St. Louis Rams Power Ranking Roundup

Sept. 9, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals fan watches the game in full pads during the second half against the Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

If yesterday was considered “overreaction Monday” than I suppose Tuesday would be the first day for the analysts and writers to come back down to Earth about their bold claims and over analyzing of the first game of the season. However, that is not the case, with a full wave of Power Rankings hitting the internet, with some drastic changes among many teams in the NFL. The unanimous high jumpers were the Washington Redskins, who saw a +9 bump in a number of polls. Other, like the New York Giants, lost their top spot, which was reserved from them following their Super Bowl victory in February. The Rams played a close game against a borderline Top 10 team, losing the heartbreaker in the final seconds. The defense played extremely well against one of the better passing games in the NFL, coming out +3 in turnover ratio, including one returned for points on the board. So, how do the “experts” see it?

Fox Sport’s Brian Billick has the Rams moving up a single spot from 27th to 26th, which is actually good enough for 2nd place in the NFC West. He rags on the Rams for a lack of production, and for not pulling out the win, but forgets to mention that we don’t get an extra timeout each week either,

"The Rams gave the Lions all they could on Sunday, but it still wasn’t good enough. Unfortunately for the Rams, that may be the case more often than not the remainder of the season. They simply don’t have the talent offensively to compete on a weekly basis."

ESPN continued their over-analysis of the NFC East and the New York Jets this week, with their average change in position being 5.2 spots. However, they did realize that the Seahawks were vastly overrated, dropping them 6 spots to 3rd in the NFC West. However, even with a disgusting loss to Arizona, the no-love Rams are anchoring the bottom of the division, moving up one spot from 28th to 27th, even though the explanation does not really explain why,

"The Rams are instantly more competitive under Jeff Fisher, but offensive line depth is a serious concern. (Sando)"

Bleacher Report gave the Rams the most praise, bumping them up from the bottom 5 to 24th. St. Louis is again sitting at 2nd in the division in their analysis, which is supported by some good points about the defense and the “victory” that the Rams did take away,

"Losing by four points to the Detroit Lions is a big win for the St. Louis Rams. The defense was very good, especially in the first half. Janoris Jenkins and Cortland Finnegan were superb in forcing Matthew Stafford into poor decisions—and that led to three first-half interceptions by the Lions quarterback. The fact that the Rams hung around in this game for so long is a major moral victory for the team, and enough to give them momentum heading into Week 2 versus Washington. The defense started out great, but they couldn’t finish the job. By the fourth quarter, Stafford was back on track and was finding openings without missing a beat. The Rams offense was solid, but there was too much pressure getting through to Sam Bradford, especially off the edge. For the Rams to play a complete game, and win, their outside protection has to be better."

CBSSports seemed equally as unimpressed as ESPN on the Rams, although they did not knock the Seahawks too hard for their loss. That was primarily because they had, for some reason, placed the Cardinals in the 19th spot prior to Week 1. They somehow had the 49ers as the 11th best team in the league prior to Week 1, but now they are sitting high at 4th. Surprisingly, the St. Louis Rams actually dropped a spot in their rankings, getting bumped out of the 28 spot by Minnesota after their overtime victory against the Jags, leaving the Rams at 29th. Sometimes I honestly wonder if these guys actually watch all of the game before talking about them,

"That was a tough way to lose a road opener against a supposed good team. But that also shows they will compete better than many expected."