Ram Buck: Can The St. Louis Rams Win A Game?

When former Miami Dolphin tight end Randy McMichael was looking at his possible destinations as a free agent, he had winning on his mind.

In McMichael’s case, the Miami offensive system seemed to be holding him back. Catching balls from eight different quarterbacks over a span of five years didn’t make things better. The consistency needed to lead the offensive simply wasn’t there.

Known to be brash—and perhaps arrogant—McMichael made his intentions clear.

He wanted to play a bigger part in the offensive game plan for the teal and orange. He wanted to make plays.

Instead, McMichael was constantly handed blocking assignments to compensate for the lack of quality on the offensive line.

While frustration continued to mount for McMichael, the team itself was beginning to fall apart.

Former head coach Nick Saban abandoned his contract to coach the Alabama Crimson Tide. Fans were beginning to turn on their team for their inability to perform on the gridiron. Things weren’t sunny anymore in Miami.

Rather than staying on with the team that originally drafted him with the 114th pick in 2002, the former Georgia star decided he needed of a change of scenery.

The Miami front office agreed with his sentiment. On March 5, the Miami Dolphins released their talented tight end, rather than pay him the $3 million bonus due to him the following week.

McMichael didn't struggle to find a new place to call home. Three days later, he put pen to paper with the St. Louis Rams, signing a lucrative three-year, $11 million deal that included a $3 million signing bonus. 

The move seemed to make perfect sense. The deal would reunite him with former Miami offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, now the head coach of the Rams.

Unlike the porous Miami offense, McMichael could depend on Pro Bowl T Orlando Pace to plug up the line, a steady signal caller in QB Marc Bulger, and offensive threats like WR Torry Holt and RB Steven Jackson capable of creating havoc for the opposing defenses.

On the other side of the ball, the Rams defense was bolstered by the arrival of rookie Nebraska standout DE Adam Carricker. With a rare blend of size and speed, Carricker has an uncanny ability to disrupt the offense at any given time. Dubbed by football analysts as the best 3-4 defensive end prospect to come from the collegiate level since New England Patriots' star Richard Seymour, big things were expected of Carricker. 

Due to their smart free-agency tactics and solid draft class, football analysts across America were expecting the Rams to make a run for the playoffs in a weak NFC West division. On paper, the boys in gold and blue seemed destined to improve upon their disappointing 8-8 record from 2006.

Pressure was mounting from all directions. The city of St. Louis demanded a better performance from their football team. Linehan was feeling the heat to deliver.

Unfortunately for St. Louis, the game of football isn’t played on paper.

Ten weeks into the 2007 NFL season, Linehan and company are left shaking their heads and cursing their luck. Plagued with injuries to key players such as Bulger, Pace, Jackson, and DE Leonard Little, the "Greatest Show on Turf" seems stuck in reverse.

Honing a 0-8 record heading into their bye week, the Rams are off to their worst start in franchise history. They have become the first team since the 2001 Detroit Lions to begin their season 0-8 after finishing the previous season at .500 or better.

Things won’t get any easier this week, as the dejected St. Louis squad head down to the Louisiana Superdome to take on the New Orleans Saints.

Re-energized after a shaky start out of the gate, the Saints look to have reclaimed their swagger from last year, when they ripped apart defenses on their way to a NFC South Championship. Having regained his lethal form, QB Drew Brees will be drooling over the prospect of taking on a struggling Rams unit that has allowed 27.4 points per game.

For yet another week, the odds will be against the Rams to get it done, and they'll be even higher away from comforts of the Edward Jones Dome.

After this Sunday, the upcoming schedule doesn’t do the Rams any favors:

Week 11 – @ San Francisco 49ers (2-6)

Week 12 – Seattle Seahawks (4-4)

Week 13 – Atlanta Falcons (2-6)

Week 14 - @ Cincinnati Bengals (2-6)

Week 15 - @ Green Bay Packers (7-1)

Week 16 – Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)

Week 17 - @ Arizona Cardinals (3-5)

So the question comes to mind: Can the St. Louis Rams win a game?

To be honest, it’s possible that they could come away with nothing.

While I do concede that the Rams SHOULD come away with a win at some point, a 0-16 season isn’t out of the question. 

Some may call me a lunatic—but is it really that crazy?

Finishing the final four weeks of the season with three games on the road in relatively hostile environments, the Rams could easily come away with nothing in the win column at season’s end.

Despite San Francisco’s disappointing 2-6 season, the 49ers always give their divisional rivals a run for their money. The Bengals have suffered a sub-par season under head coach Marvin Lewis, but are always dangerous when playing in the jungle. Lambeau is never an enviable place to play, and by the end of the season, the Cardinals might still be in the thick of the NFC West playoff race.

And as for the home games: Seattle, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh will all be paying the “Gateway City” a visit.

Looking like playoff contenders as of right now, Seattle and Pittsburgh will be battling for their playoff lives. Wins against those two powerhouses seem unlikely—but anything can happen in the NFL on any given day.

The Atlanta matchup could be an interesting affair—considering how both franchises are coping with injuries and certain dog violators. That game might go either way.

However, all this is not to say that the Rams are finished for the year. A lot of the outcomes could depend on the overall health of their offensive superstars Jackson and Bulger. If the Rams are to turn this season around, they must regain the consistency that once helped them to become one of the league’s most potent offenses.

Having said that, the 2007 Rams could just as easily become the answer to an NFL trivia question I end up asking my kids 15 years down the road.