St Louis Rams: 5 Worst Case Scenarios for the 2011 Season

St Louis Rams fans have so much to be optimistic about in 2011.  

Between the emergence of Sam Bradford, the establishment of the league's seventh-best pass-rush, the leadership of James Laurinaitis, the hiring of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and so many other variables, the Rams have the football world buzzing about the possibilities.  

What many haven't been focusing on however, are the ways in which things could go wrong for the Rams in 2011.  Heading into the 2010 season, it was almost a unanimous decision that San Francisco would take the NFC West crown before the 49ers fell flat on their faces out of the gates.  

Yes, technically everything could go wrong.  Everyone could under-perform, the coaches could make all the wrong calls and the entire team could take a nosedive straight into the bottom of the NFC West cellar.

This article isn't intended for that purpose however.  This is to explore the variables that actually have a legitimate chance of going wrong in 2011.  

So with that said, here are some situations that, if they do occur, will cost the Rams a successful 2011 season.

1. They Are Beat Up by Brutal Early Season Schedule

The Rams have arguably the most difficult seven-week stretch in all of football when they start the season.

Games against the Eagles, Giants, Ravens, Redskins, Packers, Cowboys and Saints will kick off their season, and if the Rams don't come out of the gates strong, it could immediately derail the Rams similar to what happened to the 49ers a year ago.   

The Impact

Worst case scenario, the Rams leave this stretch with a 2-5 record.  However, it's difficult to say how the Rams would play from there on out.  

Some teams would respond positively, seeing the difficult schedule as great preparation for the much easier part of their schedule.  

Other teams however, would leave this part of their schedule with tired bodies and shattered confidence. If the Rams are the latter, their season would be just about over.

How The Rams Could Survive

The NFC West shouldn't see a team run away with the division this season, with many expecting the winner of the division to hold a 9-7 or 8-8 record.

 If the Rams come out of the difficult stretch with a poor record, they will still have all the opportunity in the world to win the division.  As long as they stay motivated and don't panic, they will be fine.  

2. Sam Bradford Struggles to Learn New Playbook

The lockout is preventing teams from learning new playbooks, much less perfecting them.  The teams who return all their regular coordinators and coaches will lose their sharpness, but a general understanding of the philosophy is there.

With other teams, such as the Rams, who have hired a new coordinator, there is still much to be desired in so many areas of grasping the playbook.  

With the Rams hiring of new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, QB Sam Bradford has a whole new playbook to learn.  If he can't get a quick grasp of McDaniels' system, he will struggle for a large part of the season.  

The interceptions would rack up, and the passing game would struggle to be consistently effective.  

The Impact

If the Rams lack an effective passing game, defenses would once again be able to zero-in on Steven Jackson and cause severe problems for the Rams.  

How the Rams Could Survive

Steven Jackson.  

If anyone can put this team on his back and carry them to success, it is SJax, and he would most definitely be counted on to do it.

The addition of an adequate running back would be an immense help as well and would allow the running game to stay fresh and effective for four quarters.  

If the passing game falters, the only thing other than shutting out the opposition every single game would be the establishment of a solid running game.    

3. Steven Jackson's Production Declines Drastically

Steven Jackson has shouldered a workload of gigantic proportions over the last few seasons, and as he readies himself for his eighth season in the NFL, many people wonder when he'll begin the inevitable decline.  

While it doesn't appear likely that will be happening this season, a player's decline can come out of absolutely nowhere (see: Shaun Alexander).  

He has had injury problems over the last couple seasons, and a player with his style of play gets beat up a whole lot faster than say, a back that relies on agility and speed.

There are plenty of variables that factor into it all, and there is always the chance that he could suddenly become ineffective.  

The Impact

If Steven Jackson were to suddenly lose his ability to be a game changer, it would be a devastating blow to the Rams.  It's the equivalent of a baseball team's cleanup hitter enduring a season long slump or a basketball team's best scorer suddenly going ice cold.  

If this happens, opposing defenses can focus even more on the Rams' weaker areas, such as their receivers and further render them ineffective.

 If the Rams happen to develop a stellar passing game this season, Jackson will be what keeps the defense from dropping six men into coverage.  If he is no longer a factor, there will be a plethora of struggles for Spagnuolo and McDaniels to deal with.

How the Rams Could Survive

Sign a solid backup that can hold his own in the running game.  Last season, the Rams had Kenneth Darby who, while not horrible, was largely ineffective and therefore rarely received playing time.

If the Rams sign a guy who can provide some amount of firepower behind Jackson, then they will not be completely helpless should Jackson struggle. 

4. The Secondary Doesn't Upgrade Via Free Agency, Collapses

The secondary is without a doubt the Rams' biggest concern at the moment.  

The loss of OJ Atogwe at the safety position was unexpected and has suddenly sent the Rams' passing defense from manageable to disastrous.

At the corner position they are OK.  They aren't loaded, but they should manage.  Ron Bartell probably wouldn't be a No. 1 corner on most teams, but he holds his own and ultimately doesn't hurt the team.  

Bradley Fletcher could emerge as a very capable safety at the NFL level and showed signifiant progress last season.  

In terms of safety however, that is a whole different story.  Craig Dahl and James Butler are the teams' options at SS, while rookie Jonathan Nelson and second-year player Darian Stewart are their only options at FS.  

The Rams are expected to upgrade once the free agency period begins, but neither of the four players listed would be starters on any other team in the NFL.  

The Impact

This would be an absolute disaster should the secondary falter.  The Rams would be abused by passing attacks and the likeliness to win football games would decrease drastically.

How the Rams Could Survive

In all likelihood, they can't.  If they move forward with this secondary it will be a disaster.  However, all of the teams in their division lack a threatening pass attack, therefore they wouldn't be completely hopeless.  

Regardless, this is the team that was carved up by Troy Smith, Charlie Whitehurst and Derek Anderson during a game last season.  

5. Injury Bug Hits High Impact Players

It's unavoidable.  In a game where large, muscular, padded men are running and trying to hit other large, muscular, padded men as hard as they physically can, injuries are going to happen.  

Last season the Rams suffered injuries to their two best receivers in Donnie Avery and Mark Clayton, being forced to go through the rest of the season with a weak receiver lineup consisting of undrafted free agents and other teams' castaways.  

The Impact

When a team loses one of their players to injury, specifically an important player, 99 percent of the time they are going to take a drastic production hit.  

Perhaps the backup who's been waiting for his chance to shine for a couple years now will come out of nowhere to be a star.  

Chances are however, your backup is a backup because they are inferior in just about every aspect, and there aren't any star players sitting in free agency.  

How the Rams Could Survive

Persevere.  

All you can do is keep going through routine and hope your backups play well enough to adequately fill the void left by the injured teammate.  

It doesn't sound ideal, but it really is the only way.  Sure, a team could change their scheme to account for the fact that they're minus their key blizter in a 3-4 defense, but a change in scheme really wouldn't have a positive effect in the long run.