2012 Opponent Preview: St. Louis Rams face Detroit Lions in Week 1
It’s time to start a new series of opponent preview. St. Louis Rams will be under spotlight this time.
Rams are going through the worst spell ever in their history. Last season, they finished 2-14. It was too much for owner Stan Kroenke to tolerate and he completely overhauled the coaching staff and management following the dismal season.
He brought in a new general manager and removed Steve Spagnuolo from the head coach job and appointed Jeff Fisher for the role.
Fisher is coming with a resume of striking magnitude. He is coming to Rams after spending nearly 16 years in the Tennessee Titans, making him the longest serving coach for a single team among the head coaches who are working at present.
Rams were faced with the issue of lack of roster depth last season. This was one of the main reasons of their slump.
Having got the second overall pick in the first round of this year’s draft, Rams had a chance to get young sensation like Robert Griffin III (RG3). Yet they chose roster depth instead of the top-notch asset.
They exchanged and traded down their picks in order to get more players. Another reason for trading the picks could be their unfortunate record of drafting top first-round picks. In the past, most of their picks failed to live up to their reputation.
One backside of having many young players is that the team has to be patient with them. Also, they need their quarterback Sam Bradford to be fully fit and ready to play the whole season.
This season, Rams are a completely new side and they could surprise many opponents with their play. They are going to start their season with a game against Detroit Lions.
Week 1: Detroit Lions
Lions have been getting a lot of attention this offseason. Surprisingly, most of the limelight has come because of bad reasons. Many of their players have been arrested recently for various crimes.
These issues should be resolved before training camp that will kick off at the end of this month.
Although they finished the last season 8-8, Lions have players like Matthew Strafford and Calvin Johnson to lead the side into the playoffs this season.
The rest of the offence is also looking good, while Chris Avril is leading the defensive side. With both teams upbeat about this season, the game between Rams and Lions looks to be very competitive.
Head-to-Head
Rams and Lions have faced each other 82 times. Rams have won 42 games while Lions have won 39 games. One game was tied.
Tags: