Week 1 Preview: St. Louis Rams @ Philadelphia Eagles
September 7, 2008
Wow what a hard game to start with or to get a grasp on. We will try to break it down for you. The first game of the season often sets the tone for the entire season for some teams, for other teams it does not seem to be as important. The Philadelphia Eagles are more resilient than the St. Louis Rams, however based on both teams early schedules this could almost be a must win in Week 1.
The Rams are coming off a terrible 3-13 season were injuries became the excuse. Well as true as that may be this is the NFL and you need to have depth and leadership and skill to over come those things. Scott Linehan has not proven he can lead or motivate this team and his in-game adjustments or lack there of have been terrible and much criticized. Most of the time last year I was watching to see if the players could over-come their coach. In the off-season the Rams made their best move in quite a while picking up Al Saunders, but is the offense ready to fly already in week 1?
The Eagles are coming off of an 8-8 season in which they finished up with 3 straight wins. However the Eagles are yearly slow starters. They only scored over 20 points once in their first 6 games of 2007. Last year they lost 4 of their first 6 games and historically do not play well at all in their home opener. Don’t be completely fooled by the 8-8 record. The Eagles lost 4 games by 3 points, that is how close you are to making it or missing it in the NFL. Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb have been together for 10 years, how time flies. I believe McNabb is as healthy as ever and will be out to make a statement in 2008.
Turning to the game:
It is as old as the hills. RUN THE ROCK! It really is just that simple. The 5 big uglies on both teams along with their star running backs can be the difference. Connecticut and Temple played at the Linc yesterday in the rain so the field will also not be in top shape. Each team heads into this game with injuries at the wideout position so it should be easy Steven Jackson vs. Brian Westbrook.
Trent Cole vs. Orlando Pace. This is a huge match up today. Is Orlando actually healthy or are the Rams hiding something. Orlando played 2 quarters in 2007, and only a few quarters in this years preseason. Is the Big-O ready to go? If he is ready to go is he ready for a huge challenge like Trent Cole? Trent Cole is probably a bad match up for Pace today. Cole had 12.5 sacks in 2007 and is a smaller (270 lb) quick rusher who will try to use his speed to turn the corner. Pace will need to use his left shoulder to push Cole further around the side to give Marc Bulger more time in the pocket. He will also need to move his feet quicker than he did it preseason and on the slower wet turf at the Linc I am not sure he can.
The Eagles Secondary. Wow what a fabulous group. They went out and got Asante Samuel, to add to their already talented group of Lito Sheppard, Sheldon Brown and Brian Dawkins. In addition they have hard hitting safety play from Quinton Mikell and Sean Considine as well. Bulger needs to be on his game today. However with basically only a healthy Torry Holt will they be able to exploit the over-aggressive Eagles with some double moves?
Will the Eagles be able to pass at all? You know Andy Reid wants to put up 40+ passes today but to who. The Eagles will be without starting wideouts Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown. Look for the Eagles to throw several deep balls to rookie WR DeSean Jackson. There should be some nice speed burning contest down the sidelines today between DeSean Jackson and Tye Hill, and also for the Rams Keenan Burton and Sheldon Brown.
Steven Jackson’s effectiveness. Without touches again in the preseason can Jackson be at the top of his game out of the box? The Rams have an advantage with a large O-line against a smaller quicker Eagles front-7. The Rams will need to slow this game down and take time off the clock and wear down the Eagles. It is like playing the Chicago Blackhawks in their old barn you have to make it out of the first 10 minutes of the street fight. Don’t get knocked out early make them play 60 minutes to beat you.
Coaching. I do not like what either will probably do today. Luckily Linehan has hopefully turned over most everything to Al Saunders and Jim Hasslet. You know Reid without receivers will still try to throw to many passes and with a lead they never run the clock which should keep the Rams in this one.
The unknown hero. Some games are simple Jackson vs. Westbrook. Some are more complicated and a surprise star emerges. If that happens today I like DeSean Jackson to be that star for Philly and Randy McMichael for the Rams. McMichael along with Steven Jackson are clearly the motivational leaders for the Rams on the offensive side of the ball.
THE PICK!!!!
Well I have to go with the Eagles today. The great secondary and pass pressure against the unknown of how well Marc Bulger will actually stay in the pocket and look down field, and the lack of depth at WR will be too much for the Rams to over come. I am not sold that Orlando Pace or Fakhir Brown are completely healthy. With the sloppy turn and the lack of receivers on Philly I look for the Rams to stay in this game. A huge turnover can win it. Can Leonard Little get around the corner and knock the ball from McNabb and get the Rams some easy points? We shall see. Thats all for now enjoy the game!
Eagles 16 - Rams 10
2008 NFL Season Predictions
September 7, 2008
Well all the experts do it, so why not me? It is extremely hard to predict the next 17 weeks since there will be many injuries for teams to deal with. Please feel free to comment or send us your own and we will post them.
AFC East - New England, Buffalo, New York, Miami
AFC North - Pittsburgh, *Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore
AFC South - Indianapolis, *Jacksonville, Tennessee, Houston
AFC West - San Diego, Denver, Kansas City, Oakland
NFC East - Dallas, *New York, *Philadelphia, Washington
NFC North - Green Bay, Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit
NFC South - New Orleans, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Atlanta Falcons
NFC West - Seattle, Arizona, St. Louis, San Francisco
Wild Card Winners - Jacksonville, Cleveland, New York Giants, Philadelphia
AFC Champion - New England
NFC Champion - New York Giants
Superbowl Champion - New England Patriots.
Just an FYI I hate the Patriots and did part of this in the hopes to jinx them. However I do believe they will be on a mission after last year, however I do expect them to come back to the pack a bit. The easy 6 division wins they will have gives them a huge edge in getting home field advantage again.
NFC West Predictions
September 7, 2008
Well this is it, the start of the 2008 NFL season. Everyone has hope, everyone is 0-0, how will it all finish? No football fan wants the next 17 weeks to just fly by, but we all want to know what the end results will be. Will your team be on top of the heap, rebuilding, drafting early in 2009? Below you will find my predictions for the NFC West, the home of our St. Louis Rams. Please chime in with your thoughts and comments. The NFC West is a very weak division. Every team has some huge flaws. The biggest flaw for each team is their schedule. Having to play every team in the NFC East along with the New England Patriots is no favor to these teams.
1. Seattle Seahawks - As they say they are the champs until you knock them off. The Seahawks have dominated this division now for a while, and I believe that trend will continue in 2008. I am not sold on their receiving core, however their defense and HUGE home field advantage give them the edge in this division.
Prediction 10-6
2. Arizona Cardinals - I am going to give the Cardinals a slight edge heading into the season for 2nd place. I base most of this on the fact that they are getting the bottom of the AFC East early. The Cardinals will play games against the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, and Buffalo Bills all within the first five weeks of the season. This will give the Cardinals a chance to get off to a positive start, but will they. History will tell us that the Cardinals are best after the season when the fans break out the ifs and buts. The Cardinals do tend to implode so the fact that Boldin is disgruntled heading into the season, and the team has a QB controversy should not surprise anyone.
Prediction 6-10
3. St. Louis Rams - The Rams have some of the biggest potential and biggest question marks coming into the season. I based a lot of this prediction on my lack of faith in Scott Linehan. The Schedule makers did not do the Rams any favors with games against every team in the NFC East within the first 6 weeks of the season, OUCH. With a new offensive coordinator in Al Saunders, and only one veteran receiver in Torry Holt, I do not expect the Rams to start off well. The Rams will have to start off very strong to avoid going 1-6 in their first seven games. On the upside the offense will have Marc Bulger, Torry Holt, Steven Jackson, and Randy McMichael who could all have Pro Bowl years. Too many questions about Orlando Pace and the defense will keep this team from succeeding this year. However if they manage to win 3 of the first 7 watch out.
Prediction 6-10
4. San Francisco 49ers - There is just not enough here to work with. Frank Gore must be screaming HELP ME! The 49ers head into the 2008 season with Mad Mike Martz as the new offensive coordinator, J.T. O’Sullivan as the starting QB, and no offense to Isaac Bruce, but he 49ers have to have the worst receiving core in the NFL. Why the Niners spent money of veterans like Justin Smith and Isaac Bruce I just can not understand. This team is still in rebuilding mode do they not see that? It will be another long year in the bay for the Niners and Raiders.
Prediction 3-13
NFL Week 1 Predictions
September 7, 2008
Every week I will make my NFL gameday predictions. We would love it if you share your opinions, or your own -predictions in the comment area or our Fan-Sided forum area. All picks will be straight-up, not against the spread.
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
Atlanta Falcons
Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals
Tennessee Titans
New York Jets
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
San Diego Chargers
San Francisco 49ers
Dallas Cowgirls
Indianapolis Colts
Green Bay Packers
Oakland Raiders
Last Weeks Results - None
Year-To-Date Results - 0-0
Check Out Out Fan-Sided Forums
September 7, 2008
The NFL Season is back and the Fan-Sided Forums are ready to kick off the
season. Come join all NFL fans in the excitement of the 2008-2009 NFL
Season. Will the Giants repeat? Will the Patriots win it this year? or will
teams like the Browns, Saints, Cowboys, Vikings, Jags or other teams take
it home this year? Also get fantasy updates, news, recommendations, and
give your secret information away as well.
I invite you to come join the conversation or smack with NFL fans from all
32 teams. We have added some new forums as well so stop on by and get in on
the action!
BREAKING NEWS: Cardinals Place Al Johnson on IR
September 6, 2008
Well, maybe Anquan Boldin has something on the Cardinals after all. Starting center Al Johnson was placed on injured reserve, effectively ending his season. Apparently Johnson’s knee injury recovery time was going to take a couple of weeks longer so the Cardinals approached him to cut his salary. In a report filed on azcentral.com, Johnson said he was willing to cut some of his salary, but the Cardinals wanted a whole lot more back from him. So the Cardinals decided to just place him on IR and promote Pat Ross from the practice squad. Lyle Sendlein will be the starter now.
If Johnson is waived off of IR at any point during the season, he is eligible to play for anyone else. It amazes me the Cardinals choose to approach Johnson about reducing his salary. To me, that tells me they didn’t think of Johnson highly enough in the first place. I didn’t see the Cardinals approach Matt Leinart last season to reduce his salary due to missed time.
So after all that, now it makes me think maybe Boldin experienced the same thing Johnson did in terms of negotiations. I realize this is a business and it sounds like Johnson was willing to work with the team, but the team wanted to take everything away. Now I don’t know the Cardinals side of things and I’m sure their accounts of the ordeal will be vastly different than that of Johnson’s, but now I sense a trend, a disturbing trend. The timing is interesting as well. Only one day before the start of the season and this takes place. Lost in all of this is that the Cardinals also released safety Oliver Celestin today and promoted center/guard Anthony Oakley from the practice squad - all one day before the opener. Only the Cardinals. I’m looking forward to hearing their side of things.
Scott Allen
AZScott
Fan-Sided Blogger Team Rankings
September 6, 2008
Well, clearly not many of my blogger colleageus think too highly of our Cardinals. This week, the entire network of bloggers sent in their rankings of each team 1-32. There were a lot of bloggers who ranked their respective teams very optimistically high. I will admit, I ranked Arizona a bit higher than most others, although thank you dawgpounddaily.com for ranking the Cardinals at number 12. Boltbeat.com ranked the Cardinals at number 14 as well.
My fellow NFC West bloggers also don’t think very highly of the Cardinals, although Vinnie over at ramblinfan.com did rank the Cards at 18, which is much better than what our San Francisco blogger put us at. He ranked us at 29. I guess I shouldn’t complain too much since I placed them at 32, however, San Francisco is much closer to a 32 than the Cards are at 29. Seattle ranked Arizona at 22, which is understandable. However he also ranked his own team number 1. Wow, now that is optimistic. I ranked them at number 8 as I feel it will be difficult for anyone in the NFC West to unseat them as division champions, but number 1? Just, wow. That’s about all I can say.
Most people placed New England, San Diego, or Indianapolis at the top and that’s the way it should be. I ranked San Diego 1, New England 2, and Indianapolis 4. I ranked Dallas at 3. Right now, they are the best overall team in the NFC. A month ago, I would have given the New York Giants a higher ranking than Dallas, however they have too many injuries to overcome, so I moved them down to 17.
The other bloggers ranking Arizona better than 20 were Jacksonville, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Houston, Detroit, Atlanta, Buffalo, Cincinnati and New York Giants. That does show that many consider Arizona as improved, but still have work to do in order to earn more respect.
Please feel free to check out the rankings here. I’d love to hear what you think.
Go Cards!
Scott Allen
AZScott
Cardinals vs 49ers ~ Week One
September 6, 2008
Week 1 Rams vs. Eagles - Injury Report
September 6, 2008
NFL injuries play a key part in every NFL game. This weeks game between the St. Louis Rams and Philadelphia Eagles will be no different. The below injury report is from NFL.com. The Eagles are coming into the game without their two top receivers, and if you are a St. Louis Rams fan you have to be a little anixous to see if Orlando Pace and Fakhir Brown can make it through a full contact game.
| Name | Position | Injury | Practice Status | Game Status |
| St. Louis Rams | ||||
| Donnie Avery | WR | Knee | Did Not Participate In Practice | Out |
| Fakhir Brown | CB | Shoulder | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Brian Leonard | RB | Shoulder | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Brett Romberg | C | Hand | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Philadelphia Eagles |
||||
| Victor Abiamiri | DE | Wrist | Out (Definitely Will Not Play) | Out |
| Kevin Curtis | WR | Hernia | Out (Definitely Will Not Play) | Out |
| Reggie Brown | WR | Hamstring | Did Not Participate In Practice | Doubtful |
| Lorenzo Booker | RB | Hip | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Chris Clemons | DE | Calf | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Sean Considine | S | Hand | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Brian Dawkins | S | Ankle | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
The Experts Have Spoken - NFL Week 1 Predictions
September 6, 2008
Like most people say, what do they know anyway? Around the internet the so called “experts” are making their Week 1 NFL Predictions. Below you can see just a few of the many that can be found on the internet from major sports sites. Everyone predicts a long opening day for the Rams. Will it be? Check for my (Stlvinnie) prediction shortly!
Yahoo
Jason Cole - Eagles
Charles Robinson - Eagles
Michael Silver - Eagles
ESPN
Mike Ditka - Eagles
Tom Jackson - Eagles
Chris Mortensen - Eagles
Keeshon Johnson - Eagles
Ron Jaworski - Eagles
Mike Golic - Eagles
Wickersham - Eagles
Fleming - Eagles
Merrill Hoge - Eagles
Mark Schlereth - Eagles
Eric Allen - Eagles
Fox Sports
Jay Glazer - Eagles
Alex Marvez - Eagles
John Czarnecki - Eagles
Adam Schein - Eagles
Peter Schrager - Eagles
Adam Hasenmayer - Eagles
