St. Louis Rams: 7 Areas to Focus on During the Second Half of the Season

The St. Louis Rams are 0-6.  They are not going to the playoffs.  They are not going to win the NFC West.  As the worst team in the NFL, they might wind up with the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft.

So where do the Rams go from here?

I recently asked my fellow Rams' Featured Columnists that very question.  How can the Rams salvage anything good from such a disappointing season?  Because as bad as things are, it is only Week 7.  The Rams have 10 more games to play.

What should the Rams goals be for the remainder of the season?

Rams' Featured Columnist Doug Zerjal said, "I think for the Rams to salvage anything this season, they need to win 4-5 games against their division foes. They could then claim that they finished strong and played their best against their fellow division foes."

He went on to say: "I also think they need to be explosive on offense. They need to score 30 plus points a few times to excite the fan base and give fans some hope. There’s nothing worse than not scoring points in pro football. It’s demoralizing and hard to watch."

Steven Gerwel, another Rams' Featured Columnist, said, "The Rams need to get in sync and put together some kind of winning streak. They have to win more games than they lose in the second half of the season, and finish with five or six total wins."

He added: "Prior to the season, they were thought to be the division favorites. They need to exit the season with that same confidence, even if they fall short. They need to do enough so that they truly believe this season was a fluke and that they are the better team in the division."

I agree with both Doug and Steven, that the Rams have to start thinking about creating some excitement for the fans.  If nothing else, this will create momentum for next season.  Because as bad as the Rams have been, the NFC West has been a terrible division for years.  If the Rams could win four or five games against division foes, they would have to feel confident going into next season, where the schedule surely won't be so brutal in Weeks 1-8.

Here are the seven areas I'd like to see the Rams improve on during the second half of this season.

It's All About Sam Bradford

Sam Bradford is the future of this franchise.  The Rams have made a huge investment in Bradford, both financially and in terms of playing time.  He is a hard worker, very intelligent, tough as nails, and has one hell of an arm.

Everybody you listen to or read about says the same thing: Bradford is going to be a star in this league. 

So whatever the Rams do going forward this year, it all has to center around Bradford.  So far this season, Bradford has been abused.  According to Chris Myers on one Fox Broadcast, Bradford is the most hit, sacked, and knocked down quarterback in the league.

This can't be good for his future development.

The Rams need focus on Bradford's development for these next 10 games.  Josh McDaniels needs to be held accountable for this sorry Rams offense.  It's time to take the shackles off of Bradford and let him be aggressive.  We didn't draft him and pay him all this money so he could throw five-yard slant passes all day, did we?

No more dink and dunk junior high crap.  Let Sam cut it loose.

Of course, Bradford's development is also dependent on how the receivers and O-line performs around him.  Speaking of the O-line...

The O Line Has to Step Up

As I said, the Rams' O-line has allowed their QB to get hit, knocked down, and sacked more than any other QB in the league.  At what point does their pride start to kick in?  When are they going to say, "this is embarrassing" and start playing hard?

It all goes back to Sam Bradford.

If the Rams' O-line can't protect Bradford, I think the Rams should sit Bradford out in order to protect him from becoming the next David Carr.  If that ends up happening, and we have to sit Bradford because the O-line is incompetent, then we should start cutting guys this offseason.

It is time for this O-line to step up and play good football.  If that happens, the Rams offense will start to score some points, and this team would have a chance to win five or six games this season.

The Recevers Have to Put Points on the Board

The Rams' receiving corps has been arguably the worst in football for the past three seasons.  Their most consistent receiver, Danny Amendola, went down with a season ending injury in the first half of the first game of the season.

So things went from bad to worse in a hurry.

However, in Amendola's absence, a couple of young players have stepped up.  Danario Alexander has shown big play ability.  Rookie Greg Salas has produced a couple of really good games.  Rookie tight end Lance Kendricks has shown flashes, but has also had a couple of terrible games.

The Rams recently traded for Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Lloyd.  They are also about to get Mark Clayton back off of the physically inactive list.  If Lloyd and Clayton can provide a couple of consistent, NFL caliber wideouts to throw to, and the young players can keep progressing, I truly believe this group of receivers could be above average before the end of the season.

If they can just be "above average," the Rams should have a chance to do some damage because they have Steven Jackson running the ball and Sam Bradford at QB.

I think Bradford is accurate, and he is a winner.  We just have to put talent around him.  If all of the pieces fall into place, for the first time since Bradford has been a Ram, I think he will finally have a chance to show off his talent.

The Linebackers Have to Start Tackling

James Laurinaitis had a great rookie season in 2009, and then last season he played even better.  I thought he was poised for a great year, maybe even a Pro Bowl caliber season.  Instead, Laurinaitis has regressed.

I think his biggest problem is he doesn't have very good players around him.

The middle linebacker is influenced by his outside linebackers and by his defensive tackles.  He needs those guys to do their job in order for him to be productive.  The Rams' outside linebackers, no matter who it's been (Leber, Poppinga, etc) have been terrible this season.  The Rams' defensive line has been terrible this season (more on them in a moment).

If this group of linebackers doesn't start to play better, the Rams are looking at a 2-14 season at best.  If the linebackers start to play, I think the Rams could rattle off several wins during the second half of the season.

So we need you to step up, James Laurinaitis.

The D Line Has to Get Nasty

Here is an idea, play Robert Quinn.  I'm just saying, we drafted him 14th overall, so let's put him in the games.  I don't think it could get any worse.

The Rams were just gouged for almost 300 yards last week against the Cowboys.  They let the immortal DeMarco Murray run all over them for 252 yards.

Honestly, I don't see this group improving all that much this season.  Fred Robbins is looking older by the day, and that entire defensive tackle rotation is pretty weak.  That is one area weak spot on the team that doesn't get mentioned enough, but the Rams need to upgrade that area big time this offseason.

The one bright spot on the line is that we do have talent at defensive end.  Between Chris Long, Eugene Sims, and Robert Quinn, we have three very athletic, hard working, and exciting young players.  James Hall has played well also, but with the Rams having virtually no shot at the playoffs, I think it's time to let the young guys get their feet wet.

No offense to Hall.  Again, he is playing decent football.

I just think it's time to turn Robert Quinn loose.  Coach him up, put him out there, and let's get him ready to be a star next year alongside Howie's boy.

The DB's Have to Stay Healthy

I'll keep it short and sweet: the Rams' are screwed in their defensive secondary.  We have lost seven cornerbacks since the start of training camp.  If that sounds bad, it's because it is bad!

To make matters worse, the top three corners on the roster—Jerome Murphy, Ron Bartell, and Bradley Fletcher—all went down with season ending injuries.  They were the only starting caliber corners on the roster, so this forced the Rams to put Justin King on an island. 

King has battled, and he hasn't made excuses.  I actually think King would be very valuable as a nickel or dime corner, but the truth is, he's been overmatched this season.

Since the Rams are playing street free agents, the best we can hope for at this point is that these guys can limit the big plays.  The safeties are going to have to help a lot, so this means we need Quintin Mikell and Darien Stewart to step up. 

Stewart has been a bright spot on this team so far.  It's time for Mikell to step up and help lead this defense.  That is why the Rams signed him as a free agent during the offseason.  Now more than ever, we need Mickell to earn his paycheck.

Ownership Is Going to Have to Support Steve Spagnulo

It has to be lonely being Steve Spagnulo right now.  He can't read the paper, he can't turn on the radio, and he can't watch TV.

Because everywhere he looks, he is getting ripped a new one.

After the Rams lose to the Saints this weekend, Spags will have a career record of 8-31.  That means that Spags has passed Scott Linehan in futility as the Rams head coach. 

I want to apologize to all Rams' fans right now for bringing up Linehan.  Moving on!

While most people are calling for Spags' job, I'm not going to go there.  First of all, we don't ever go after the coach here.  Second of all, who are the Rams going to get that is better?  That is the key question you have to ask yourself.  Why make a change just for change's sake? 

If we do that, it means that Sam Bradford would have to change offensive coordinators again.  That means he would have to learn a whole new offense again.  That means we would have stunted his growth as a franchise quarterback again! 

I don't think that is the right answer.  This team was decimated by injuries, and they played the toughest schedule in the league Weeks 1-7.  That is not Spags' fault.  He is a good football coach.  He has been handcuffed by a GM whose draft record is a joke. 

Love him or hate him, either way, the ownership needs to either cut Spags loose or support him.  Because keeping a lame duck coach is a no win situation for the coach or the players.  These guys in the locker room need to know that Spags is still the boss and that he is going to be here.

Personally, I think the Rams need to support Spags and give him one more year.  It would be the best thing for Bradford, and again, whatever the Rams do in the second half of this lost season, it has to be all about making Sam Bradford one of the elite QB's in the NFL.