Offense shouldn’t be a problem for the 2006 Rams football team, but defense will have to step up for St. Louis to make a playoff run. There was a lot of turnover from last year’s team, but the biggest change occurred in the head coach with the departure of Mike Martz and the addition of former Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. The key losses came with Adam Archuleta at safety and tackling Daminoe Lewis and Ryan Pickett. However, the team went out and spent a lot of money to repair the holes in the defense. The team brought in Corey Chavous and La’Roi Glover to replace their key losses, and Glover is an upgrade. The team also gained depth at quarterback with Gus Frerotte and Will Witherspoon starting at linebacker.
The Rams have a couple of good quarterbacks in Marc Bulger and Gus Frerotte. Bulger injured his shoulder last season and his health will be key to a successful year, with his accurate passing and his ability to make smart decisions as assets to the passing game. As a running back, the team has gone from the days of Marshall Faulk with Steven Jackson gaining 1,000 yards last season. He has struggled with injuries in the past, and in that case an aging Faulk will have to carry a little more of the load. The receivers are some of the best in the league with Torry Holt putting up monster numbers once again. Isaac Bruce struggled with injuries and had a very unproductive season, but look for a recovery here.
The 2006 Rams football team should be better defensively than the team that ranked 31st in points allowed in 2005. The defensive line is weak, but the Rams spent two of their first six draft picks trying to shore things up. . Leonard Little and Glover can be a pretty dangerous tandem if other guys can step it up. The weakest unit on last year’s team is now probably the force after adding Will Witherspoon and Raonall Smith. Both guys can go around the field making tackles. The secondary is weak, with Corey Chavous and Fakhir Brown as new faces on a team with only 13 picks last year.
Defensively, the team will struggle again, but the offense is in good hands with Bulger, Jackson and Holt. The tough part of the schedule is facing the AFC West, but the team has a good series of games against the NFC North and its own weak division. An 8-8 mark isn’t out of our reach, so we’ll go with the Rams Over 7 +105 at Pinnacle.