The Rams had issues running the football in 2007 and the reasons were two fold.  Injuries along the offensive line and the fact that Steven Jackson missed 4 games hurt the Rams running game.  Steven Jackson played in 12 games (all starts) last season for the Rams and he carried the ball 237 times for 1,002 yards (4.2 ypc) with 5 TD runs and he also caught 38 passes for 271 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Jackson has now played in 57 games (46 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 971 times for 4,249 yards (4.4 ypc) with 30 TD runs and he also has caught 190 passes for 1,586 yards (8.3 avg) with 6 TD grabs. 

While Steven Jackson was injured, rookie 2nd round pick Brian Leonard took over as the starter.  Leonard played in 16 games (7 starts) and he carried the ball 86 times for 303 yards (3.5 ypc).  He also caught 30 passes for 183 yards (6.1 avg).

Fellow rookie Antonio Pittman was brought in after the Saints let him go.  He played in 11 games and he carried the ball 38 times for 139 yards (3.7 ypc).  Pittman also caught 3 passes for 15 yards (5.0 avg).

Veteran Travis Minor picked up the scraps behind the first three backs.  Minor played in 14 games (0 starts) last season for the Rams and he carried the ball 17 times for 68 yards (4.0 ypc).  Minor also caught 12 passes for 86 yards (7.2 avg).  Minor has now played in 105 games (4 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 294 times for 1,201 yards (4.1 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  Minor has also caught 62 passes for 439 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.

Scott Linehan of the St. Louis Rams will be under pressure next season which will be his third with the team after the Rams limped to a 3-13 finish to the season.  Linehan has now coached two seasons for the Rams and he has a record of 11-21 (.344 %) in the regular season.  This year was quite a disappointment for the Rams who anticipated making a playoff run in 2007.

It’s hard to play QB when you are getting put on your back as often as the Rams’ QBs were.  The Rams QBs battled injury all season long and it was because of injuries along the offensive line.  Marc Bulger had his worst season ever in the NFL in 2007.  He played in 12 games this season for the Rams and he completed 221 of 378 passes (58.5%) for 2,392 yards with 11 TD passes and 15 interceptions (70.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 9 times for 13 yards (1.4 ypc) in 2006.   Bulger has now played in 72 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,578 of 2,484 passes (63.5%) for 18,625 yards with 106 TD passes and 74 interceptions (88.1 QB Rating).  Bulger has also carried the football 96 times for 237 yards (2.5 ypc) with 8 TD runs.

Gus Frerotte played most of the 2nd half of the season with a torn labrum in his right shoulder which helps explain why he had one of the worst seasons in his NFL career.  Frerotte played in 8 games last season for the Rams and he completed 94 of 167 passes (56.3%) for 1,014 yards with 7 TD passes and 12 interceptions (58.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 6 times for 3 yards (0.5 ypc).  Frerotte has now played in 136 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,521 of 2,805 passes (54.2%) for 19,134 yards with 102 TD passes and 91 interceptions (74.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 177 times for 308 yards (1.7 ypc) with 5 TD runs. 

Brock Berlin even got in on the action as he started a game against the Bengals in his NFL debut.  He completed 17 of 28 passes (60.7%) for 153 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (60.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the football 3 times for -16 yards (-5.3 ypc).

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The Rams played like they didn’t want to be in Arizona on Sunday and it showed on the scoreboard.  Marc Bulger had a rough time as he completed 13 of 25 passes for 176 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions.  Gus Frerotte followed Bulger in the game and he was awful too as he only completed 1 of 5 passes for 4 yards and a interception.  Steven Jackson didn’t have his best game either as he carried the ball 18 times for 55 yards (3.1 ypc).  Torry Holt was also busy as he caught 7 passes for 93 yards (13.3 avg).   The Rams finished up with 75 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 30 passes for 159 yards.

Linebacker Quinton Culberson led the way for the Rams defense with 11 tackles.  Oshiomogho Atogwe also had a outstanding game as he made 5 tackles and intercepted a pass that he returned 52 yards for a TD.  The Cardinals finished up with 122 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 39 passes for 300 yards.