35-year old DE Leonard Little is starting to slow down for the Rams and his career could be near to coming to a close.  Little has played in all 13 games for the Rams this season and he has 23 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 5 passes defensed and 1 interception (he returned it 36 yards for a TD).  He has now played in 147 games in his 12 years with the Rams and he has made 366 tackles, defensed 14 passes, forced 33 fumbles, picked off two passes and he has 87.5 sacks.  Little might still have a little bit left in the tank but the Rams are a rebuilding team which means they might let him go after the year.

23-year old inside linebacker James Laurinaitis is quite simply the best defensive player on the Rams.  The 2nd round pick out of Ohio State has played in 13 games for the Rams this season and he has 104 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 sack, defensed 3 passes and he has 2 interceptions.  Despite the awful season the Rams have had on defense they now have a building block in Laurinaitis. 

The Rams have released starting right guard Richie Incognito.  He played in 9 games (all starts) for the Rams this season.  He played 5 year for the Rams playing in 44 games (all starts).  The Rams felt the need to part ways with Incognito because of the fact that he often plays out of control drawing penalties.  That didn’t stop the Bills from claiming him off waivers today.  25-year old Mark Setterstrom will replace Incognito in the starting line-up.  He has played in 7 games (1 start) this year and he has played in 17 games (10 starts) in his 3 years with the Rams.

Kyle Boller could not go due to a thigh injury so rookie quarterback Keith Null was forced to start for the St. Louis Rams (1-12) against the Tennessee Titans (6-7) on Sunday, and he was obviously not ready to be a starting quarterback yet.  It was Null’s NFL debut, and he threw 5 interceptions that the Titans turned into 20 points.  Steven Jackson played through a sore back and wasn’t much help to Null.  He rushed for a season-low 47 yards on 19 carries.  Kenneth Darby did have a 51-yard run on a fake punt, one of the few good plays of the day for the Rams.

The Rams defense could not do anything against the Titans, and with the offense turning the ball over so much they were worn down early.  Even though Titans’ starting quarterback Vince Young left the game with a hamstring injury, the Rams couldn’t stop the Titans.  Young passed for 154 yards and a touchdown on 6/8 passes before leaving.  Kerry Collins came in for Young and picked up right where he left off, passing for 154 yards and a touchdown on 11/19 passes.  Chris Johnson did the most damage though, rushing 28 times for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns and catching 3 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.  This was another ugly loss for the Rams.

The St. Louis Rams (1-11) are going up against a very good running team in Tennessee Titans (5-7), which is bad news for the Rams.  They are giving up 146 rushing yards per contest, and the Titans have this year’s best running back Chris Johnson.  Johnson has already rushed for over 1,500 yards this season and is averaging 6.2 yards per carry.  They also have to worry about the Titans’ quarterback Vince Young in both the passing and running game.  This game does not bode well for the Rams’ defense.

Kyle Boller will need to provide a lot more than what he has if the Rams want to come out victorious.  Steven Jackson has been one of the few bright spots for the Rams this year, so if Boller can get anything going in the passing game it will relieve the pressure off Jackson.  The Titans do not have a very good pass-defense, giving up 267 passing yards per game, so it is a possibility for Boller to have a good game.  It is not likely though, and with the Rams having such a weak run-defense the Titans will run away with this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 31, St. Louis Rams 14