Bodog Beat

If Steven Jackson can stay healthy, the St. Louis Rams will have a decent chance this year. Mark Bulger will also need to stay healthy, too. (AP Images)

If it weren't for the Detroit Lions, the St Louis Rams would be the laughingstock of the NFL right now. This team has just five total wins in the past two seasons.

So the overhaul began in earnest this offseason. Well, actually it began during last season, when coach Scott Linehan was fired. Interim coach Jim Haslett seemed to provide a spark for about a minute, but then the Rams lost their final 10 games. St. Louis reworked its front office in the offseason and brought in Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo as head coach.

The Rams let Orlando Pace and Torry Holt go and now have just one player from the "Greatest Show on Turf" Super Bowl champions: linebacker Leonard Little. This team is trying to build from theinside out, having drafted offensive tackle Jason Smith No. 2 overall this year and defensive end Chris Long at No. 2 last year. That's the Rams' problem: They never lose enough to get that No. 1 overall pick!

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As for this year, the offense could be at least OK if QB Marc Bulger and RB Steven Jackson (photo) stay healthy. However, Bulger has played a full season only once in his career (in fairness, the one game he missed last year was a coaching decision, not an injury). And Bulger has been trending downward big-time the past few seasons. There's not much behind him, so Bulger is still the guy.

Jackson still is among the better backs in the league when healthy. He had 1,042 yards and seven TDs last year despite missing four games with injury and being very limited in one. Spagnuolo and new offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur say that Jackson's power running will be the focal point of the offense. With Holt gone, second-year guys Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton should be the starting receivers, although Avery will miss the first few games with a foot injury.

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On defense, the Rams should at least be very aggressive, as that was Spagnuolo's calling card in New York. Long and Little should provide most of the pass rush, but the Rams were lousy against the run last year. Maybe rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis will help, although the Rams cut 2008 leading tackler Pisa Tinoisamoa (now with the Bears). Free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe is probably the best overall player on the defense. But this unit probably finishes in the bottom five of the league again.

Here is the Rams' 2009 schedule, and we’ll break it down after:
Sept. 13 at Seattle Seahawks, 4:15 p.m.
Sept. 20 at Washington Redskins, 1 p.m.
Sept. 27 vs. Green Bay Packers, 1 p.m.
Oct. 4 at San Francisco 49ers, 4:15 p.m.
Oct. 11 vs. Minnesota Vikings, 1 p.m.
Oct. 18 at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m.
Oct. 25 vs. Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m.
Nov. 1 at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m.
Week 9: Bye
Nov. 15 vs. New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m.
Nov. 22 vs. Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m.
Nov. 29 vs. Seattle Seahawks, 1 p.m.
Dec. 6 at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m.
Dec. 13 at Tennessee Titans, 1 p.m.
Dec. 20 vs. Houston Texans, 1 p.m.
Dec. 27 at Arizona Cardinals, 4:05 p.m.
Jan. 3 vs. San Francisco 49ers, 1 p.m.

Strength of schedule: 22nd (opponents combined to go 119-137,
.465, in 2008)
Projected record: 3-13
Bodog over/under total: 5 ½
Bodog odds to win NFC West: 10/1
Bodog odds to win NFC: 50/1
Bodog odds to win Super Bowl XLIV: 100/1 (longest shots withLions)

It's a fair bet that the Rams are underdogs in all 16 games this season. I'll be fascinated to see the line for the Toilet Bowl on Nov. 1 in Detroit. As one would expect, no prime-time games scheduled for this team.

The schedule isn't real kind. Four of the first six games on the road. And the two home games are against playoff contenders Minnesota (which is a fellow dome team, so no advantage for St. Louis there) and Green Bay. By the way, St. Louis has just three total road wins the past two years. Wait, that’s better than the two home wins.

The Rams did win in D.C. last year and get another chance to do so. In reality, this team’s only chance to have a winning streak (its two wins came back-to-back last year) comes out of the bye, with three straight games at home. None of those three teams is known as a strong defensive club, so it wouldn’t shock me to see St. Louis win two of those.

At a projected 3-13, the Rams certainly will be in competition for the No. 1 overall pick again. This team needs a franchise quarterback, among many other things, and Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford might be the answer in next April’s draft. Sometimes you have to lose to win.

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