The St. Louis Rams were bit by the injury bug last year and bit hard. Starters Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson were only able to play in 12 of the 16 games and that was a big reason why the Rams had their worst season since 1991. The good news for Rams fans is AccuScore expects St. Louis to double last year’s win total. The bad news is only 6 wins.

Steven Jackson
Season Projections

RUSHES	296
RUSH YDs	1,305
RUSH TDs	9.6
REC	61.7
REC YD	532
REC TD	3.5

FULL SEASON FORECAST

If Bulger and Jackson are healthy the Rams are scoring 4 more points per game in simulations than they did in 2007. Bulger is forecasted to finish the season with 3831 yards and 21 touchdowns, a major increase from last year despite losing Isaac Bruce heading to division rival San Francisco and Orlando Pace being placed on the physically unable to perform list. Jackson is projected to have a decent year with 1205 yard and 8.5 touchdowns.

Obviously, the Rams need Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson to be healthy. In simulations where both players did not play (injury or otherwise), the Rams winning percentage declined by a full 25 percent. That 25 percent translates in four wins over a 16 game season.

While the offense will need to stay healthy, defense is on the upswing. The Rams have used the #1 picks the past two seasons on defensive lineman and AccuScore expects a 3 point improvement in points allowed. Last season, St. Louis had the 21st worst defense in the league and was second-to-last in points per game with 27.4 (only ahead of the Detroit Lions). First-round draft pick Chris Long will be a nice addition to the defense, but the AccuScore computer is projecting that no one on the Rams defense will have double digits in sacks. Leonard Little leads the team as he is forecasted to get 6.7 sacks this year.

The forecasted average margin of victory for the Rams is -4 points, which is a full touchdown improvement from last year. Despite the improvement, but the Rams remain 12 percent long shot to make the playoffs and are projected to go 6-10.

For more information on the St. Louis Rams, click here to see how the Rams match-up against Brian Westbrook and the Philadelphia Eagles.