St Louis Rams looking for absolutely anyone who might be able to block, catch or cover. No experience or athleticism needed.
New GM wanted. Must be proficient in Madden's franchise mode.
Looking for a time traveler to take me back to 1999 or 2000.
St. Louis (0-4, last in NFC West) at Green Bay (5-0, first in NFC North)
This weeks matchup pits the highest scoring NFL team, the Green Bay Packers, against the lowest, the St Louis Rams. The Packers, coming off an emotional comeback win in Atlanta have their sights on 7-0 at the bye with upcoming contests against St Louis and Minnesota, both struggling, division-bottom teams. This week, the Packers should win in exclamatory fashion...
What about the possibility of a let down against a relatively unknown opponent and a shocking loss? Not a chance. The greatness of Coach McCarthy isn't just in his play calling, which flashes brilliance and stubborn monotony in any given game. Nor is it a byproduct of his unique ability to coach up lesser known talent. More than anything, his otherworldly understanding of player motivation has brought him to the forefront of coaching. McCarthy consistently creates a sense of urgency to improve when inertia dictates a let down.
St Louis is a franchise in disarray, recovering from a rash of injuries. On offense, they average just 187 pass yards per game, surrendering 18 sacks in four games and amassing just 11.5 points per game. They have two bruising running backs in Steven Jackson and Cadillac Williams but couldn't create a hole in Swiss cheese, let alone keep them both healthy and on the field. Their young QB, Sam Bradford, won't force the ball into coverage, but spends most of the game eating turf and pouting (see body language from Redskins vs. Rams). He shouldn't be to blame either; his receivers seemed to have confused KY with stick 'em (joke courtesy of turfshowtimes.com). Seriously, their best healthy receiver, Mike Sims-Walker catches only 52% of passes thrown his direction.
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| Bradford spends more time in this position than under center. |
The Rams most recent signing at CB, Brian Jackson, was given just days to learn the defense and prepare for the Packers. Jackson said, "He (Rams head coach, Steven Spagnuolo) kind of just threw the book at me and said, 'We're going to need you ASAP.' With Green Bay, they have an arsenal of wide receivers, so it just may come down to me having to go out there." Jackson, with injury to another former Packer, Josh Gordy, will be forced into an immediate role.
On paper, St Louis stands zero chance of winning at Lambeau against the defending Superbowl champs:
1) Aaron Rodgers will be facing a college level, street free agent secondary.
2) James Starks and Ryan Grant should have their choice of freeway sized rushing lanes with each carry.
3) The Rams offense can't score against air and spends most of the game punting or fumbling.
Most of Green Bay's players can read and should expect to win by a handsome margin (favored by 14). And yet, they will still come out of the tunnel, guns-a-blazing because McCarthy focuses his players, not on the opposing teams record, but on improvement week in and week out. BJ Raji tweeted: "time to get ready for a good opponent" (although he may have been slighting the Falcons, sarcasm doesn't carry so well on Twitter).
Predicted Scoreline: Packers 42, Rams 10
Just for fun: Jermichael Finley destroys the Rams for 2TD and 120+ yards with no drops...watch out Twitter world!
