25-year old inside linebacker James Laurinaitis has been a force for the Rams on D once again this year.  He has played in 15 games for the Rams so far this year and he has 133 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 7 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  Laurinaitis has now played in played in 47 games in his first three years with the Rams and he has 367 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss, 8 sacks, 17 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries and 5 interceptions.  He has been a bright spot in another lost season for the Rams.

28-year old RB Steven Jackson has played really well for the Rams this year.  He has played in 11 games for the Rams so far this year and he has carried the ball 182 times for 832 yards (4.6 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He has also caught 27 passes for 162 yards (6.0 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  Jackson has now played in 111 games in his first 8 years with the Rams and he has carried the ball 2,060 times for 8,780 yards (4.3 ypc) with 51 TD runs.  He has also caught 354 passes for 2,832 yards (8.0 avg) with 8 TD grabs so far in his career.  Jackson is averaging 104.6 yards from scrimmage in his 111 games in his career with the Rams, showing just how important he is to the offense.

24-year old linebacker James Laurinaitis is a tackling machine for the Rams.  He has played in 11 games for the Rams so far this year and he has 90 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 6 passes defensed, 2 interceptions and 1 fumble recovery.  He has now played in 43 games in his first three years with the Rams and he has 324 tackles, 7 sacks, 16 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries, 16 passes defensed and 5 interceptions.  Laurinaitis is the bright light on a terrible defense for the Rams, but at least he’s a solid building block for the future.

26-year old DE Chris Long is finally playing like the Rams thought he would when they drafted him four years ago.  Long has played in 9 games for the Rams so far this year and he has 19 tackles, 8 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 2 passes defensed.  He has now played in 57 games in his first four years with the Rams and he has 131 tackles, 25.5 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, 6 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 6 passes defensed.  The Rams hope that Long keeps rolling along as they only have 22 sacks as a team and he has 36.4% of them.

The Rams need to stick with the running game a little more.  They are averaging 99.0 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry so far this year.  Steven Jackson is back healthy and the Rams need to feed him the ball.  Jackson has played in 4 games for the Rams so far this year and he has carried the ball 41 times for 220 yards (5.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 8 passes for 48 yards (6.0 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  He is by far the best offensive player on the Rams, so they need to get the ball in his hands as much as possible.  Cadillac Williams is also having a solid year for the Rams.  Williams has played in 4 games for the Rams so far this year and he has carried the ball 53 times for 219 yards (4.1 ypc).  He has also caught 12 passes for 74 yards (6.2 ypc) so far this year.  Jerious Norwood has just been getting a few scraps from the table this year.  Norwood has played in 3 games for the Rams this year and he has 6 carries for 18 yards (3.0 ypc).

Steven Jackson hurt his quad muscle against the Eagles after carrying the ball 2 times for 56 yards (28.0 avg) with 1 TD run.  He is going to miss at least this Monday Night’s Game against the Giants.  So the starting RB job will fall to 29-year old Cadillac Williams until Jackson is ready to return to action.  Williams carried the ball 19 times for 91 yards (4.8 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 49 yards (9.8 avg) last weekend against the Eagles.  He should be able to do a solid job while Jackson is out of action.

23-year old rookie QB Sam Bradford really stepped up as a rookie last season as the Rams improved from 1-15 to 7-9 in his first year.  Bradford played in all 16 games for the Rams last season and he completed 354 of 590 passes (60%) for 3,512 yards with 18 TD passes and 15 INTs (76.5 QB Rating).  Bradford also carried the ball 27 times for 63 yards  (2.3 ypc) with 1 TD run last season.  Wait until Bradford gets some more help at WR and TE which will likely come this April in the NFL Draft.

33-year old A.J. Feeley didn’t get onto the field this year for the Rams.  Feeley last played in an NFL game way back in 2007 with the Eagles.  Feeley has played in 23 games in his NFL career and he has completed 372 of 665 passes (55.9%) for 4,070 yards with 27 TD passes and 29 INTs (69.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 34 times for 45 yards (1.3 ypc) with a TD run in his career.

VERDICT:  The Rams might change backup QBs, but Sam Bradford is going to keep getting better with experience.

UPDATE:  (2/5/2010) – Sam Bradford has won the A.P.  NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award!

25-year old DE Chris Long looks like he’s finally starting to get it together, at least as a pass rusher.  Long has played in all 15 games for the Rams so far this year and he has 28 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 8.5 sacks, 3 passes defensed, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  Long has now played in 47 games in his first three years with the Rams and he has 111 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 17.5 sacks and 5 forced fumbles.  Maybe Long’s dad (Pro Football Hall of Fame DE Howie Long) finally gave his kid some tips because he looks like a different player for the Rams this year.

The Rams did a good job last April in the NFL Draft and 23-year old CB Jerome Murphy is putting together a solid rookie season.  Murphy was taken in the 3rd round (#65 overall) out of South Florida last April.  He has played in 11 games for the Rams so far this year and he has 27 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 passes defensed, 1 interception, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  Murphy has the look of a starter in the near future as he has made his share of big plays for the Rams’ D so far this year.

The Rams are now 6-6 on the season which has them tied for first place in the NFC West just one year after being 1-15.  What is the biggest reason for the turnaround?  23-year old rookie QB Sam Bradford!  In his last 7 games, Bradford has completed 153 of 239 passes (64%) for 1,494 yards with 11 TD passes and 2 INTs.  He has also carried the ball 20 times for 46 yards (2.3 ypc) in those games.  The Rams are 4-3 in their last seven games and they easily could have won two of those games that they lost as they lost by a combined 4 points to the Buccaneers & 49ers on the road.  Bradford has now played in 12 games for the Rams this year and he has completed 268 of 442 passes (60.6%) for 2,653 yards with 17 TD passes and 10 INTs (81.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 23 times for 56 yards (2.4 ypc) so far this year.  The scary thing for the NFC West is that Bradford doesn’t even have any impact receivers and he’s putting up solid numbers.  He has a HUGE upside!