So, I’m not quite sure where this post is going to lead me, but I’m insanely jacked up for the start of football tomorrow night as well as the Rams opener on Sunday in Seattle as well as pissed off about what I’m reading about the Rams, so here I am. Before I get started with my main point/rant, I have a couple things to share.

First, a couple of programming notes. I’m going to try my very very hardest to post twice a week. Taking 15 hours this semester coupled with my job and being in several organizations makes my life tough most of the time. However, I’m committed to this site and blogging about the Rams twice a week. What I hope to do on a semi-regular basis is get you guys a game preview on Fridays and a game recap/analysis/whatever I feel like writing about on Mondays or Wednesday. This may not happen every week, but I’m going to do my absolute best.

Second, I have a couple of bulleted thoughts about the Rams cuts/final roster.

• I fail to understand what the Rams are thinking with their receivers. They cut Ronald Curry and Sean Walker originally and keep Nate Jones. Then they sign someone else and cut Nate Jones, leaving them with just four wide receivers, and impossibly low number for an NFL team. Then they turn around and sign Sean Walker to the practice squad with still just four receivers on their active roster. Rumors have connected the Rams with Reggie Brown, Greg Lewis, Hank Baskett, and David Tyree among others. Whatever the case may be, the Rams need to sign another receiver in the next few days. An NFL team can simply not play a whole season with just four receivers.
• I also disagree with keeping Keith Null as the third stringer over Brock Berlin. I think youth was served at the position, and it was the wrong move. Berlin looked slightly better in the preseason as well as having some NFL experience. Not that a third stringer has much to do with the team, but I think Null should have been the one cut and assigned to the practice squad.
• Twelve defensive linemen seems like a bit much for a team with only four wideouts. Look for one of them to get cut when the Rams finally do sign a receiver.
• Congratulations to David Roach, CJ Ah You, and Roger Allen for making the team as longshots.

Now to my main point. While reading SB Nation’s wonderful Rams blog Turf Show Times today, I was linked to ESPN’’s preview page for the Rams this season. While reading about why the Rams are going to obviously finish fourth in the division according to these so called experts, I came across these gems:

Jeffri Chadiha: “There isn’t much to like about the Rams right now. That probably won’t change when you see them in December.”

Jeremy Green: ” I love the hiring of Steve Spagnuolo at head coach, and I think this team has shown some positives in the preseason. That said, the offensive line and back end of the defense are big concerns.”

Pat Yasinskas: “The Rams still have some big-name talent (Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson). But the problem is, they don’t have much else. This one’s going to take some time to turn around.”

And now my favorite, courtesy of James Walker (who I’ve coincidentally never heard of): “The greatest no-show on turf is due for another awful season”

Thank you for that awesome analysis Mr. Walker. How much research and time did it take you to write those eleven words of sheer genius! I appreciate you taking all that valuable time of yours to write this for us.

Say what you want about the Rams defense as it does have many holes and question marks early on (but could still improve dramatically), but the ENTIRE Rams offense is underrated. One of the things that pisses me off the most while reading about why the Rams are going to finish last no matter what (except for Football Outsiders, the best football website on the planet) is reading about how the Rams offensive line is going to be terrible. On paper, the Rams have one of the best offensive lines in the league. Not only did they sign the top free agent lineman last year in Jason Brown, but Jason Smith, Richie Incognito, and Alex Barron are immensely talented. Add in Jacob Bell, Adam Goldberg, and John Greco and the Rams even have some depth on the line. If anything positive comes out of this year, the line play should be the best it has been in the past five years.

Another thing these “experts” aren’t taking into account is the implementation of the West Coast offense. It’s a kind of offense that hasn’t been run before by the majority of the current Rams offensive unit, namely Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson. It’s exactly the type of offense that I think will benefit both Bulger and Jackson as well as cover up the wide receiver weakness for the Rams. By running this offense (especially around an improved line that hopefully will give Bulger more time in the pocket), the Rams are able to get Steven Jackson more involved. Not only will get more chances to run the ball down the opposition’s throat, he’ll be able to make plays happen short in the middle of the field. And when Jackson gets open field, he’s one of the very best in the league. Today’s Post-Dispatch had a great article today about Jackson in the new West Coast offense.

Look, the Rams won’t win 12 games, but they deserve a bit more respect than they are getting right now.

*no guarantees, I’m probably just an excited homer who would love to have a competitive football team again and is willing to go to extreme distances to make it look like our football team is good