The Rams made too many mistakes to win this football game.  Kyle Boller completed 28 of 46 passes for 282 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (1 was returned 65 yards for a TD by Josh Wilson).  Boller also carried the ball 3 times for 26 yards (8.7 ypc) yesterday.  Steven Jackson was busy with 23 carries for 89 yards (3.9 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also carried the ball 5 times for 27 yards (5.4 avg).  Ruvell Martin led the way for the Rams with 60 yards on 2 catches (30.0 avg) yesterday.  Danny Amendola (7 rec, 55 yards) and Donnie Avery (4 rec, 48 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Rams in the passing game.  The Rams finished up with 364 total yards (113 rushing, 251 passing) on offense as they had possession of the ball for 33:32.

LB James Laurinaitis (9 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) and safety Oshiomogho Atowge (9 tackles, 1 pass defensed) led the way for the D yesterday.  The Seahawks finished up with 265 total yards on offense (170 rushing, 95 passing) yesterday.  The Rams are now 1-10 on the year.

The Seahawks have won nine games in a row including a 28-0 beat-down in Seattle to open the season.  But, the Seahawks are 0-5 on the road this season and they have been outscored a combined 161-73!  Before Rams’ fans get too excited those games were against the Vikings, Colts, Cardinals, Cowboys and 49ers who are all superior teams to the Rams.  The Seahawks will likely try to jump the Rams early with the passing game in an attempt to get a quick lead which would force the Rams to throw more instead of handing the ball to Steven Jackson.  If Hasselbeck gets the time he needs to throw the ball he should be able to get it to WRs T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Nate Burleson and TE John Carlson.  Justin Forsett had a rough first game as the starting RB for the Seahawks against the Vikings but he should be able to find a lot more running room against the Rams who are allowing 146.4 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry this year. 

The Rams have really played pretty well the last three weeks winning one of them (vs. Lions) and losing 2 of them (vs. Saints and Cardinals).  The Rams will likely feed the ball to Steven Jackson as much as possible in this game as the Seahawks are allowing 110.5 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry.  The passing game might be of the deeper variety this week for the Rams as Kyle Boller will be starting for the injured Marc Bulger (broken leg).  The Seahawks are allowing 236.8 yards passing per game so far this season and opposing QBs have a 96.5 Rating against them so the Rams could have some success throwing the ball.

PREDICTION:  RAMS 27, SEAHAWKS 23

The Rams have lost starting QB Marc Bulger for the next 3-6 weeks with a fractured tibia.  Bulger has played in 9 games for the Rams this season and he has completed 140 of 247 passes (56.7%) for 1,469 yards with 5 TD passes and 6 INTs (70.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 8 times for 22 yards (2.8 ypc) so far this season.  Kyle Boller will replace Bulger in the starting lineup.  He has played in 3 games for the Rams this year and he has completed 49 of 86 passes (57%) for 481 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs (66.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 9 times for 37 yards (4.1 ypc) this year.  Boller has a stronger arm than Bulger but he just isn’t that good of a QB and he will be on a short leash this time around for the Rams.  Rookie Keith Null out of West Texas A&M will get the shot to show what he can do if Boller doesn’t play well.

The Rams really don’t have any help for Steven Jackson on offense and teams continue to game plan to stop him every week but he continues to rise above it and produce at a high level.  Jackson has played in all 10 games for the Rams this season and he has carried the ball 215 times for 1,031 yards (4.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He has also caught 35 passes for 231 yards  (6.6 avg) so far this season for the Rams.  He is a amazing football player and if the Rams could just pass the ball a little better he would even be more dominating.  Jackson has now played in 79 games for the Rams in his six year NFL career and he has carried the ball 1,439 times for 6,322 yards (4.4 ypc) with 40 TD runs.  Jackson has also caught 265  passes for 2,196 yards in his career.  Jackson is averaging 107.8 yards rushing and receiving per game in his NFL career so far and that is outstanding.  There is no reason to think Jackson will be slowing down any time soon.

The Rams fell behind 21-3 at the half and that was just too much for them to overcome today.  Marc Bulger completed 19 of 37 passes for 215 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT.  Stephen Jackson did his part as usual carrying the ball 24 times for 116 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  WRs Donnie Avery (4 rec, 65 yards), Brandon Gibson (5 rec, 61 yards) and Danny Amendola (4 rec, 61 yards) each played well for the Rams today.  The Rams finished up with 314 total yards on offense (123 rushing, 191 passing) today.

Rookie linebacker James Laurinaitis led the way for the Rams today with 16 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit.  Safety James Butler pitched in with 8 tackles today.  The Cardinals finished up with 444 total yards (183 rushing, 261 passing) in this game.  The Rams are now 1-9 on the year.

The Cardinals can’t overlook the Rams who are playing much better than they were early in the year.  They almost beat the Saints last week and they won the game before it against the Lions.  The offense is starting to really click for the Cardinals now and they will be attacking the Rams through the air the minute they get off the team bus.  The Rams are allowing 236.2 yards passing per game and the Cards are averaging 271.0 yards passing per game so Kurt Warner will be throwing the ball early and often in this game.  The Rams don’t really have the corners to deal with Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston so it could be a long day for the Rams if they can’t put any pressure on Warner.  Don’t be surprised if Beanie Wells has a huge game against a Rams’ D that is allowing 142.3 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.

The Rams are going to do what they always do on offense and that’s get the ball to Steven Jackson.  Jackson is a absolute beast even if you stack the box against him.  The Cardinals are allowing 101.0 yards rushing per game and 4.2 ypc so Jackson will likely get his yards.  The Cardinals will no doubt be cheating up against the run so it will be up to QB Marc Bulger to make them pay for it.  The Cardinals are allowing 253.4 yards passing per game so Bulger could have a good game against them.  That will depend on young receivers Donnie Avery and Brandon Gibson who must get separation at the line of scrimmage.

PREDICTION:  CARDINALS 35, RAMS 14

The Rams have lost 27-year old DE C.J. Ah You for the year with a torn ACL.  Ah You had 17 tackles, 1 sack and he defensed 1 pass this year for the Rams.  This means that 26-year old Victor Adeyanju will likely get more P.T. for the Rams going forward.  He has played in 3 games for the Rams this season and he has 1 tackle.  He has played 4 years in his NFL career appearing in 46 games in which he has 111 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 3 sacks. 

The Rams have signed 25-year old WR Jordan Kent.  Kent has nice size at 6’4″, 219 pounds but he has not caught a pass yet in his three years in the NFL.  He will likely get his first chance to help the Rams on special teams as he has 3 career tackles.  Don’t expect miracles out of Kent who has shown nothing yet in his NBA career.

The Rams have lost WR Keenan Burton for the year due to a torn right patellar tendon.  Burton played in 9 games for the Rams this season and he caught 25 passes for 253 yards (10.1 avg).  The Rams will likely turn to rookie WR Brandon Gibson to replace Burton in the starting lineup.  Gibson has played in 2 games for the Rams so far this season and he has caught 7 passes for 93 yards (13.3 avg).  Gibson has a higher upside than Burton so this might actually pump up the passing game a little bit as Burton was just a possession receiver.

The Rams showed a lot of life on offense in this game as they put a scare into the undefeated Saints earlier today.  Marc Bulger has his best game of the year for the Rams completing 26 of 40 passes for 298 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Steven Jackson had another huge game as was expected as he carried the ball 26 times for 131 yards (5.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also added 5 catches for 45 yards (9.0 avg) today.  Rookie WR Brandon Gibson had the best game of his NFL career for the Rams with 7 catches for 93 yards (13.3 avg).  Donnie Avery also had a huge game for the Rams with 4 catches for 67 yards (16.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  The Rams finished up with 434 total yards on offense (141 rushing, 293 passing) in this game.

DE James Hall led another sub par effort by the Rams’ D with 6 tackles.  Safeties James Butler (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and Oshiomogho Atowge (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also pitched in with solid efforts on the defense today for the Rams.  The Saints finished up with 420 total yards on offense (203 rushing, 217 passing) in this game.  The special teams of the Rams also had a huge gaffe as Courtney Roby returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD today.  The Rams have fallen to 1-8 on the year with this loss.