St. Louis Rams

Sam Bradford is the real deal. After a stellar rookie season, Bradford looks now to avoid the sophomore slump and continue to establish himself as one of the next generation of elite players. Along with Matt Ryan in the NFC South and Matthew Stafford in the NFC North, Bradford is one of a trio of exceptional young men playing for teams years from their heyday.

Of the three teams, the Rams have at least known real success, winning the Superbowl in the 1999 season. The Falcons have lost a Superbowl (to the Broncos after the 1998 season) but Stafford’s lowly Lions have never even been to the big game, despite calling Barry Sanders one of their own for the duration of his illustrious career.

Now though, these three teams are all going in the right direction, and even though Matt Ryan’s Falcons secured the number one seed last year, it is possibly Bradford’s Rams who have the best chance of tasting postseason action this year.

Consider this: the Falcons are a 2nd tier team with some exceptional players, a good coaching staff and another year under their belts, but they are still young, mentally susceptible to adversity and playing in an extremely tough division that I don’t even rate them as favourites to win.

The Lions are possibly the most improved team in the NFL. If Stafford can stay healthy, the sky should be the limit. The problem is the sky ain’t Detroit blue. It’s clouded by both contestants from last year’s NFC Championship game, one of which happens to be the world champion Green Bay Packers.

For those reasons, the Rams – 7-9 finishers last year, which, amazingly had them tied for first in the NFC West – are the most likely to make the playoffs. Although Seattle probably have the edge, based solely on experience, and the Cardinals have the firepower if they can work out how to utilise it with Kolb under centre, the Rams have talent and older heads on their shoulders than other young sides. The undeniable weakness of the NFC West gives them a shout, but to call anyone in that division a favourite is a compliment too far.

Verdict: I think the Rams will lose a lot of close games this year and look like the best team in the West despite a poorer than average record. 7-9 again and missing the playoffs by a single game. Next year, though, watch out!


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