Rams have much to prove

The Mike Martz era of St. Louis football is over, thankfully, and with it may have went the once renowned "greatest show on turf." Through the first two games of the Ram's season, the offense has been nearly non-existant and it doesnt' look like things could get much brighter in the coming weeks. Marc Bulger can't hit his target, Torry Holt can't catch passes if he can't figure out what route he's supposed to be running, and the offensive line is looking like the bottom of a bag of Chips-a-Hoy, crumbled but still with the potential to be tasty.

Orlando Pace is out for at least next weeks game with the Kurt Warner led Arizona Cardinals due to a concussion, and I say "at least" even though the doctors say he should be set to go for Week 4 because St. Louis fans know all to well what a concussion can actually mean to an athlete (hint Jim Edmonds and Chris Miller). Andy McCollum, the team's starting center, went down in week one and is sidelined for the season, therby moving starting left guard Richie Incognito to center and forcing back-up Todd Steussie to take over for Incognito. Now it seems as though Steussie will move to left tackle and newly acquired Adam Goldberg (from Minnesota) will take over at left guard. This means that the entire left side of the O-line, including the center, has been changed from it's original lineup at the start of week one. The only thing still holding up is the right side where veteran Adam Timmerman and mammoth child Alex Barron still anchor.

Last time I checked, it doesn't seem to work out to well for an offense when it's offensive line starts falling apart forcing the coaching staff to shuffle around players. Not to mention, this offense is already in flux, obviously, trying to learn an entirely new offense. At this point, the only bright spot on the squad is running back Steven Jackson who has rushed for over 100 yards in each of the first two games. However, he still hasn't found the endzone.

The good news for the Ram's offense is that, unlike the Martz era, they are getting a chance to establish a running game under Linehan. And it's no secret that Bulger is still one of the best and most accurate QB's in the NFL and that Torry Holt is still one of the top five recievers in the game. Not to mention Issac Bruce can still play, as apparent by his five catches for 77 yards in week 2. What does all this mean? Well, if Steven Jackson continues getting the ball then this will continue to open that passing attack that still has the potential to break down some defenses. Bulger went 19 for 34 last week and finally connected with Holt for the Ram's first touchdown, these are numbers characteristic for Chris Miller and Tony Banks, but uncharacteristic for Bulger. Expect him to get better, but don't expect it until Pace is back on the O-Line.

The Ram's weren't built for the Super Bowl this year, but there's plenty of time for them to prove they are a playoff caliber team and it starts at Arizona next week.

NOTES:

*Kurt Warner can still play folks and he'll be looking to get big on the Ram's defense next week. So far this year, he has thrown for 532 yards, four touchdowns, and only one interception. Numbers better than his former STL teammate, Bulger, who's tossed for 402 yards and only one touchdown this season.
*Wonder what Brenda Warner will be doing come game time in Arizona without having Mike Martz to hassle?
*Speaking of Mike Martz, his offense in Detroit is actually making the Rams look pretty darn good (not to compare the Rams to the Lions - of course). The Lions only have 543 total yards on offense over the first two weeks of the season, compared to the Rams 645 total yards. Both teams have scored one touchdown and the Lion's score came on a rush from quarterback Jon Kitna.
*Ram's kicker, Jeff Wilkins, is good. Don't let the two missed field goals in the first two weeks get you down. The miss in week one was a field goal that he actually made on his first attempt but got called back due to a penalty. He's got his misses out of the way, and I don't feel strained saying he's going to be dang-near perfect the rest of the way. It would nice, however, if the Ram's didn't put all the pressure on him.
*We'll talk about the Ram's defense next week, they need one more soild performance before I call them a "good" defense. They showed signs of brilliance in week one, both individually and as a team, but committed some crucial mistakes in the second half this week. I'm more excited than anyone about Jim Haslett leading this show, but we'll see if they can keep me happy.