than any of the previous iterations. Perhaps it is the eternal optimist in me, but I still believe this could be a good year for the Rams. Thanks for reading and as always, Go Rams!!!