Since the new rookie wage scale was introduced, the NFL Draft has turned from “mock-friendly” to a flea-market of trades and deals. The St. Louis Rams have fully embraced that change, trading down twice in the 2012 Draft and then trading out of both the 16th and 22nd spot yesterday. Less money for player and more ease in trades sets up the Draft for a number of  ”WTF” moments. Here are a handful from yesterday:

Miami Dolphins Take Dion Jordan 3rd Overall

When the announcement was leaked that the Miami Dolphins had traded up to take the Oakland Raiders spot at 3rd overall, the entire world saw “Lane Johnson” written all over the pick. When the commissioner announced Dion Jordan, everyone took a brief pause, including John Gruden…

The Entire Bills And Rams Trade Scenario

Throughout the day yesterday, the Buffalo Bills were blowing smoke that they might take Tavon Austin with the 8th overall pick. There were also rumblings that the New York Jets, who also held two 1st rounders, would bite on the WVU star if he fell to 9th in the draft. However, Snead and Co. decided to do a re-take of the Julio Jones trade in Atlanta, skyrocketing up the board from 16th to 8th and nabbing Austin before anyone else got a shot at him. However, the Austin pick was not the most intriguing of the two! With the 16th pick, the Bills chose to take the first, and only, quarterback in the 1st round… E.J. Manuel. The expression on Geno Smith’s face said it all.

The 19th and 20th Picks

“Short-armed,” lacks ideal size,” and “doesn’t respond well to sudden moves” are not attributes you want to describe your brand new offensive tackle, but that did not stop the New York  Giants from taking Justin Pugh with their 1st round pick yesterday. He is a versatile player, but would have likely been available in the mid- to late-2nd round. However, it only took one pick for everything to forget about the Giants and whip their attention to the Chicago Bears. Kyle Long, the brother of Chris Long on the St. Louis Rams, was projected as a 2nd rounder, with the potential to swing up into the late-1st. Apparently the Bears were not willing to wait, biting on the “high-ceiling” prospect before anyone else could even think about him…

Sharrif Floyd

You would be hard-pressed to find a mock where Floyd was not taken within the Top 15 in the 2013 NFL Draft, and yet, he was forced to sit “Aaron Rodgers-style” as his name dropped further and further down the draft board. The Minnesota Vikings stole the show on Thursday night, beginning by grabbing one of the top rated players in the draft at 23rd overall…

The Cowboys Being… Well, The Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys surprisingly went against their typical Jerry Jones-like style and traded back in the draft with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1st round. The ‘Boys are a team filled with holes, especially throughout the offensive line, but, more pressingly, on the defensive side of the football. With the 30th pick, the team was in prime position to take either Manti Te’o or their pick of Matt Elam or Jonathan Cyprien. Instead, they pick Travis Frederick… To be fair, Frederick was the top prospect at center on the majority of boards. However, he was also graded as a late-2nd to mid-3rd round pick in the 2013 NFL Draft…

With Monday Night Football finally past, Week 13 of the NFL season has come to a close, meaning there is only one quarter of the season left. The AFC playoff picture is sewn up pretty tight outside of the AFC North, with Houston, Denver, and New England all clinching their divisions with wins this weekend. However, the NFC is still wide open, especially the NFC East with the New York Giants loss and wins from both the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. So, where do the Rams stand after their win over the division rival San Francisco 49ers.

Change You Can Believe In

Well sadly, the win did not elevate St. Louis as much as many had hoped, namely because of the particular teams that won and lost this week. However, do not let the Rams slight shift in the standings fool you. The Rams are in much better position than they were last week, at least in respect to moving more easily up the rankings. Here is the change from last week:

6. Seattle (+1) 7-5

7. Washington (+1) 6-6

8. Dallas (+1) 6-6

9. Tampa Bay (-1) 6-6

10. Minnesota (-1) 6-6

11. St. Louis (+1) 5-6-1

12. New Orleans (-1) 5-6

By losing to Green Bay and Denver, respectively, the Vikings and the Buccaneers erased their one game cushion on the St. Louis Rams in the standings. So, in effect, there are now four teams with a slight, single-game advantage over the Rams. Should St. Louis win against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, and all of the six-win teams in the NFC lose, the Rams would automatically jump to the 7th slot in the NFC, in good position to fight for one of the two wild card spots.

What Hurts The Most

Yes, Dallas and Washington won this weekend, but those were not the biggest “losses” of the weekend. The Seattle Seahawks were able to comeback against the Chicago Bears and take the win over the potential NFC North champions in overtime. With that win, the Seahawks maintain their two game advantage over the Rams in the NFC wild card hunt.

With Green Bay’s win, they firmly take the lead in the North, pushing the 8-4 Bears down into the a wild card spot. Ideally, the Rams would have liked for the opposite to happen, with the Bears moving up to 9-3 and the Packers falling to 7-5. However, the situation in the North this past weekend was a lose-lose situation, considering both of those teams were playing NFC teams ahead of the Rams in the hunt for the wild card.

The Icing…

The flip side of the muddling in the NFC North is that the Bears loss slightly opens the door for other teams to steal the wild card. While the Green Bay Packers have clearly been a team on the rise in the second half of the season, the Bears have lost 3 of their last 4 games. Many assuming that the Bears could at least maintain their lead, which would inevitably give the Pack the first Wild Card slot. With the cheeseheads in the lead, Chicago could potentially fall out of the playoff picture completely if they continue their down spiral. At 8-4, St. Louis would need to the Bears to lose, at least, 3 of their 4 remaining games, which sounds a tad absurd. However, a quick glance at their schedule reveals they have games against the Vikings, Packers, and Lions, all of which are “loseable” games for Chicago.

That isn’t the only previous playoff “lock” that should be worried about making the playoffs this season. With the Washington Redskins win over the New York Giants, the G-men are now within two games of the St. Louis Rams, and within one-game of both the Dallas Cowboys and the ‘Skins. The Cowboy will undoubtedly fizzle out, having barely beaten the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, but the Redskins could definitely make things interesting if they were to overtake New York in the NFC East. Aside from their Week 17 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Giants still have to play the New Orleans Saint at home, and the Falcons and Ravens on the road. Although it would be much easier to surpass the Redskins, in terms of record, the Giants, much like the Bears, are on a losing skid. With that said, it is never good to bet against Eli Manning in December or when his team’s back is against the wall. But, drastic falls by the Bears and Giants could sneak the Rams into the playoffs. Not likely, but possible…

So, What Happens Next?

Well, like Coach Fisher mentioned during his presser after the big win over the 49ers, the team should be focused on the Buffalo Bills this week. We will take the same approach here, taking a look at how the upcoming week could play out to help the Rams. Here are the upcoming matchups for each of the teams ahead of the Rams, including the Bears and Giants:

New York Giants @ New Orleans Saints

Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings

Arizona Cardinals @ Seattle Seahawks

Baltimore Ravens @ Washington Redskins

 Dallas Cowboys @ Cincinnati Bengals

Philadelphia Eagles @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

It will likely be too much to ask for the Arizona Cardinals to play NFL-caliber football and overtake the Seattle Seahawks, and the Bucs should stomp all over the weltering Eagles.

However, the  ’Boys and ‘Skins might have their hands full taking on the Ravens and Bengals who are fighting for a playoff spot in a wide-open AFC North. Baltimore will likely be extremely frustrated heading into Sunday, given that they just lost a game to the Pittsburgh Steelers who were forced to start Charley Batch for the second game in a row, with Roethlisberger and Leftwich out with injury. Meanwhile, the Bengals have quietly won four straight games, including a win over the New York Giants.

Given how the Giants looked on Monday Night Football last night, the New Orleans Saints should have a legitimate shot to overtake the likely favored New York team. If all three NFC East teams lose, the Rams would surpass both the Cowboys and Redskins, and sit one game behind the New York Giants.

The Bears versus Vikings game is the most intriguing for the Rams to keep an eye on, assuming the St. Louis Rams win. If Minnesota can snag a game from Chicago, then they will maintain their one game lead on the Rams, but they will pull the Bears down within two games of the Rams. If they Bears win, they will likely secure themselves a playoff birth , but would push the Vikings beneath the Rams in the NFC standings.

In the End…

Right now, all the St. Louis Rams need to do is go out on Sunday and beat the Buffalo Bills. There is still plenty of season left to play and, at least for now, plenty of potential roads that are still possible for St. Louis to take to squeak into the playoffs. This will likely be the only remaining game that the Rams are favored in this season. If they cannot win this week, they do not deserve to be in the playoffs this year.

Nov 11, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) makes a tackle on Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-US PRESSWIRE

Now, this list will not be necessarily for those fans that are on the fringe of fandom in rooting for the Rams, or for those who “follow” multiple teams in the NFL. This grouping of teams is for the diehards, the true lovers of the St. Louis Rams franchise, and who they should be cheering on for, at least, the remainder of this weekends games. Sports are always more enjoyable, and more heartbreaking, when there is some significant investment in one particular team finishing on top. Here is Ramblin’ Fan’s guide to who you should put your full fledged support behind this weekend, besides the Rams, of course.

1. Whoever is playing the Washington Redskins, in this case, the Philadelphia Eagles

Now, I know the losing the opener to the “Dream Team” last season is still a painful memory for some, but you will have to bottle that pride and pull out anything you have that is green or has an American eagle on it, at least for a little bit. Regardless of your feeling about Robert Griffin III, no true Rams fan should want the Washington Redskins to succeed this season, or next. Assuming that St. Louis continues to progress this season and wins more games, we are going to need the ‘Skins pick to be fairly high in the draft if we want to fill one of the major holes on the team, likely the saftety spot or a weakside linebacker. If the season were to end today, Washington would hand the Rams the 6th overall pick in the draft, which might not be high enough to grab a player like Manti Te’o. More losses equals a higher pick, enough said…

2. Whoever is playing the Seattle Seahawks

No one who supports the Blue and Gold wants to see the Seattle Seahawks win…. ever. They are the closest thing to a rival that the St. Louis Rams have in this new age of sports, and they did rain on Bradford’s rookie campaign by edging the team out of the playoffs in 2010. Sadly, the ‘Hawks are on a bye this week, so Rams Nation can focus their energy elsewhere.

3. Cleveland Browns

Despite the fact that my alma mater is in the beautiful city of Cleveland, that is not the reason that Rams fans should be pulling for the team to win to Sunday. For starters, they are playing the Dallas Cowboys, who hog more media coverage from progression teams than almost any team in the NFL, outside of, maybe, the New York Jets. Who doesn’t enjoy hearing Tony Romo and Dez Bryant get bashed, and hearing about how horrible of an owner Jerry Jones is after ever single loss. I digress… The real reason you want to the Browns to win is because of their current ranking in the league, which would equate to, roughly, the 4th overall pick in the draft. With Colt McCoy and 2012 first rounder, Brandon Weeden, on the team, the Browns will likely not be looking at a quarterback with their top selection. Their draft board could potential overlap with the Rams’ board, especially at wide receiver or on the offensive line. However, the more realistic possibility is that they may use the spot as trade bait, which could totally throw a wrench into St. Louis’ plan in April. The more wins the Browns have, the closer they are to drafting after the Redskins spot (i.e. not messing with the Rams on draft day).

4. Carolina Panthers

It is tough to cheer for Cam Netwon, espeically considering his rookie season completed erased the specular performance from Bradford, which happened just one season before. However, the Panthers are the only team currently in the lower tier fo the the league, besides the Cleveland Browns, that will likely not be in the market for a quarterback come draft day. After using their 2012 first rounder on Kuechly, the Rams won’t have to worry about them taking a linebacker off of the board that early, but the Panthers do have a pressing need for interior linemen and/or a dynamic wide receiver, prefereably one that is over 5’11 inches tall. The came concept from before applies: More win for the Panther, mean less teams that the Rams have to worry about in April, assuming the Redskins continue their decline.

5. Chicago Bears

Again St. Louis fans, you will need to have a short term memory to cheer for the Bears, but it is possible. The Bears take on the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, and every team in the NFC West would like to see the almight ’9ers fall at the hands of Jason Campbell, in what might be termed the “Back-Up Bowl.” since Jay Cutler and Alex Smith both may miss the game after sustaining concussions last week. Alex is expected to start, but it would be amazing to see the team lose on Monday, especially after the dreaded tie game last Sunday. The 49ers losing may also be the only chance that the St. Louis Rams can make the playoffs this season, although that chance is still extremely small. With the NFC North likely to land at least one of the Wild Card slots, either to Green Bay or Minnesota, the Rams will need to win the division to come get into the Super Bowl hunt. Assuming St. Louis goes unfeated for the remainder of the season, we would need San Francisco to lose at least three more games to take over the top spot in the West. Realistically, that means that the 49ers would just need to lose two addition games (assuming the loss to the Rams in Week 13), which is a solid possibility considering they still have to play the Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, and the newly revived New Orleans Saints. Hypotheticals aside, no one wants to see any other team in the NFC West win, except the Cardinals sometimes… you have to feel somewhat bad for them, right?