| Michael J. Jones. 25th September, 2008 - 3:46 pm
 It may be too early to decide for some, but there seems to have been a country-wide agreement that no team is in worse shape than the St. Louis Rams. Not only are they among the worst in both offense and defense after Week Three, but they also appear to lack the desire to win, and their coach doesn’t seem to have any control in the matter.
The season may be young but don’t be surprised if the Rams end up hovering around the record that the Miami Dolphins had last season (1-15).
Offensively, this team should be scoring more points than they are averaging this season – 9.7 points per game, good enough for second to last in the league. They are last in rushing yards despite the fact that they have Steven Jackson.
In addition, they are second to last in total yards and in the bottom (27th to be exact) of the league in passing yards. All of these numbers seem out of the ordinary for a team that has more talent than most teams. Even though that talent is not performing as it should, it may not all be their fault.
The Rams' offensive problems begin with the offensive line. The line has allowed eleven sacks, which places them near the bottom of the league in yet another category. Even Torry Holt, the team’s veteran All-Pro receiver, recently said that the line was one of the major weaknesses on the team.
With that being said, does anyone think that benching Marc Bulger and making Trent Green, 38, the starter is really going to help the team’s cause?
It’s not likely. If the line doesn’t play better than they have been, Green will be sacked just as much as Bulger, which could cause him to get injured. With the quarterback spending most of his time either on his back or worrying about being sacked, it’s difficult to establish a passing game, even with Holt.
The line has also affected the running game. Jackson hasn’t been able to do anything, and with no blocks on the front line, things don’t look like they are going to get any better.
The story is much the same with the defense. The Rams have allowed the most points per game in the league (38.7). They also are last in the league in total yards allowed (456.7).
It’s almost like the defense has just given up. They seem uninterested in trying to stop any team from running or passing the ball. They don’t put any pressure on the opposing quarterback – 3 sacks so far – making everyone look like Tom Brady with all the time they are given to throw. Because of this, their opponents have thrown without worry of an interception (they have none).
Unfortunately, the schedule doesn’t appear to get any easier.
They won’t face any currently winless teams for the remainder of the season, and their only hope for a win may come in Week Seventeen when they face rookie Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons. It looks like they will be the worst team in their division and perhaps the worst team in the league.
So what do fans have to look forward to?
Well, it’s safe to say that if the Rams don’t improve their play, they will have a top-five draft pick to dream about next April.
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