2007 St. Louis Rams

The 2007 St. Louis Rams season will be the 70th season for the team in the National Football League and their 13th in St. Louis. They will try to improve upon their 8-8 record in 2006.

[edit] Offseason

Head coach Scott Linehan made several coaching changes. Al Roberts replaced Bob Ligashesky as the special teams coach. Mike Cox was given the position as the defensive quality control coach to replace Joe Baker who left to become the Denver Broncos' linebackers coach^[1]. Keith Murphy was named the offensive quality control coach to replace Randy Hanson who went to the Oakland Raiders. Murphy coached at the University of Washington with Linehan from 1996-1999^[2].

On February 23, 2007, the Rams allocated five players to NFL Europa: Mike Brown and Josh Lay went to the Berlin Thunder; and Jeremy Parquet, Tim Sandidge, and John David Washington went to the Hamburg Sea Devils^[3].

[edit] Free agency

On opening day of the free agency, the Rams traded a fifth round draft choice to the Detroit Lions for James Hall^[4]. On March 3, 2007, the Rams signed Drew Bennett to a six-year, $30 million deal^[5]. Unrestricted free agents Todd Steussie and Travis Minor resigned with the Rams each for a one year deal^[6]. The Rams acquired B.J. Sander in case the team lost Matt Turk. On March 8, 2007, the Rams signed Randy McMichael to a three-year contract and acquired Todd Johnson from the Chicago Bears who signed a four-year contract^[7]. On March 21, 2007, the Rams signed Randy McMichael to a three-year deal^[8]. On March 26, 2007, Marshall Faulk announced his retirement from the NFL^[9].

On April 18, 2007 the Rams signed Punter Donnie Jones to a five-year $5.59 million deal. The Rams also gave up a seventh round draft choice to the Miami Dolphins for Jones^[10]. Sander was released from the Rams two days later^[11].

On April 30, 2007, a day after the NFL Draft, the Rams added nineteen undrafted free agents to their roster. The most notable addition was Iowa Quarterback Drew Tate. The Rams brought four Wide Receivers: North Carolina State’s Lamart Barrett, Wake Forest’s Nate Morton, Hofstra’s Shaine Smith and Texas State’s Markee White. They added Boise State fullback Brad Lau, Nevada running back Robert Hubbard, University of Pittsburgh tight end Steve Buches, University of Washington guard Stanley Daniels, and Massachusetts guard David Thompson to the Rams' offense. They also added four defensive backs: Alabama free safety Jeffery Dukes, Kent State strong safety Andre Kirklan, Arkansas cornerback Darius Vinnett and Villanova cornerback Terrance Reaves. They added LSU defensive end Ryan Willis and Albany State defensive end Alton Pettway to the Rams' defense. The Rams added Cincinnati kicker Kevin Lovell^[12].

[edit] NFL Draft

The 2007 NFL Draft began on April 28, 2007 and with the thirteenth pick overall, the Rams selected Defensive End Adam Carriker from Nebraska. The Rams have said that Carriker would be moved to the Defensive Tackle position to help with the run defense^[13]. With the Rams second round pick they selected Fullback Brian Leonard out of Rutgers. His style of play is similar to that of Jim Taylor and Mike Alstott^[14].

On the second day of the draft the Rams selected Cornerback Jonathan Wade from Tennessee in the third round. With a 4.4 second 40-yard dash, Wade will add some speed at the cornerback position^[15]. In the fifth round the Rams selected Center Dustin Fry out of Clemson. With Andy McCollum and Brett Romberg competing for the starting position at Center, Fry will likely be the third stringer at that position^[16]. Later in the fifth round the Rams selected Defensive Tackle Clifton Ryan from Michigan State. The Rams stated that he will be used as a Nose Tackle^[16]. In the sixth round the Rams selected Offensive Tackle Ken Shackleford from Georgia. Coach Linehan commented that he could develop into a starter over the next couple of years^[16]. The Rams had two compensatory picks and selected Arkansas Defensive Tackle Keith Jackson, son of former NFL Pro Bowl tight end Keith Jackson, and Wisconsin-Whitewater Wide Receiver Derek Stanley^[16].

[edit] Preseason

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Week 1: vs. Carolina Panthers

at Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri

The Rams began their 2007 campaign at home against the Carolina Panthers. In the first quarter, St. Louis trailed early as Panthers QB Jake Delhomme completed a 10-yard TD pass to WR Drew Carter. The Rams would tie the game with QB Marc Bulger completing a 3-yard TD pass to WR Torry Holt. In the second quarter, St. Louis would take the lead with kicker Jeff Wilkins getting a 42-yard field goal for the only score of the period. In the third quarter, Wiklins helped the Rams' lead with a 28-yard field goal. However, this was all wiped out as Delhomme completed a 68-yard TD pass to WR Steve Smith. In the fourth quarter, Carolina took over for the remainder of the game as kicker John Kasay nailed a 34-yard field goal, Delhomme & Carter hooked up with each other again on a 9-yard TD pass, and Kasay finished the game with 32-yard field goal.

With the loss, St. Louis began its season at 0-1.

[edit] Schedule

[edit] References

Template:St. Louis Rams seasons