Well, here we are again. Another preseason that’s just been recently concluded, and the St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher will embark on a quest to take that next step to bring this franchise back to national prominence and, above anything else, the playoffs.
The level of anticipation of year two of Jeff Fisher’s tenure as head coach is as high as ever for fans and media. Why wouldn’t it be?
Look at the level of play inside the NFC West division. Once looked upon as one of the weakest divisions in the NFL, it is without a doubt one of the toughest in football. Fisher had the Rams playing hard and playing without fear. The Rams only lost once inside the division, and it was the final game of the season against the Seattle Seahawks.
And keeping with the NFC West theme, the Arizona Cardinals will be in town this weekend to start the season off with a 3:25 p.m. kickoff. Last year, the Rams swept the series from the Cardinals. This year, the Cardinals will at least look different.
The Cardinals will have a new head coach in Bruce Arians and new coordinators on offense and defense. Kevin Kolb is no longer the quarterback as he was replaced by Carson Palmer, who was acquired via trade from the Oakland Raiders. The Cardinals added running back Rashad Mendenhall who will be replacing Beanie Wells. They also lost first-round pick Jonathan Cooper to a leg injury. That’s huge because the offensive line was a major area of concern for the Cardinals.
But Jeff Fisher’s staff is still the same, with the exception of linebackers coach Frank Bush and new defense coordinator Tim Walton.
Speaking of Tim Walton, do we dare imagine that he will unleash havoc against the Arizona Cardinals offense with its newly acquired signal caller? That was pivotal in the season sweep by the Rams. The defense pummeled Kevin Kolb in the first matchup with nine sacks. In the second matchup the Rams’ high pressure defense forced four interceptions against Ryan Lindley.
On offense, what will we see? I doubt that we see any more vanilla offense. Nevertheless, Rams quarterback Sam Bradford has more speed around him than ever. He has more skill around him than ever. The downside is lack of experience. Sometimes, the lack of experience hurts your team.
Last year, the Rams almost went over 1,000 yards in penalties. In the last preseason game and I know it didn’t count, but there were 17 penalties for 123 yards. In the last game when it did count, it was14 for 98 yards in a seven-point loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
Penalties and ball security can be the difference of this team being 10-6 or 6-10. The St. Louis Rams are much more improved, and this will be the year they make the next step to being playoff-bound. I’m predicting 9-7 this year.
They have the fourth toughest schedule in the NFL and two division games in the first month. So there will be no easing into this 2013 season.
It’s that time! For red cups, nachos and football!
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