St. Louis Rams Post-Game Roundtable: Preseason Game 2 vs. Packers

5. The Rams have lost their first two preseason games–both at home–and now have two final preseason games on the road. Do you think that they’ll end up losing both games? Do you think they need to win at least one game for morale purposes, and to avoid the ‘winless preseason jinx’ (as a reminder, in the Super Bowl era, only three teams with no wins in the preseason have ever reached the Super Bowl, and only one team with four preseason losses has ever won the Super Bowl)?

Aug 17, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher looks on as his team plays the Green Bay Packers at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony K.: I don’t put too much stock into those types of ‘jinxes’, but there’s usually a reason why teams that go 0-4 don’t make it to the Super Bowl, or even the playoffs. That being said, these games don’t count toward anything. It’s way more important to start the regular season with a healthy starting line-up, even if it means going 0-4 in the preseason.

I’m pretty sure that no one would care that the Rams had won all four preseason games if they started the season minus five starting players because of injuries suffered in those games. One win would be nice so the team and its fans can feel good about something, but if the Rams end up losing the next two games while getting back ALL of their injured players for the first regular season game, I’d happily take that trade-off.

Nathan K.: I’ve never been one to bet on preseason match-ups, considering that most starters only see a handful of series in any single game. With that in mind, I have no clue how the Rams second and third units will fair against the Browns’ and Dolphins’ back-ups, respectively.

However, as I mentioned in my answer to the opening question, Fisher does tend him play his starters in the fourth preseason game significantly more than other teams in the league. Considering that, I’ll say the Rams win, at least, one game this preseason.

Blaine G.: No, I believe they’ll win one, if not both of them. I don’t think morale is really something to worry about in the preseason. The players know these games don’t matter and they don’t put a lot into these games. If they win–great, if not–it’s not the end of the world. However, winning one certainly can’t hurt.