(Week #)
1: Eagles vs Rams – L, the Eagles are the team to beat this year. Not sure we’ll be up to the task. Usually takes SJ a couple games to get warmed up.
2: Rams vs Giants – W, I’m looking for an upset. The Giants were 10-6 last year and Eli passed for over 4,000 yards for the second straight year. But, the Rams have beefed up the line on both sides of the ball and added some key offensive weapons.
3: Ravens vs Rams – L, Last year the Ravens went 12-4 with a sub-par performance from their #1 RB Anquan Boldin. The rest of the team is loaded and I expect Anquan to pick it up this year. This team could be Super Bowl bound and I’m not expecting the Rams to slow them down at this time of the season.
4: Redskins vs Rams – W, the Skins were unable to draft a QB this year and are expected to be a bottom tier team. This is the type of game the Rams have got to win.
5: Bye
6: Rams vs Packers – L, 2010 Super Bowl Champs, Aaron Rodgers, and an upgraded offensive line… Do I really need to explain this one?
7: Rams vs Cowboys – W, last year the Cowboys finished a disappointing 6-10. This year they will have a healthy Tony Romo and a new head coach, but otherwise they made little improvement this past offseason. I don’t think they’ll be much good in 2011. Count this game as a Rams win.
8: Saints vs Rams – L, The Saints went 11-5 with a Drew Brees who was not healthy most of the year. This team is still an offensive powerhouse and it could be even tougher after ditching Reggie Bush and bringing on Mark Ingrams and Darren Sproles.
9: Rams vs Cardinals – W, Kevin Kolb has taken the QB spot, but I’m not sold on him. Of the 7 games he started at Philly he has a record of 3-4. Plus the Cardinals need help on their offensive line and with their linebackers. This team has a lot of work to do.
So at the half way mark the Rams are looking at a record of 4-4. Most of the really tough matchups come in the first part of the year. Many games in the second half are with arguably inferior conference teams, but the Rams have had difficulty in recent past closing out these conference rivals. Here are my picks for the back half of the year.
10: Rams vs Browns – W, Colt McCoy has gotten a year of experience under his belt and the Browns picked up RB Brandon Jackson who had his best season last year with 703 yards rushing and 3 TDs. However, Sam Bradford also has a year of experience now and overall the Rams had a much better offseason than the Browns.
11: Seattle vs Rams – W, Seattle picked up Tarvis Jackson as their new starting QB. Jackson has played for Minnesota since 2006 (his entire professional career) and has done very little. Seattle is typically terrible on the road so this is a win for us.
12: Cardinals vs Rams – L, This could just as easily be a win. The Rams have played poorly in conference play in the past so I am going to relinquish this game. (3-3 in 2010 conference play, 2009 we were 1-15 so forget about it.)
13: Rams vs 49ers – L, This could just as easily be a win. The Rams have played poorly in conference play in the past so I am going to relinquish this game. (3-3 in 2010 conference play, 2009 we were 1-15 so forget about it.)
14: Rams vs Seattle – L, This could just as easily be a win. The Rams have played poorly in conference play in the past so I am going to relinquish this game. (3-3 in 2010 conference play, 2009 we were 1-15 so forget about it.)
15: Bengals vs Rams – W, The Bengals will be starting rookie QB Andy Dalton and are running a new offensive scheme via their new OC Jay Gruden. The Bengals will not be a good team this year.
16: Rams vs Steelers – W, yes the Steelers are great, but historically a lot of teams suffer from a kind of “Super-Bowl-Appearance-Hangover” and really struggle the next season. The Rams have done a lot of work rebuilding over the last couple of seasons. This is the time of season when the Rams could be firing on all cylinders. This would be an upset, but I’m taking this game as a win baby.
17: Niners vs Rams – W, SF’s offensive line gave up 44 sacks last year and this year they aren’t going to be much better. Combine this with the fact the Niners, courtesy Jim Harbaugh, have brought back everybody’s favorite QB Alex Smith to run the team and the Rams should be able to take this game at home.
This brings us to a 2011 year ending record of 9-7. The over/under in Vegas is set at 7.5 games, but I think the Rams are a little better (I’m picking the over). Some of my “losing” picks are not based upon stats or who I really think is a better team, but a gut feeling from seeing the Rams lose games they shouldn’t have year after year after year. The ultimate goal is making it to the playoffs and then we’ll see from there. I think the 2011 Rams are headed in the right direction.
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