25-year old WR Danny Amendola has underwent surgery to repair a triceps injury and he is officially done for the season.  Amendola played in 1 game for the Rams this year and he caught 5 passes for 45 yards (9.0 avg).  He has played in 31 games in his first 3 years with the Rams and he has caught 133 passes for 1,060 yards (8.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Amendola was Sam Bradford’s safety net last year for the Rams.  23-year old rookie WR Austin Pettis is going to get his shot to replace Amendola in the slot.  He has played in 2 games for the Rams so far this year and he has caught 6 passes for 40 yards (6.7 avg).  The Rams really need Pettis to step up and give Bradford a receiver he trusts on the short stuff.

The Rams have lost 25-year old starting cornerback Bradley Fletcher for the rest of the 2011 season after he tore his right ACL in practice.  Fletcher played in all four games for the Rams so far this year and he had 23 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Fletcher has now played in 27 games in his first three years with the Rams and he has 121 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery, 4 interceptions and 13 passes defensed.  The Rams will need either 36-year old Al Harris or 30-year old Roderick Hood to step up for the rest of the season.  Harris has played in 4 games for the Rams so far this year and he has 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  Roderick Hood was just signed last week by the Rams and he has yet to play in a game this year.  This is terrible news for the Rams as Fletcher was playing pretty decent football this year.

The Rams are a pretty decent running team but they need more balance on offense.  They need young WRs Mike Sims-Walker, Brandon Gibson and Danario Alexander to step up.  Mike Sims-Walker has played in all 3 games for the Rams so far this year and he has caught 10 passes for 133 yards (13.3 avg).  He probably has the highest upside of this bunch.  Brandon Gibson has already caught 12 passes for 157 yards (13.1 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  Danario Alexander has bad knees but he also has a knack for getting down the field in the passing game.  He has played in 2 games for the Rams so far this year and he has caught 5 passes for 150 yards (30.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Sam Bradford really doesn’t trust any of the other active WRs on the roster right now, so this trio is going to have to stay healthy and step their games up a tad going forward.

23-year old QB Sam Bradford is off to a slow start for the Rams so far this year.  He has played in both of the Rams games so far this year and he has completed 39 of 76 passes (51.3%) for 519 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (77.7 QB Rating).  Bradford has also carried the ball 4 times for 0 yards (0.0 ypc).  The Rams are only averaging 14.5 points per game this year and while part of that is due to injuries to Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola, Bradford still needs to step up.

With Ron Bartell likely out for the rest of the season due to a neck injury, the Rams need 24-year old CB Justin King to step up and replace him in the starting lineup.  King had 7 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 sack in yesterday’s game against the Eagles.  In King’s first two years with the Rams (2009 and 2010), King played in 23 games in which he had 55 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 4 passes defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  The Rams really need King to take advantage of his increase in playing time or the secondary is suddenly going to be in a lot of trouble.

The Rams have lost 22-year old TE Mike Hoomanawanui for the next 4-6 weeks due to a high ankle sprain.  He has played in 7 games so far this year for the Rams and he has caught 13 passes for 146 yards (11.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Rams will need 27-year old Daniel Fells and 28-year old Billy Bajema to step up with Hoomanawanui out of action.  Fells has played in 11 games for the Rams so far this year and he has 25 catches for 233 yards (9.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Bajema has played in 8 games for the Rams this year and he has 11 catches for 106 yards (9.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  I think that Fells & Bajema are going to step up for the Rams the next few weeks.

If Marc Bulger decides to retire then the Rams should completely start over at QB for the 2010 season.  32-year old Marc Bulger got really beat up this year.  He played in 9 games for the Rams this season and he completed 140 of 247 passes (56.7%) for 1,469 yards with 5 TD passes and 6 INTs (70.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for 22 yards (2.8 ypc) this year.  Bulger has now played in 96 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,969 of 3,171 passes (62.1%) for 22,814 yards with 122 TD passes and 93 INTs (84.4 QB Rating).  Bulger has also carried the ball 118 times for 300 yards (2.5 ypc) with 8 TD runs in his career.  I think all of the physical beatings the last couple of years that Bulger has taken has taken away some of his fire to play the game.  I hope he retires for his own health.

28-year old Kyle Boller has a big time right arm but little else.  He played in 7 games for the Rams this season and he completed 98 of 176 passes (55.7%) for 899 yards with 3 TD passes and 6 INTs (61.2 QB Rating).  Boller also carried the ball 13 times for 76 yards (5.8 ypc) this year.  Boller has now played in 60 games in his NFL career and he has completed 844 of 1,487 passes (56.8%) for 8,745 yards with 48 TD passes and 50 INTs (70.6 QB Rating).  Boller has also carried the ball 160 times for 516 yards (3.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career.  The Rams should let Boller go and try to sign a better QB to back up Marc Bulger or the new starter in 2010.

24-year old rookie Keith Null was thrown into the fire last season and the results weren’t too good.  He played in 4 games for the Rams this season and he completed 73 of 119 passes (61.3%) for 566 yards with 3 TD passes and 9 INTs (49.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for 6 yards (1.2 ypc).  Null probably has a chance of sticking with the Rams but only as the #3 QB in 2010.

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.

24-year old Chris Long has been nowhere near the player his daddy was (Howie Long).  He has played in 8 games this season for the Rams and he has 27 tackles and 1 sack.  Long has now played in 24 games in his two years with the Rams and he has 67 tackles, 5 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  To this point in his career, Long has to be considered a bust but he still has time to turn his career around.  The Rams can not afford to make these kinds of mistakes when picking as high as they have been in the draft or they will continue to be a pretty poor football team.

Rams’ QBs have been sacked 12 times this season and they have really been hit hard on some passes after they have gotten rid of the ball.  Kyle Boller who had been starting for Marc Bulger who was recovering from a bruised rotator cuff got knocked out of the game last week against the Vikings when a defender cracked him in the head.  Bulger relieved him and he completed all 7 of his pass attempts in garbage time.  He will get the call against the Jaguars as the starting QB this week.  He has completed 42 of 75 passes (56%) for 427 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs (81.4 QB Rating).  With the way the O-Line is blocking Kyle Boller will need to get healthy soon as he will likely get another chance to start at some point this season.  He has completed 49 of 86 passes (57%) for 481 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 INTs (66.1 QB Rating).  Bulger has a better upside but Boller has the stronger arm.  With the WRs the Rams have though it might not matter who is playing QB for them.