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

The St. Louis Rams (1-10) are on the road against the Chicago Bears (4-7) Sunday.  The Bears have been playing awful as of late and have lost four straight games.  Unfortunately for the Rams, the Bears are still a better team than them.  However, if the Rams defense can rattle Jay Cutler like many other teams have done, they can get themselves a lot of turnovers.  The Bears offensive line is pretty weak, so they may have some opportunities to get to Cutler.  Also, the Bears running game has been nearly non-existent, so stopping Matt Forte may not be too difficult of a task.

The Rams offense will be relying heavily on Steven Jackson, who has been the only bright spot for them all year.  Jackson has a bad back though, so he may not be as effective as usual.  The Bears do give up 126 rushing yards per game, so Jackson will probably have a good day despite his back.  Still, this Rams team is not on the same level as most other NFL teams and the Bears will most likely win convincingly.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  St. Louis Rams 14, Chicago Bears 28

The St. Louis Rams (0-3) are still looking for their first win of the year as they head west to take on the San Francisco 49ers.  The Rams will be without their starting quarterback Marc Bulger, who bruised the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder in the first quarter last week.  Kyle Bulger will be starting in place of Bulger and it will be his first start since December of 2007.  The Rams also lost receiver Laurent Robinson for the year with an ankle fracture.  The 49ers are also missing one of their best players, as running back Frank Gore is out with an ankle injury.

The Rams are going to rely heavily on Steven Jackson, as he has had a great year so far for the Rams.  Whether it’s on the ground or through the air, Jackson is the biggest threat on offense for the Rams.  Although Jackson is without a touchdown, he has rushed for 288 yards on 60 carries (4.8 avg) and in the past two games he has caught nine passes for 61 yards.  Kyle Boller hooked up with tight end Daniel Fells for two touchdowns last week, but he also threw an interception and really struggled to keep a rhythm in the second half.

The Rams have one of the worst run-defenses in the league and are lucky Frank Gore will be sitting this one out.  Rookie Glen Coffee will start for the injured Gore and has not been very good thus far.  He will be better than his 1.8 yard per carry average though and 49ers coach Mike Singeltary said he is not going to change the game-plan and is confident in Coffee’s abilities.  If the rookie settles in, the Rams will be in trouble.  The Rams have a good opportunity to win this game with Gore out and if Boller can play more consistent and complete a better percentage of his passes (51% last week).  The 49ers are the better football team though and should win this game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Rams 17, 49ers 27

With head coach Scott Linehan’s future on the line I expect the Rams to play with more fire than they did last season.  A return to health by a lot of players on offense will make the Rams a much better football team as they are not nearly as bad as they played last season.  Take the over as the Rams will likely win 8 or more games in 2008.

I think the Rams are going to be the team to rise in the NFC West.  Let everyone else talk about the Niners, Seahawks and Cardinals because no one will be able to stop the Rams offense this season.  Look for the Rams to regain their moniker as the “Greatest Show on Turf” this season as they will win 10-12 games this season.  You heard that here first.  Take the over!

The over/under for the Rams is 7 wins.  The Rams are 60-1 to win the Super Bowl and 22-1 to win the NFC.

I suggest a bet on the over.  Linehan will make this a better team quickly, plus the schedule doesn’t look to tough.

The Rams have done very well against the Bears when playing in St. Louis.  The Rams have covered 5 of the last seven meetings between the teams.  With this game being on December 11th, who knows whether the QB will be Grossman, Griese or Orton by then.  I don’t think it will make a difference as the Rams will score on the Bears D and force them out of their gameplan, which is run, run, and run.

The Rams win and cover December 11th against the Bears.  Now you can afford to get the braces for the kid, courtesy of Marc Bulger.