Sep 9, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive back Cortland Finnegan (31) intercepts a pass for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US Presswire

Ram fans were praying to never see the their team fall below .500 ever again. There’s a good sense of security when your team is above .500 because it’s easier to accept a loss  of one or two games and still remain positive. If Rams fall this week against a bi-polar Green Bay Packers, they will see themselves fall to 3-4.  The Rams need to win one more game to be .500 before they go into their bye week. After this bye, the Rams are then up against Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers, so it’s a brutal month. It is never good to praise a team’s injury issue, but this is the best time to play the Packers as they’re very banged up on defense and quite bruised on offense. This is the Rams’ chance to pounce and secure a win. Both teams are at 3-3 and will go into Sunday’s game believing their record should be better, but only one team will walk away with the satisfaction of being above the .500 record.

RAMS SECONDARY
Rams passing defense is ranked fifth for Opposing Quarterback Ratings and Passing Yards Allowed. If the Rams can shut down the Packers running game early, the passing game will follow.  Although Aaron Rodgers hasn’t been winning games like he has in the past, his individual dominance remains. He has thrown for 16 touchdowns with only four interceptions, with a quarterback rating of 105.4. If Rams are going to beat the explosive Green Bay Packers, they must contain the man under center.

RAMS OFFENSE
Lets face it. The offense haven’t been winning the games this year, it’s been the defense that has kept the scoring to a minimum which allows the offense to remain in the game. This week is going to be different. The Rams defense will give up a few touchdowns against a lethal Packers offense. For the Rams to stay in the game, the offense must take some risks inorder to keep up with the fast paced Green Bay Packers. Rams need to make a statement early, by converting first downs straight away. Currently Rams are ranked 30th in converting first downs (16.3 percent), 28th in total offensive yards (308.7 yards) and 23rd in total points (110 points).

RAMS VS RAMS
Last week the Rams fumbled the ball three times, missed three field goals and gave up 12 penalties for a total of 92 yards. This isn’t a winning recipe, especially against a team that has potentially the best offense in the NFL. If the Rams are to get the ‘W’, they must cut the penalties and start looking like a polished team.

CORTLAND FINNEGAN VS JORDY NELSON
Another great battle. Some might get the feeling that there’s going to be some fire in this match up. Finnegan will be up to his old ways in getting under the player’s skin. Nelson has never been up against Finnegan, therefore has never experienced the painful 60 minutes of dealing with constant bickering from a serial pest on the field. You can never be prepared for what Finnegan brings to the table. He’s a pure headache for any opposing team.

September 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Redskins outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan (91) prepares to sack St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defeated the Redskins 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

In years past, the only statistical leader has been Steven Jackson paving the way in rushing yards. Many Rams fans have looked to this statistical category to fill the void left by 1 or 2 win seasons. Although it is early, the Rams are high up the ranking in a number of key areas in comparison to the rest of the league. We are going to breakdown the team and the individual who are representing the St. Louis Rams at the tops of these lists.

Sam Bradford

Sam Bradford has quietly put together five quarters of solid, elite quarterbacking, although you would not know it by the lack of publicity that it has received. Robert Griffin III eating a bowl of Wheaties in the morning will get more attention than Sam Bradford throwing for 300+ yards and 3 touchdowns, which was the performance that led the St. Louis Rams to their first win of the season. Regardless of the press, Bradford’s name is still atop the list of a number of key categories, along with some very respectable names

Quarterback Rating: 112.4, which is the 3rd highest rating, behind only Matt Ryan and Alex Smith, who have both led their teams to a 2-0 record.

Touchdowns: 4, which is tied for 2nd place among all quarterbacks. This number is even more impressive given that Bradford threw for only 6 touchdowns for the entire 2011 season.

Completion Percentage: 71.7, which is 3rd highest rank. The Chicago Bears quarterback, Jay Cutler, is anchoring the bottom of this category, with a 51.6 completion percentage, trailed only by the Arizona Cardinals’ John Skelton, who is currently sidelined with an injury.

Interceptions: 1, which is the tied for the second lowest mark among quarterback who have throw at least 4 touchdown passes. Bradford is tied with Philip Rivers, Tom Brady, and Ben Roethlisberger in the tier. The only quarterback ahead of them is Alex Smith his has yet to throw an interception in the regular season.

September 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola (16) celebrates after catching a one yard touchdown pass during the first half against the Washington Redskins at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

Danny Amendola

Danny Amendola may be one of the most undervalued players in the NFL. Granted, Amendola is not a true number one receiver, nor is the fastest, tallest, or strongest player on the field. However, he may very well be the smarter receiver, understanding where to plant himself in zone coverage and how to make the correct breaks in his route and use his body to get separation against corners that are much faster than him. You wouldn’t believe the numbers if I told them to you outright, but he has quietly become one the best receivers so far in the young NFL season.

Receiving Yards: 230, which is 3rd among all receivers in the NFL. He is trailing only Hakeen Nicks and Victor Cruz, who both got boosted by a 500+ performance this week from Eli Manning. Meanwhile, the Bears top receiver, Brandon Marshall, is sitting in the 22nd spot, with 143 yards, which is right below ex-Ram Donny Avery.

Receptions: 20, this leads the NFL, with the next nearest receiver catching 18 passes. This is completely understandable after Amendola’s record breaking night against the Redskins, where he caught 15 passes for 160 yards. More impressively, he has caught the ball on 80% of his targets from Sam Bradford, exemplifying the connection that the two share in the passing game

Receiving First Downs: 11, which also leads the NFL alongside Hakeem Nicks. This may be the most telling statistic to the importance of Danny Amendola in the St. Louis Rams offense, since he is clearly Bradford’s go-to on 3rd down

Cortland Finnegan

Unlucky for Finnegan, the St. Louis Rams have yet to play with or against the interception crazy Philadelphia Eagles. Cortland Finnegan bring a fiestiness and aggression to the Rams defense, which was on full display against the Redskins when eliciting the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from Josh Morgan. However, he has also put up some outstanding numbers in the opening two weeks of the NFL season, aside from the mere qualitative skill set that he possesses.

Interceptions: 2, which is tied for 2nd with a handful of other defensemen, most of which either play for the Eagles or played against them in Week 1 or Week 2. Finnegan not only took one away from Stafford, but welcomed Robert Griffin III to the league by picking off one of his passes last week.

Solo Tackles: 14, which is good for 10th among all players, 3rd among secondary players, and 1st among cornerbacks. For a corner that has been targeted 6 or fewer times per game by opposing quarterback, Finnegan’s tackle numbers are extremely high. He is helping in run support, getting off block to make plays on the quick screens, and making tackles in the zone as soon as receivers touch the ball.

Defensive Touchdowns: 1, which leads the league, marking him as one of the eight players who have found the end zone on a interception, and one of ten that have scored (period) on the defensive side of the ball.

September 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein (4) kicks a 39 yard field goal during the first half against the Washington Redskins at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defeated the Redskins 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

Greg Zuerlein

Greg ‘the Leg’ Zuerlein is the Rams superstar, their special teams’ ace, the safety net for points once St. Louis makes it past the opposing 40 yard line. Jeff Fisher has not needed to use Zuerlein’s services from the 50+ yard range, but has definitely given him some quality time on the field.

Field Goals Made: 6, tied for 1st along with 5 other kickers. He has kicked 3 in each of the Rams contests so far, and made all them look like chip shots.

40-49 Yard Field Goals: 3, which is tied for 2nd with David Akers and Justin Tucker. Zeurlein has booted two more from 30-39, and one from 20-29 yards.

September 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Washington Redskins wide receiver Josh Morgan (15) and St. Louis Rams cornerback Cortland Finnegan (31) exchange words during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defeated the Redskins 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

Cortland Finnegan Style Points Score 10.0- Quite a few of my St. Louis Ram brethren had some not so nice things to say when Cortland Finnegan was signed to a pretty sizable free-agent contract this off season. Many saying that his play teeters on criminally chaotic. Well, to all of you I say this now, pull out your pennies, because we as faithful fans owe him much more. The game winning play of the game was the love tap on Washington’s Josh Morgan after his catch that caused the un-sportsmanlike conduct penalty that put his team in a try at an almost impossible field goal attempt to tie the game. The two players battled throughout that added to the edginess that was there the whole game. Add in his interception and solid tackling, and you have to give him the Gold.

Offensive Line Style Points Score 9.5- Weighing in the injuries and youth, this was possibly the best performance by the offensive line since the Greatest Show On Turf days. Becuse of this, they are awarded the Silver medal. It didn’t seem to matter who manned the line, the unit as a whole Stepped Up and pretty much controlled Washington’s defensive line all game. Yes, two of their best players didn’t play much of the game, but can anyone here say that dominance and determination were motto’s for the Offensive line in recent history. Along with the notable coaching efforts made so far, this unit may be scary good when healthy.

Passing Game Style Points Score 9.3- This was another unit that needed to Step up and did they. Sam Bradford by far lead this group to the Bronze Medal in what I think was his best game as a pro. He was in complete control throughout and even his interception was forgivable because of the fire he played with. Something that we have all waited for since he was drafted. By no means am I forgetting Danny Amendola’s record tying performance. But if Bradford hadn’t been on his game, that record would’t have been possible. And it also notable that the pass routes were ran crisply and Danny Amendola overcoming that fumble return for a touchdown to preform at his best would have put him in medal consideration in most other games.

Honorable Mention- The Defensive pass rush put pressure on Robert Griffin III all game long and took the Washington Redskins out of their game plan. But, Robert Griffin III is the real deal and has my vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year so far in this young season.