2013 NFL PREDICTIONS!!! (TYLER)

RAMA LAMA DING DONG

For Day 30 of my 2013 NFL Predictions i will break down the ST. LOUIS RAMS!

Last year the St. Louis Rams finished 7-9 under the leadership of QB Sam Bradford and RB Steven Jackson. Now that Jackson is gone this is officially Bradford's team however he hasn't be given much of a safety net to work over, Lucky for Bradford this Rams team acquired the services of offensive tackle Jake Long from Miami and he will be a huge relief on Bradford's blind side. However, Bradford is going to have to work with probably the youngest offense in the NFL as far as skill positions go, with the longest tenured player at RB and WR being Austin Pettis out of Boise State who has been in the league 3 years. Even adding the TE positions adds Jared Cook and Zach Potter who have 5 yrs each under their belts. Defensively, this team lines up well at each position. Newly added CB Cortland Finnegan and S Matt Giordano help to shore up a weakened secondary, while LB James Laurinaitis leads the linebacking core, and DE Chris Long will be looked at to lead the defensive lineman. Overall this is a very young team that has a solid core of players and just needs a little bit of help some places along with time/experience. How did the Rams draft this year you say? Well lets take a look see shall we?

ROUND 1: Tavon Austin WR (West Virginia)

ROUND 1: Alec Ogletree ILB (Georgia)

ROUND 3: T.J. McDonald FS (USC)

ROUND 3: Stedman Bailey WR (West Virginia)

ROUND 4: Barrett Jones OG (Alabama)

ROUND 5: Brandon McGee CB (Miami)

ROUND 5: Zac Stacy RB (Vanderbilt)

I can't tell you how much i love this draft. I mean, the Rams lost their #1 WR in Danny Amendola but replaced him with speedster Tavon Austin and his teammate Stedman Bailey. Alec Ogletree will start next to James Laurinaitis at LB, T.J. McDonald will get his shot start at FS. Even the final three picks of Jones, McGee, and Stacy will get a viable shot to start. This draft is going to go a long way for this team in the future. But how soon can they gel with Bradford on offense and figure out the defensive scheme of Head Coach Jeff Fisher? Let's see how i predict their season.

OPPONENTS                                           W/L
ARIZONA                                                   W
@ ATLANTA                                              L
@ DALLAS                                                 L
SAN FRANCISCO (THURSDAY)                  L
JACKSONVILLE                                          W
@ HOUSTON                                             L
@ CAROLINA                                            L
SEATTLE (MONDAY)                                 L
TENNESSEE                                               L
@ INDIANAPOLIS                                      L
BYE WEEK
CHICAGO                                                  W
@ SAN FRANCISCO                                    L
@ ARIZONA                                              L
NEW ORLEANS                                         W
TAMPA BAY                                              W
@ SEATTLE                                                L

FINAL RECORD                                     5 - 12

Analysis: I have the Rams stepping backwards a little bit from last year mainly due the production loss of Amendola and Steven Jackson. I really like the directions the Rams are headed but i think it's going to take a couple more years for this super young team to get the game time experience that they need. Keep your heads up Rams fans, even though this year won't be what you think it will be, the future is very bright for this team, even in a tough division.

What do you think?