2006 St. Louis Rams Preview

Like many teams in the NFL, the Rams are under a new head coach. After Mike Martz left to become the offensive coordinator for Detroit, the Rams hired Scott Linehan. Linehan is an offensive-minded coach and one that likes his teams to play physical. However, the biggest impact to their coaching staff may have been the signing of defensive coordinate Jim Haslett. Haslett had some early success in New Orleans before struggling late, but usually has his teams playing tough and this should help a Rams’ defense which struggled last season. The Rams also improved their line-backing core greatly by the signing of outside linebacker Will Witherspoon from Carolina. Witherspoon is a very fast and versatile linebacker who is known to swarm the football and make big plays. He will help a struggling defense that lacks the big play ability. While the Rams signed a big play linebacker in Will Witherspoon, they lost long time strong safety Adam Archuleta to the Redskins. Archuleta was undoubtedly their team leader and will be missed on a defense that looked up to him. Offensively, the Rams are looking to get back to where they were a few years back. Quarterback Marc Bulger and receiver Torry Holy led the Rams to the second best passing attack in football last year. However, the goal for this offense should be to run the football effectively. If Steven Jackson can continue to develop into the strong running back he is showing signs of, then the Rams can be a playoff contender. However, if their 22nd ranked rushing game does not improve, then the Rams will continue to slide to the bottom of the division and will be nothing more than mediocre at best.

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