St. Louis Rams: Analyzing the 2012 Schedule

The 2012-13 schedule for the NFL has been released.

While the official week-by-week listing won't be available until the end of the month, home and away matchups are known and ready for analysis.

Here, you will find a complete breakdown and analysis of each team's matches, including their divisional games, their home and away games and the three most exciting matchups that the 2012 schedule has thrown up.

For the St. Louis Rams, 2012 has to be an improvement on 2011, which shouldn't be too hard compared to a 2-14 record last year. We know that the Rams are going to trade their Robert Griffin III pick and receive a plethora of draft picks as a result—but how that will affect their chances at improving on last year?

Will they improve on their record and challenge again in the NFC? Let's take a look.

Divisional games

Starting with the easy ones, the Rams play the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals all twice in 2012, just like always.

And after going 0-6 in the division last year, it appears like the Rams need some serious changes to happen if they are going to start winning football games and not just be the punching bag of the NFC West.

They were close a couple of times last year against the Arizona Cardinals, but apart from that, there was little respite in the division and one thinks that more of the same is to be expected in 2012.

A couple of draft picks won't change everything; neither will a healthy Sam Bradford.

Whilst the rest of the NFC West gets better and better, the St. Louis Rams will struggle to win a divisional game this season as the gap between class continues to increase this year.

Home games

In addition to their three divisional games that they play at home, the Rams will also take on two NFC North, two AFC East and one NFC East teams at home. 

And looking at their upcoming schedule, it's not looking pretty for St. Louis.

At home, they must take on last year's hot-to-trot side in the Green Bay Packers, and despite their strong pass defense, they will be no match for Aaron Rodgers and his merry men.

The also must take on the Minnesota Vikings and the brilliance of Adrian Peterson, who could have a field day against the team ranked 31st against the run in 2011.

If that wasn't bad enough, they then take on the 2011 AFC Champions in the New England Patriots as well as a New York Jets side desperate to bounce back in 2012. Between Tom Brady's passing brilliance and a tough Jets defense, the Rams will struggle to take out the points in either of these as well.

Their remaining home game comes against the Washington Redskins—a match that will be defined on whether the 'Skins can sign RG3 or not. If they do, his dual-threat will be too much for the defense to handle and Washington will run away with the win.

If they don't sign him, however, it could be a different story. Washington had one of the worst run games last year, meaning that the Rams' weak run defense won't be troubled too much. They also threw 24 interceptions thanks to John Beck and Rex Grossman, and whilst neither may be playing in this match, the Rams pass defense could step up and have a big game.

In short, it's not a fun home schedule for the Rams in 2012. The faithful fans who flock out to the football field (enough f's there?) will be treated to some exciting patches, but not enough to upset the likes of Brady, Rodgers or even Christian Ponder.

Away games

They therefore play the remainder of the NFC North and AFC East away as well as another team from the NFC East in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Chicago won't be beaten by the Rams at home, and Detroit won't let a similar thing happen at Ford Field. Matthew Stafford is too strong in the air and Matt Forte is too strong on the ground to let any slip-ups happen in those matches.

The Buffalo Bills may be an upset waiting to happen, though much of that could rest on the fitness of Fred Jackson. Jackson blew the league away and was headed to be the top rusher of the season before injury ruled him out for the year. If the Rams can stop the ground game of the Bills, they may be able to cause an upset on the road in Buffalo.

Miami? Well that depends on whether or not they lure Peyton Manning. With him, Brandon Marshall scores four touchdowns and the Rams get belted. Without him... Screw it, the Rams still get belted and their ground game shut down.

That leaves us with the Tampa Bay Bucs—another side that is desperate to make amends for a horrible 2011 season. Josh Freeman will be out to justify his existence in the National Football League and that despite throwing the second-most interceptions last year, he can lead the Bucs to the playoffs.

Tampa ranked dead last against the run in 2011, and if the Rams can get the ground game going in this one, they could sneak another upset here. The draft will boost the secondary for Tampa, so the passing game won't be as efficient for St. Louis, but they may find success running the football.

Maybe, that is.

At least the away schedule isn't as tough on paper as the home matches, but they don't call it home advantage for nothing and St. Louis will find just as little success on the road as they did back home.

Three games to watch

No. 1 — Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams

This is the Rams' best shot at winning a divisional game in 2012. Both Seattle and San Francisco have running games too dominant for the Rams defense, so the Cardinals it will be. They pushed the Cardinals both times last year, and if it weren't for Patrick Peterson's punt-returning skills, the Rams may well have had two more wins for the season. Call this one revenge.

No. 2 — St. Louis Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

It will be low-scoring, low-quality football, but if the Rams are to win a game on the road this year, this is the one. Blount could prove a handful for the defense, but expect the Rams to give it right back to them, especially if this match is early on in the season and the St. Louis are aiming for their first win.

No. 3 — Washington Redskins at St. Louis Rams

Couple of things make this one interesting. Firstly, the Rams may get to see firsthand just how good Robert Griffin III truly is and what they missed out on. More importantly, however, it could also be a chance for St. Louis to win a game at home. The number one pick in the draft is nice, and the Rams are definitely in contention, but they don't want a season without a single win. That could change here.

Overall

2011 was tough going for the Rams. Now replace 2011 with 2012 and you've got the general idea.

They have a tougher schedule, and whilst the other teams in their division improve every year, the Rams are doing the opposite.

2-14 is not at all out of the equation, and neither is 1-15.

It's looking like another year where St. Louis fans cheer on that first win and once that's done, they start cheering on the number one pick in the NFL Draft.

For analysis on other NFC West teams:

Click here for San Francisco 49ers

Click here for Arizona Cardinals

Click here for Seattle Seahawks

Read more articles by Dan here or follow him on Twitter: @dantalintyre