It only appeared to me as if one player was ready to play against the Cowboys on Sunday and that was Dante Hall.  Hall returned 5 kickoffs for 151 yards (30.2 avg) and he returned 4 punts for 111 yards (27.8 avg) including an 85-yarder for a TD.  The Rams finally showed mercy on Marc Bulger and pulled him after he completed 11 of 24 passes for 114 yards with 1 pickoff.  Gus Frerotte finished up the game completing 3 of 6 passes for 29 yards.  Rookie running back Brian Leonard carried the ball 16 times for 58 yards (3.6 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 1 yard.  WR Torry Holt led the way for the receivers with 5 catches for 52 yards (10.4 avg).  The Rams finished up with 62 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.0 ypc).  The Rams also completed 14 of 30 passes for 125 yards.

The Rams defense was awful as they allowed 171 yards rushing on 33 carries (5.2 ypc) and the Cowboys completed 21 of 33 passes for 331 yards.

The St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys are two teams going in different directions.  The Rams are a beat up team that is 0-3 while the Cowboys are 3-0 having won each game by 10 or more points!  This game really has the look of a massacre!  With Marc Bulger playing with broken ribs, Steven Jackson out and possibly Isaac Bruce too….the Rams appear to be in deep, deep trouble.  The Rams have offensive line issues as they are only averaging 3.5 yards per carry running the football and Bulger has already been sacked 8 times this season.  The Rams will likely try to attack the Cowboys in the air as they allow 250.3 yards passing per game…..but they also have 8 interceptions so Bulger has to be careful.  The Cowboys will undoubtedly put cornerback Anthony Henry (4 interceptions, 1 TD return) on Torry Holt (18 rec, 210 yards, 2 TDs) so the Rams might be forced to look to other receivers this week.  With Isaac Bruce likely a game time decision, Drew Bennett and Randy McMichael will be asked to step up.  Both are capable receivers so the Rams should be able to get something going through the air as long as they give Bulger time.  That will be hard to do against the Cowboys who will likely turn OLBs Anthony Spencer and DeMarcus Ware loose to blitz often and that’s bad news for the Rams.  The Cowboys have a solid run defense as they only allow 86.7 yards per game on the ground so don’t look for the Rams to waste much time running the ball with rookie RB Brian Leonard.

The Cowboys will likely lean on the running game a little more than usual against a Rams’ defense that is allowing 152.3 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry so far this season.  Marion Barber will likely get the bulk of the carries as Julius Jones has had some concussion problems this season.  Barber should have a great game as he is a bulldozer that has 256 yards rushing on 40 carries (6.4 ypc) with 4 TD runs this season.  Don’t think for a minute that the Cowboys won’t throw the ball often, especially with the Rams hurting at cornerback.  Look for Terrell Owens to have another monster game this week and pad his stats (16 rec, 329 yards, 3 TDs).  Also, Tony Romo (111.9 QB Rating) is looking for TE Jason Witten as his #2 receiver (14 rec, 233 yards, 2 TDs) and he should also have another good game.

PREDICTION:  This has all of the makings of a severe blowout at the hands of the Cowboys.  The Rams would be smart if they started Gus Frerotte in this football game…..but they aren’t!

The Rams will be without star running back Steven Jackson for the next 2-3 weeks with a partial tear of his groin.  Jackson has carried the ball 69 times for 233 yards (3.4 ypc) and he has caught 8 passes for 57 yards (7.1 avg) so far this season.  The Rams will turn the running game over to rookie Brian Leonard.  Leonard has carried the football 4 times for 21 yards (5.3 ypc) and he has caught 6 passes for 41 yards (6.8 avg) so far this season.  The Rams will also be without starting guard Mark Setterstrom who will miss the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL.  Claude Terrell will replace him in the starting lineup.  It has also been revealed that Marc Bulger played part of last weeks game with 2 broken ribs which could explain his poor performance last week.  Bulger has completed 63 of 109 passes (57.8%) this season for 651 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions (69.8 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 3 times for 18 yards (6.0 ypc).  The Rams would probably be better off starting Gus Frerotte this week as starting Bulger behind a banged up offensive line with a back up running back sounds like a recipe for disaster.

The Rams turned in an awful performance yesterday in Tampa.  Marc Bulger had one of the worst games of his career as he completed 17 of 26 passes for 116 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 interceptions!  Steven Jackson was busy as he carried the ball 30 times for 115 yards (3.8 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 18 yards (4.5 avg).  Rookie RB Brian Leonard ran pretty well as he carried the ball 4 times for 21 yards (5.3 ypc).  Torry Holt led the receivers on the Rams with 5 catches for 63 yards (12.6 avg).  The Rams finished up with 136 yards rushing on 34 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 26 passes for 109 yards.

The defense was pretty awful for the Rams as they couldn’t stop the “powerful” Bucs’ running game.  The Bucs carried the ball 32 times for 182 yards (5.7 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 22 passes for 140 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270923027

Not one touchdown? Get rid of Linahan…he’s a loser and obviously can’t motivate the Rams.

Look for this game to be one of the most entertaining games of the day on Sunday.  Neither team has much of a defense which could make this game a shootout.  The Rams will likely come out throwing against a Bucs defense that is allowing 224.0 yards passing per game this season.  Marc Bulger will likely use all of the weapons at his disposal in this football game as Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Randy McMichael and Drew Bennett will be attacking the Bucs’ defensive backs.  That’s not all as RB Steven Jackson (118 yards rushing, 3.0 ypc) should find running room against a Bucs defense that is allowing 119.0 yards rushing per game and 4.0 ypc.

The Bucs will likely try to run the football first and then run some play action throwing the ball deep to Joey Galloway against the injury depleted secondary of the Rams.  Cadillac Williams (121 yards rushing, 3.4 ypc, 2 TDs) will likely be the main man in the running game against a Rams defense that is allowing 137.5 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  WR Joey Galloway is a huge mis-match against anyone in the Rams secondary so it’s possible that they will attempt to double team him.  That still might not matter as Galloway (9 rec, 207 yards, 2 TDs) is playing like he still is in his 20′s.  WR Ike Hilliard and TE Alex Smith will also be targeted often in the passing game by Jeff Garcia.

PREDICTION:  This game is a tossup.  I think the game will be high scoring and I have a hunch that the Rams will pull it out by a field goal.  Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucs made it two wins in a row.

Considering that the offensive line hasn’t been blocking too well this season and the Rams haven’t been able to run the ball at all……Marc Bulger hasn’t played that bad this season.  The Rams are only averaging 68.5 yards rushing per game and Bulger has already been sacked 7 times this season but he has kept his eye on the prize.  Bulger has completed 46 of 83 passes (55.4%) for 535 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions (83.2 QB Rating) so far this season.  The line had better start blocking for Bulger and Jackson or Gus Frerotte will get some playing time at QB for the Rams this season and that’s not a good thing.

Rams cornerback Tye Hill will miss the next 4-6 weeks after breaking multiple bones in his back during last Thursday’s practice.  He had 8 tackles in the season opener and he’s definately the best cover corner on the Rams roster.  His injury will force the Rams to start Ronald Bartell (10 tackles, sack) and Lenny Walls (4 tackles) at cornerback until Hill returns.  This will hurt the Rams pass defense big-time.  This injury could force the Rams to push rookie CB Jonathan Wade into action before he’s really ready.

The St. Louis Rams had problems with ball security and along the offensive line and that doomed them in this football game.  Marc Bulger completed 24 of 41 passes for 368 yards with 1 TD pass.  But, he was sacked 6 times as the line didn’t give him enough time and he also lost a fumble.  RB Steven Jackson couldn’t find anywhere to run against the 49ers defense as he carried the football 21 times for 60 yards (2.9 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 36 yards (12.0 avg).  WRs Isaac Bruce (8 rec, 145 yards, 18.1 avg) and Torry Holt (5 rec, 74 yards, 1 TD) both had good games Sunday but it wasn’t quite enough to get in the win column.  The Rams finished with 61 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.7 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 41 passes for 331 yards.

The Rams defense played an outstanding game which was a bit of a surprise.  DE James Hall led the way on defense for the Rams with 7 tackles and 1 sack.  Rookie DT Clifton Ryan was all over the football field as he had 4 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 fumble recovery.  The Rams held the 49ers to 89 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.2 ypc).  The Niners also completed 11 of 17 passes for just 97 yards passing.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270916014