By Vince Vitale
The St. Louis Rams open their 2010 season with a preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings at the Edward Jones Dome Saturday night at 7PM. This will be Rams fans first chance to see Sam Bradford in live action. The Rams went 3-1 in the preseason in 2009, so preseason play is not indicative of how good a team may be. Here are the five things we will be watching Saturday night.
First and foremost is watching Sam Bradford perform. The St. Louis Rams will start with A.J. Feeley for one or two series and then Bradford is supposed to play up until at least halftime. Will Sam Bradford get enough protection and perform well enough in the preseason to be the starter week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals.
The key to the Rams 2010 season could lie in the offensive line play. This is where the Rams have huge question marks. It appears that rookie Rodger Saffold will start at Left Tackle. Will we get to see Rodger Saffold block Jared Allen. This means the Rams 2009 first round #2 selection Jason Smith is odds on favorite to start at Right Tackle. Overall this make Smith an NFL bust already but at this point we just need the Rams to field the best five blockers. The other battle will most likely be at Right Guard were veteran Hank Fraley will try to win the job over John Greco. When healthy Adam Goldberg is a valuable versatile backup.
The St. Louis Rams may not have a #1 WR but what they do appear to have for a change is depth. Currently the Rams have 10 wide receivers probably competing for five or six positions. Keenan Burton, Brooks Foster, and Laurent Robinson all finished the 2009 season on the IR and have a lot to prove. I believe Donnie Avery, Laurent Robinson, Danny Amendola and Mardy Gilyard will all make the roster the others need to show what they can do Saturday night.
The St. Louis Rams who were near the bottom in ever defensive category finished 30th in sacks and with team leading (6.5) Leonard Little gone the Rams are in need of a pass rush. Rams hopes hinge on George Selvie out of South Florida to bring an added spark and rush from the end position. Veteran Fred Robbins was added to rotate in at defensive tackle but on paper it looks like the Rams will have a hard time getting to opposing QBs again.
The secondary could be the most interesting group of all. This group always seem to have injury issues. Ron Bartell, Justin King and James Butler have all suffered preseason injuries already. On paper and when healthy this group could be decent with Ron Bartell and Bradley Fletcher at corner with James Butler and OJ Atogwe at safety and rookie Jerome Murphy as the nickel. Watch Jerome Murphy in this one he likes to hit people. With 14 secondary players in camp some of these players are going to need to make their mark on special teams.
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