Two-A-Days: St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions Preview

St. Louis Rams

Key Additions: QB Sam Bradford, DT Fred Robbins, LB Na'il Diggs, WR Mardy Gillyard

Key Subtractions: QB Marc Bulger

The Rams are coming off a dismal one win 2009 season under first year coach Steve Spagnuolo. He inherited a team that was dreadful on defense and is still looking for the right pieces to get the Rams back on track. The Rams last year under Spagnuolo, known for the aggressive style he initiated on the Giants defense when he was there, were near the bottom of the league in sacks, interceptions, points allowed per game, and yards allowed per game. The Rams are young on defense, especially at linebacker. It is going to take probably another year or two for the Rams to get all the personnel on defense for them to be consistent. Fred Robbins has come over from the Giants and knows Spagnuolo's system, but he is on the back end of his career.

On offense, they are hoping that Sam Bradford can become what everyone in St. Louis hopes will be a quarterback as good as Kurt Warner once was. Bradford is going to get paid a lot of money for a rookie who wont even have taken the field before he sees millions. He has to convince the other 10 guys in the huddle that he is a leader. But the other 10 guys around him certainly lack the talent necessary to win. Steven Jackson, the running back, led the team in receptions last season. Anytime a RB leads a team in receptions, you know you are lacking at the wide receiver and tight end position. Donnie Avery is the only receiver remotely close to league averages among wide receivers. They are hoping 4th round pick Mardy Gilyard steps in and plays a big role in the offense. But the Rams just simply lack the personnel on the field in order to be successful. Steven Jackson was the only bright spot of the Rams offense totaling 1,416 yards rushing, but only 4 TD's. With the addition of Bradford, look for the Rams to become a little more balanced on offense if he can stay upright and avoid sacks.

Schedule:

1 Sunday, September 12 Arizona
2 Sunday, September 19 at Oakland
3 Sunday, September 26 Washington
4 Sunday, October 3 Seattle
5 Sunday, October 10 at Detroit
6 Sunday, October 17 San Diego
7 Sunday, October 24 at Tampa Bay
8 Sunday, October 31 Carolina
9 Sunday, November 7 BYE
10 Sunday, November 14 at San Francisco
11 Sunday, November 21 Atlanta
12 Sunday, November 28 at Denver
13 Sunday, December 5 at Arizona
14 Sunday, December 12 at New Orleans
15 Sunday, December 19 Kansas City
16 Sunday, December 26 San Francisco
17 Sunday, January 2 at Seattle

Not exactly a tough schedule, in fact they have the 31st hardest schedule in the NFL. Opposing teams were 115-141 last season. Winnable games before the Bye include the Raiders, Lions, and Bucs. After the Bye, the schedule gets difficult as the go to New Orleans and Denver and catch Atlanta at home. Look for the Rams to maybe peel off an unexpected home win or two, but I see them wining no more than 5 games this year.

Detroit Lions

Key Additions: WR Nate Burlesson, TE Tony Scheffler, DT Ndamukong Suh, RB Jahvid Best, DE Kyle Vanden Bosh, CB Dre Bly, DT

Key Subtractions: LB Larry Foote, LB Ernie Sims,

The Lions improved last season after the miserable 0-16 2008 season. O.K. then won two games, still an improvement none the less as they are still trying to pick up the pieces that former GM Matt Millen left. Mathew Stafford played unbelievably in his rookie year and they are looking to continue to build the team around him. They added WR Nate Burlesson to compliment Calvin Johnson and also a great TE in Tony Scheffler which gives the Lions options in the red zone. The Lions had only 16 TD's through the air last season. The Lions drafted RB Jahvid Best from California to add to a backfield that already has Kevin Smith, however he only averaged 3.4 yards per carry last season. The Lions offense must execute better and protect Mathew Stafford a lot better than they did last season.

The Lions have a void on defense with the departure of Larry Foote. Foote led the team in tackles and was a veteran presence on a young Lions defense that was last in the league last season. They were the only team in the NFL to average over 30 points allowed per game. The Lions were especially vulnerable through the air as opposing quarterbacks threw for over 4,200 yards and had a 68.1 completion percentage. They allowed 35 passing TD's to only 9 interceptions. Rookie Ndamukong Suh is going to have to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks and get in their face in order to improve the Lions passing defense. Suh, Corey Williams, and Kyle Vanden Bosh will be giving opposing offensive lines headaches next season. The Lions basically are a mess in the secondary and did not make the necessary additions in the offseason to improve. CC Brown and Dre Bly are not the answer the Lions are looking for. But putting pressure on the quarterback will hide that a little bit. The Lions offense is much farther along than the defense is right now, and for them to be any better than they were last year, the offense will have to carry the team.

Schedule:

1 Sunday September 12 at Bears
2 Sunday September 19 Eagles
3 Sunday September 26 at Vikings
4 Sunday October 03 at Packers
5 Sunday October 10 Rams
6 Sunday October 17 at Giants
7 BYE
8 Sunday October 31 Redskins
9 Sunday November 07 Jets
10 Sunday November 14 at Bills
11 Sunday November 21 at Cowboys
12 Thursday November 25 Patriots
13 Sunday December 05 Bears
14 Sunday December 12 Packers
15 Sunday December 19 at Buccaneers
16 Sunday December 26 at Dolphins
17 Sunday January 02 Vikings

The schedule does not look favorable as the Lions catch the AFC and NFC east, two of the toughest divisions in the NFL. The Lions have the 13th toughest schedule and opponents last year were 130-126. The Bills, Lions, Rams, and Bucs are the only games I see the Lions potentially winning. Given injuries and upsets they could possibly take one or two more, but 6 wins is looking like what the number would be for the Lions this season.

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Two-A-Days: 2010 NFL Team Previews Starting Tomorrow

We are less than 2 months away from kicking off another season of the National Football League. So starting tomorrow, The Tuna Sports Blog will be giving in depth previews of all 32 teams during our NFL 2010 season preview. Two teams will be previewed each day. Previews will start based on the original 2010 draft order as shown below.

1. St. Louis (1-15)
2. Detroit (2-14)
3. Tampa Bay (3-13)
4. Washington (4-12)
5. Kansas City (4-12)
6. Seattle (5-11)
7. Cleveland (5-11)
8. Oakland (5-11)
9. Buffalo (6-10)
10. Jacksonville (7-9)
11. Chicago (7-9)
12. Miami (7-9)
13. San Francisco (8-8)
14. Denver (8-8)
15. New York Giants (8-8)
16. Tennessee (8-8)
17. Carolina (8-8)
18. Pittsburgh (9-7)
19. Atlanta (9-7)
20. Houston (9-7)
21. Cincinnati (10-6)
22. New England (10-6)
23. Green Bay (11-5)
24. Philadelphia (11-5)
25. Baltimore (9-7)
26. Arizona (10-6)
27. Dallas (11-5)
28. San Diego (13-3)
29. New York Jets (9-7)
30. Minnesota (12-4)
31. Indianapolis (14-2)
32. New Orleans (13-3)

Comments. St. Louis and Detroit coming tomorrow

RIP George M. Steinbenner III (1930-2010)

Two days after the Yankees mourned the death of their longtime PA announcer Bob Sheppard, the Yankees said goodbye to their beloved owner, Geroge M. Steinbrenner III. Mr. Steinbrenner died of a massive heart attack at the age of 80 in Tampa, FL. Under his ownership, the Yankees won 7 World Series and 11 American League Pennants.

There is no doubt that some of the behaviors displayed through the years by Mr. Steinbrenner were controversial to say the least. But he bought the team for a little over $8 million in 1973 and turned it into an empire worth billions, and didn't do it for the money. He did it because of one thing....winning.

The world lost a great man today.

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RIP Bob Sheppard (1910-2010)

Bob Sheppard, the voice of Yankee Stadium and Giants Stadium for over 50 years, died this morning at the age of 99. He will always be in the hearts and memories of all the Yankees and Giants players and fans who had the privileged to hear him call the names of so many great players through the years. He will be greatly missed.

Ilya Kovalchuk to the ...Islanders?

UPDATED: 7/5 11:00 P.M. We all bought it...hook, line, and sinker. I just want to be wrong.

According to the Islanders beat writer Katie Strang, the Islanders never got passed the preliminary stages of negotiation with Ilya Kovalchuk regarding a contract. According to the report, the Islanders were only interested in a short term deal, while Kovalchuk is seeking a long term one. No offer was ever extended.

We all get a little too hyped up over the fact that Garth made a phone call, then told people about it. The fact of the matter is, hes supposed to make a phone call. We shouldn't be shocked when he does. Its like when your shopping for a new item, you call/go the store or go online to find out what the price is. When its out of your range, you move on. Granted this situation did not happen that quickly, but that is it in a nutshell.

The bottom line still remains, as long as the arena situation is still in question, don't expect anyone prominent, much less Ilya Kovalchuk, to sign with the New York Islanders. The biggest news that will come out of Islander land in the coming days/week will be the Town of Heampsteads' counteroffer to Charles Wang regarding the Lighthouse Project. If you thought Fourth of July fireworks were something, you aint seen nothing yet.

Oh, the pain!

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According to multiple credible sources in the hockey world (Chris Botta and Katie Strang, among others), the New York Islanders have a serious stake in the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes. Kovalchuk is considered the best available free agent in a weak pool of them this year. It is also being reported that the Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils, whom Kovalchuk joined at the deadline last year, are also in the mix to sign the Russian sniper. The Islanders have already signed Zenon Kanopka, Milan Jurchina, PA Parenteau, and Mark Eaton.

Kovalchuk would bolster a weak Islanders unit offensively and be a prominent player to mentor the young Islanders squad. An interesting statistic brought up is that Kovalchuk's goal totals the past 8 years would have led the Islanders in all but 1 season. The Islanders have not had a 40 goal scorrer since Jason Blake in 2006-2007. Kovalchuk has scored more than 40 in 6 of his 8 seasons.

As I stated in a post earlier this year, my opinion on the Islanders personnel situation was that as long as the uncertainty around the Lighthouse project continued, the Islanders would not sign any prominent free agents. With the circumstances surrounding this situation, it appears that my assumptions are incorrect. In this case, I am glad I am wrong. Charles Wang appears to be willing to give Kovalchuk a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.

We'll see how this plays out, but even if Kovalchuk does not sign with the Islanders, it is good to see the Islanders being mentioned about something this big other than the uncertainty surrounding the arena situation and possible relocation. All Islander fans hope one day that the situation will be settled, and all we have to think about are the team and the players.

But in the meantime, GO GET EM!

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