Happy offseason, Rams’ fans! It couldn’t have come sooner than it has, with the Rams dragging to a 1-15 finish after losing their final game to the San Francisco 49ers, who finished 8-8 and second in the NFC West. Today, I would like to identify some big needs for the Rams this offseason. Obviously, a 1-15 team is going to have lots of needs, but I’m going to try and nail down some of the bigger ones needed for the Rams to be at least a bit more successful in the upcoming 2010 season. Today, I’m going simply identify the needs. In a future post, I will address the solution to those needs. These are in no particular order.

1. Quarterback

Obviously, the Rams did not have the most productive season in regards to the man behind center. Marc Bulger (when he wasn’t hurt) was mostly ineffective, Kyle Boller made some plays but simply doesn’t have that much talent, and Keith Null played like you would think a D-2 quarterback would play. That being said, I have internal sources claiming that Bulger will retire in the offseason or take a paycut to play elsewhere in the league next year. I’d be surprised to see Boller back in a Rams uniform, and Null is nothing more than a good backup in my opinion. The Rams eventually need to draft a franchise quarterback, but this may not be the year to do it.

2. A #1 Cornerback

Don’t get me wrong, Ron Bartell is a good cornerback who can cover receivers with decent consistency. However, he is not the type of player you want covering other teams #1 wide receivers. Bartell was burned all year by receivers such as Larry Fitzgerald, Reggie Waybe, Sidney Rice, etc. Ron Bartell is a good #2 cornerback and should be covering opponent’s #2 receivers.

3. A #1 Wide Receiver

I like the Rams group for next year, I really do. Laurent Robinson showed talent during is very short season before getting hurt. Brandon Gibson and Danny Amendola showed potential, and Donnie Avery is one of the fastest guys in the league. However, none of these guys has #1-type talent or route running skills. Getting a true #1 receiver would help the Rams in a countless amount of ways. Not only will they have a true #1 receiver, but it allows all the preceding receivers to slide down a spot, to where they are more used to playing. Laurent Robinson can move to the #2 spot, where he played in Atlanta, Donnie Avery and Brandon Gibson could move to the slot, where I think they’d be highly successful, and Amendola could be your #5 guy which would allow him to focus specifically on his return duties.

4. A Big, Beefy, Defensive Tackle

The Rams defense played well last year at times, but one of the biggest issues was getting consistent pressure on the quarterback to force bad throws and interceptions (as well as sacks). The defensive ends played well at times last year, and I have confidence they will continue to play at at least the same level. However, the Rams need to bring in a big defensive tackle to stabilize the line and stop the run consistently. Gary Gibson and Clifton Ryan both played well last year and some of the younger guys showed potential, but this was a unit that vastly underperformed for the majority of the year.

5. An Outside Linebacker

David Vobora, Larry Grant, et al played good football last year, but they honestly just don’t have the talent to be top of the line linebackers. Having one of these guys starting isn’t a big deal, but to have two replacement level linebackers starting really hampers a unit. James Laurinaitis obviously has good control of the middle, and now the Rams need to address the lack of talent on the outside. This unit obviously missed Will Witherspoon when he was traded to the Eagles midseason.

6. A Right Guard

The boneheaded Richie Incognito was cut in December, making this a necessity.