The Playbook: St. Louis Rams Feel West Coast Blitz

People have found themselves wondering if the St. Louis Rams will return to the old glory days before the end of this decade. In all honesty, it's a legitimate thought. It's been almost 10 years since the Rams took their moniker of "Greatest Show On Turf" all the way to a Super Bowl victory.

But almost ten years later, the names have changed...but the goal is still the same.

The Rams are heading into the 2009-'10 season with a better outlook than ever. And why wouldn't they? With the exception of losing star receivers like Drew Bennett and Torry Holt, the Rams are still optimistic about the outcome of the upcoming season.

With a new head coach at the helm and a slew of dangerous players ready to resurrect those old glory days, the Rams are eyeing more than just a winning record...

They're eyeing a return to the top of the NFC West...and beyond.

But to get to where you're going, you're going to have remember what got you there. For Marc Bulger, this is a complicated task. He was so used to one familiar playbook in the form of Mike Martz. Now he has a new playbook to work with: The West Coast.

As proven by Jim Mora in Atlanta, this is a tough task for an athlete that can't grasp change completely. But for Bulger, he is getting a better hang of it than expected.

In Atlanta, the West Coast offense was the perfect fit for Michael Vick. It was so good in fact, that it almost led them to the Super Bowl. Now Steve Spagnuolo looks to follow the same format as the new head coach of the St. Louis Rams.

Bulger has had to deal with six different OC's (including new Coordinator Pat Shurmer) in his nine seasons. But he says that the hardest part isn't saying that change is good; it's putting the changes to work for the offense.

The Rams replaced their possession and deep route receivers with younger versions of the Bruce-Holt Express. Now Donnie Avery leads the charge with Laurent Robinson, Brooks Foster and Chad Lucas closely behind.

So the West Coast could be the answer for the offense...but the blitz is the answer for the defense.

Everyone knows that Spagnuolo froths at the mouth when he talks about blitzing. The Giants were ranked fifth in defense last season, and Spagnuolo was one of the reasons for that.

He employs a base 4-3 defense, based solely on applying unbelievable pressure to the quarterback. This was never more clear than when Tom Brady was looking for his mouthpiece during the Super Bowl two years ago.

And there's nothing more that Leonard Little would like more than to be able to put more pressure on the quarterback. Little has some backup now in the form of Chris Long and rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis, and with a defensive minded coach leading them into battle, who can't be optimistic about the Rams' chances of improving this season.

It's obvious that the biggest changes for the Rams are filling the holes with the right bodies and the right packages. On the offensive side, Avery and Robinson have to become the deep threat of the New Express, while Foster has to do what he did so well in North Carolina: Become Drew Bennett, the possession receiver.

As far as defense goes, Little and Long have to open some space for Will Witherspoon and Laurinaitis to pounce on the tailbacks and quarterbacks. But there's still holes to be filled on defense, and this is why the Rams should seriously consider going after Jarvis Moss since the Broncos don't know how to shop smart.

So if you look at this from the fan's standpoint, the Rams would have five big nightmares on defense to compliment the new look offense.

How can the Rams Nation not get excited?