This is a game between two really awful football teams.  The Rams have lost 17 games in a row dating back to last season and they are 2-21 in their last 23 games.  The Lions are 1-21 in their last 22 games so something will have to give in this game.  The last time that the Rams played on the road they lost 23-20 in OT at Jacksonville.  This could be the game that the Rams’ offense gets back on track.  The Rams will likely mix it up more than usual.  Steven Jackson will still be the focal point of the offense against a Lions’ D that is allowing 112.3 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  If the Rams can keep Marc Bulger upright he will likely be able to shred the Lions’ D through the air.  The Lions are allowing 258.5 yards passing per game this season and opposing QBs have a 118.7 QB Rating against them this year.

The Lions still aren’t sure who will start at QB this week as all three of the active QBs (Matt Stafford, Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton) are all hurting right now.  It’s looking like Stafford might get the start for the Lions.  The Rams are allowing 249.6 yards passing per game this season so if Calvin Johnson is able to play he will have a huge game.  But, Kevin Smith will be the major guy in the offense in this game for the Lions.  The Rams are allowing 135.9 yards rushing per game this season and 4.3 yards per carry so Smith will have more running room than he has had this whole season.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 30, RAMS 27

Danny Amendola has been a outstanding addition to the Rams after not starting the season with the team.  He has returned 29 kickoffs for 705 yards (24.3 avg) and he has returned 8 punts for 65 yards (8.1 avg) this year.  He is not only a very solid special teams player but he is starting to get the ball thrown to him at WR.  He has caught 14 passes for 115 yards (8.2 avg) so far this season.  In a season where the Rams seem to be auditioning players for the future it looks like they might had a keeper in Amendola.

The Rams have signed 26-year old Ryan Neill to take over as the starting long snapper.  He played in all 16 games for the Bills last season in the role of long snapper.  Neill has now played in 3 years in the NFL appearing in 32 games.  Hopefully he’s good on snapping the ball to the punter which he will do much more than snapping to a holder.

The Rams have lost 23-year old CB Brandon Fletcher for the rest of the season as he needs surgery to repair a hyperextended knee.  Fletcher played in all 7 games for the Rams this season and he had 23 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he defensed 1 pass.  This hurts the depth of the Rams’ secondary.  Fletcher was the teams’ third round pick out of Iowa in last April’s NFL Draft.

The Rams have lost starting guard Richie Incognito indefinately with a low grade LisFranc injury in his foot.  LisFranc injuries are often more serious than it first appears.  This is bad news for the Rams as Incognito is a player that brings a nasty attitude to the field which the offense will miss.  Adam Goldberg will start in his place and that’s likely bad news for both Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson.

The St. Louis Rams have lost long snapper Chris Massey for the season due to a torn ACL in his left knee.  Back up tight end Billy Bajema will replace Massey the rest of the season.  The Rams better hope that Bajema does a good job replacing Massey as they can ill afford to leave any points on the field.

Last week must have been a mirage for the Rams as they sucked yesterday.  Marc Bulger had another terrible game completing 14 of 26 passes for 140 yards with 2 INTs (one was returned 35 yards by Colts’ CB Jacob Lacey for a TD).  Steven Jackson was excellent as usual but it didn’t really matter in this game as he carried the ball 23 times for 134 yards (5.8 ypc).  WRs Donnie Avery (2 rec, 58 yards) and Danny Amendola (5 rec, 39 yards) leading the way in the passing game for the Rams yesterday.  The Rams finished up with 272 total yards on offense (155 rushing, 117 passing) in this game.

The defense was led by safety Oshiomogho Atowge and DE C.J. Ah You who had 7 tackles apiece for the Rams.  But the Rams’ D was pathetic again in this game as the Colts rolled up 391 total yards on offense (156 rushing, 235 passing).  The Rams are now 0-7 on the season.

This game looks like a mis-match in every possible way.  The 5-0 Colts had last week off giving them two weeks to get ready for the 0-6 Rams.  The Rams have lost 16 games in a row dating back to last season and they won’t have much of a chance of winning on Sunday.  The Colts will likely come out throwing the ball with Peyton Manning (114.1 QB Rating) working against a Rams’ defense that is allowing 252.0 yards passing per game.  WRs Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon and TE Dallas Clark will likely be running free against the Rams’ secondary with Peyton Manning picking them apart with precision.  The Colts have only allowed 2 sacks this season but that won’t stop the Rams from trying to put pressure on Manning.  If the Colts jump out to a quick lead (which is likely) they might get Joseph Addai and Donald Brown more involved in the offense as the Rams are allowing 132.5 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry.

The Rams probably have seen the game film of the Monday Night Football Game between the Dolphins and Colts and they will likely try to duplicate the Fins’ game plan.  That means that Steven Jackson will have a huge workload but he’s more than capable of handling it with his wide shoulders.  The best way to beat Peyton Manning and the Colts is to keep their offense on the sidelines.  The Colts are allowing 103.2 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry this season.  Jackson has rushed for 501 yards this season and he has caught the ball for 170 more so it’s no mystery who the Colts’ defense will be focusing on stopping.  The Rams don’t have the WRs or the offensive line to give Marc Bulger much of a chance to get a passing game going this week.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 35, RAMS 13

With the WRs not adding much to the offense and the QBs (sacked 13 times this season) not having much time to throw the ball the Rams have been turning to the TE in the passing game.  Randy McMichael and Daniel Fells have combined for 27 catches for 293 yards (10.9 avg) with 2 TD grab this season.  As long as McMichael and Fells keep catching the football, Marc Bulger and Kyle Boller will keep getting the ball to them.

The Rams have traded 29-year old linebacker Will Witherspoon to the Philadelphia Eagles for WR Brandon Gibson and a 5th round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.  Witherspoon played in 6 games for the Rams this season and he had 33 tackles and 1 forced fumble.  In 4 years with the Rams, Witherspoon played in 54 games in which he made 331 tackles, defensed 18 passes, had 11 sacks, forced 6 fumbles and he picked off 1 pass.  Brandon Gibson is a rookie 6th round pick out of Washington State who just couldn’t get on the field due to the deep WR corps of the Eagles.  That shouldn’t be a problem in St. Louis where he should get onto the field as early as this weekend.