Hopelessness

As the Saint Louis Rams drag themselves towards the conlusion of the 2008 season sporting a 2-9 record with five games remaining, one wonders, how can anything positive come of the rest of this campaign? The answer is simple and yet complex. Jim Haslett, Marc Bulger, Torry Holt, Steven Jackson, Will Witherspoon, Corey Chavous, Tye Hill, Leonard Little, Orlando Pace, Richie Incognito, Alex Barron and any other key figure on this team need to fight. They must strive to prove themselves in the heat of battle. This team has lost the fire that Haslett was able to temporarily infuse. Apparently, he must win at least two of the final five games in order to keep his job for next season. The stakes might not be as specific for veterans on this roster, but if the afforementioned players and many others do not begin to show some signs of life their jobs will be on the line as well. Even if the old guard of this team is able to get their collective act together and win a few games to close out this brutal year, heck, even if they win their final five games, the powers that be within this organization must begin to make massive changes across the roster. The veterans that have carried this franchise in the past are coming into their twilight years, if they haven't already reached them. The Rams are going to need to suffer through a couple more years of mediocrity as this team gets very young through the process of casting off older players for draft picks and retooling this franchise in that way. There just are not enough pieces in place to pull off a Jets type move where a few wise free agent pickups turns the team into a winner. One potentail blueprint could be that of the Atlanta Falcons. Draft a stud quarterback, pickup some quality free-agents for the offensive and defensive lines, hope that Steven Jackson returns to form, and suddenly the Rams are viable again, especially in the weak NFC West. Such a plan obviously requires a great deal of drafting prowess, wisdom, and most importantly, having the good fortune to select a rookie QB who can come in straight out of college and not wet the bed, let alone command and lead a NFL franchise. In that regard, Matt Ryan of the Falcons is certainly a rare find. The NFL landscape is littered with the failed hopes of teams that wagered on a hotshot college QB to lead them and lost on that gamble. There are obviously many options and decisions that lie ahead for this franchise, but first the Rams must worry about the rest of their games. Their matchup this coming Sunday against the Miami Dolphins at home should be an interesting one. The Dolphins are another resurgent franchise challenging for a division crown in the mighty AFC East. They just lost their leading receiver for the season which should hurt to a degree, but, as of late, the "Wildcat" offensive packages featuring the versatility of running back Ronnie Brown has allowed Miami to be explosive. The combination of a particularly unusual set of plays for the NFL and a shellshocked Rams defense does not bode well for St. Louis, but I suppose we can always hope for the best.