Good news/bad news: St Louis Rams

There's no point attempting to hide it or dress it up — in 2009, the Rams were bad.

Really bad.

But even for the worst football team (and St. Louis certainly earned its first selection of the 2010 draft) there are things to get excited about. With this in mind, the Rams will be looking to build on the positives and develop a unit that can compete in the relatively weak NFC West. It won't be easy with a rookie quarterback, but St. Louis is built to be better this year.

THE GOOD NEWS

1. Hoping the talent rises to the top

Throughout the 2009 season the defense had a number of issues, but one place where it looked set was with the linebackers.

Which is why this is written with a tinge of concern, as it looks like the Rams are going to demote possibly their best defensive player last year in David Vobora. Despite missing time through a suspension, Vobora ranked as our sixth overall 4-3 outside linebacker, so we're a little surprised to see him buried on the depth chart. The average Na'il Diggs (+0.2 rating) and decent Larry Grant (+2.1) stand in his way at the moment, but if given the opportunity we're looking forward to seeing Vobora continue to play with the same aggression he showed in 2009.

While that uncertainty is a little worrying, the middle is marshaled by a player who should be all the better for his experiences in year one. We weren't quite as high on James Laurinaitis‘ rookie year as some, and he'll need to avoid the kind of performances like the ones he put in against Arizona in Week 11 (-3.0 rating) and at Detroit (-4.9 rating). But he's a sure tackler (missing just 5 out of 105 attempts) and should only get better.

The Rams have some depth at linebacker and if they can get their best players on the field they could have one of the best set of young linebackers in the league.

2. A lineup taking shape.

When teams do badly, their offensive lines get tagged as bad regardless of their play. St. Louis ran the ball pretty well and a great number of its protection issues can be put on problems at quarterback, so its should feel a lot more confident about the offensive line this year.

One of the biggest problems over the past few years with the Rams' line has been the penalties and inconsistent play of Alex Barron (-17.6 rating) and the discipline issues of Richie Incognito (7 penalties before being released). With both players gone, it's a case of addition by subtraction with the players left more than capable of opening up holes for Steven Jackson and keeping their quarterback on his feet.

A lot will ride on the development of 2009 first-round pick Jason Smith, who needs to overcome some injury issues but looked decent enough in his first year and finished with a +0.2 rating. How he and Roger Saffold develop throughout the year will be something to keep a close eye on, but given what's gone before them, expectations are low.

The strength of the unit figures to be inside, where there are a collection of solid players with Jacob Bell (+4.5 rating) entrenched as the starting left guard and a healthy competition for the right guard spot. Jason Brown will need to step up and play as he did during his final season with the Ravens (+9.5 in 2008), when he earned a big-money contract. St. Louis must be hoping a more stable unit will allow him to flourish as he did in that period.

With an offensive line being about the sum of its parts, there's enough talent there for the Rams to have the kind of line that may not dominate but give their skill-position players a chance to demonstrate that skill.

THE BAD NEWS

1. Time to play up to his contract.

After a good year in coverage, Ron Bartell was rewarded with a $25 million deal over four years. It seemed like a good investment in a guy who was proving he could be a No. 1 cornerback. In 2008 he allowed fewer than 50 percent of balls thrown his way to be completed for two touchdowns while recording 18 pass deflections.

Fast forward to 2009 and it was a very different story. Bartell gave up more yards (783) in allowing 63.4 percent of passes to be completed with 5 touchdowns. His pass deflection count dropped in half to 9). The stats don't always get things right, but they sum up the regression in Bartell's play, especially his particularly bad start to the season.

As much as he earned his big contract with his 2008 performance, he earned his 102nd spot in our coverage rankings with a -9.2 rating. He needs to get better and help a secondary low on talent.

2. Who's catching what?

It wasn't looking great before Donnie Avery‘s injury, and with him going down for the year, an already weak unit just got weaker.

Now St. Louis' top receiver is the somewhat-fragile Laurent Robinson. He's a player who demonstrates talent when he's on the field (he earned a +2.5 rating before injury) but struggles logging the snaps to be relied upon. In the last two seasons he's managed just 221 total snaps, so expecting a full season of production out of him seems a stretch.

With Avery's injury it's left an opening to start, but none of the candidates inspire much confidence.  Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson seem the most logical choices, but they were unable to do much with the Rams in 2009 by combining for a -10.0 rating. Throw in a deeply average Keenan Burton and rookie Mardy Gliyard, who has struggled to grasp the opportunity to make an immediate impact, and you've got a real lack of weapons for whoever is at quarterback. It's not a pretty situation.

OUTLOOK

The Rams have a long way to go and the moves they've made don't go all that far when it comes to rectifying the short-term problems in the passing game on both sides of the ball. Still, it's very tough to be 1-15 bad for consecutive seasons, and with a bit of luck and player development, St. Louis can realistically expect to improve on last season's record and performance.

Target: 4-12

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