ESPN 2008 NFL predictions were released today. To no ones surprise the St. Louis Rams received ZERO votes to finish first in the NFC West. ESPN used a staff of 16 writers to predict the winner of each division as well as the Superbowl Champion. 14 writers selected the Seattle Seahawks and two selected the Arizona Cardinals.

The Rams did receive one shout out from Seth Wickersham, from ESPN the Mag who did select the Rams as one of the NFC Wild Card participants. Seth, we thank you.

Eleven writers selected an AFC team as the winner of the Superbowl, while the remaining 5 selected the Dallas Cowboys.

This leads me to the discussion of parity which the NFL is always talking about. However is there parity? Just like 2007, the 2008 NFL appears to be full of the haves, and have-nots’. The ESPN predictions further prove this. In six of the twelve divisions the writers gave at least 12 of the 16 first place votes to one team. In addition of the 32 teams in the NFL, 17 of them received ZERO first place votes in the ESPN predictions. The league is once again top-driven. Fans are not talking about how their team they can win it all, they have more conversations about who can beat the Patriots, who can beat the Colts, who can beat the Chargers, who can beat the Cowgirls Cowboys.

In addition to the above uplifting information I would also like to DONE of the 16 writers selected Chris Long as the Defensive Rookie of the Year. Thanks ESPN.

To view the ESPN 2008 NFL predictions click here.

All NFL teams have to trim their rosters to 75 players by the end of Tuesday. The St. Louis Rams have announced 3 transactions to get down to the 75 player limit. There were no surprises so far, Justin Medlock and Shaine Smith knew they would be moving on. Justin King was placed on IR and hopefully will be ready for the 2009 season.

8/26 Justin Medlock K cut
8/26 Shaine Smith WR cut
8/26 Justin King CB Placed on IR, toe

NFL.com has produced their St. Louis Rams Season Preview. NFL.com is not very high on the Rams in 2008. Four of their feature writers have the Rams finishing between 3-13 and 6-10. Currently I can not disagree with their opinion too much. I have been on record as saying if Orlando Pace can stay healthy and play close to 16 games I believe the Rams can win up to 7 games. I am not a fair weather fan, just telling the truth. The beginning of the St. Louis Rams 2008 schedule is just too hard. What are your predictions for the Rams in 2008. Let us know, or take our poll.

In Saunders’ offense this year, they will stress motion and shifting to try to create mismatches, use a lot of four-receiver formations, which were notably missing in 2007, and when not using four wideouts, employ a fullback much of the time.

Whatever the Rams manage on offense could be helped by a defensive line that looks like it will be a strength, even with defensive end Chris Long, the second player chosen in the draft, stuggling to make the transition to the NFL. There is good depth in the line but the front seven is undersized and susceptible to a power running attack.

The Missouri Tigers and the Big 12 continue to not get the ultimate respect from the media. Rivals.com already has the Missouri Tigers playing in the Sugar Bowl against the Florida Gators. Rivals.com has taken the time to already predict the 34 bowl match ups for this season. They have predicted that the National Championship game will be between the USC Trojans and the Georgia Bulldogs. It appears that the Oklahoma Sooners and Missouri Tigers will lose at least 1 game. I can’t disagree with the possible title game between USC and Georgia but it would be nice if Missouri or even Oklahoma were picked to win it all. Well at least Missouri continues to be in the conversation. Who do you predict to be in this years National Championship game?

See all of the Rivals.com bowl predictions here.

I am not one to ever get too excited about a preseason game, but I must admit I liked what I saw Saturday night at the Edward Jones Dome when the St. Louis Rams beat the Baltimore Ravens 24-10. The fact that the Rams were actually able to score with their first team offense, for the first time in 11 preseason games is not even what I was excited about. I am excited because you can see the possibility of a core of a very nice offense being put together by the St. Louis Rams and Al Saunders. You always need to be building for the future. The Rams can currently field an offense with Marc Bulger 31, Randy McMichael 29, Steven Jackson 25, Donnie Avery 24, and Keenan Burton 23. It is extreamly early but how nice would it be for the Rams to groom a new Holt/Bruce combo. Avery and Burton are both very young and very fast, and can learn a ton under Torry Holt and Al Saunders. Burton caught 3 balls for 63 yards and a touchdown Saturday night. Keenan also made a brilliant one-handed catch that was over-ruled but you could see the potential. Avery was able to catch 5 balls for 65 yards and had a few others get away. He was able to get open pretty easy on this night. In addition he almost broke the opening kickoff and you can see that he has explosive speed. Fans should enjoy watching these two when they are on the field, both players look to score after making a catch.

I know it is hard to believe but it is time for the clash for the Governor’s Cup between the St. Louis Rams and the Kansas City Chiefs. I know the Chiefs and Rams combined for a 7-25 record in 2007, but come on it’s for the Governor’s Cup. For St. Louis Rams fans who have never been to Arrowhead this is the perfect opportunity and it may cost you only $3! As Rams fans you can get to see Chris Long, and Donnie Avery in action, as well as the opportunity to take in the #1 stadium atmosphere in the NFL. Fans are selling these tickets for as low as $4 on Stubhub. If you have ever wanted to see Arrowhead this is the time to go, great weather, a no pressure game, and the trip is shorter than traveling to Mequon to see the St. Louis Rams training camp. You can check for daily ticket updates here.

Kurt Warner was 2 of 4 for 40 yards Saturday night in the Arizona Cardinals game against the Oakland Raiders. So what gives, were those two passes that great? Well for those of you that missed it while Kurt was holding a clip board Matt Leinart must have been thinking about getting to a local party in the bay because he was 4 of 12 for 24 yards and 3 picks. Matt was 14 of 19 in his first two preseason games so this could be a quick hook or some quick reporting from ESPN, since Ken Whisenhunt said Leinart was still in the running for the Cardinal’s starting job. Kurt Warner was 9th in TD passes in 2007 with 27, and a lot of the players in Arizona seem to prefer him over Leinart. A big concern and maybe the only concern for Cardinals fans should be Kurt continues to fumble. Kurt had 12 fumbles last year and has 78 fumbles in 94 career games. We wish Kurt luck.

Chris Mortensen says the Arizona Cardinals to name Kurt Warner starter:

The Arizona Cardinals are expected to name Kurt Warner as the team’s starting quarterback, a team source said Sunday.

The source said Leinart’s training-camp performance has been uneven, and the Cardinals are concerned about his arm strength and consistency.

Scott Allen from Rasingzona also thinks the Cardinals may be going to Warner:

I’m not so as much surprised by the decision as I am the timing.  I really thought coach Ken Whisenhunt would let Leinart try to redeem himself in the first half of the upcoming game against the Denver Broncos on Thursday.  However, as poorly as Leinart played last night, I think his fate was sealed.  Leinart has been questioned on his arm strength and there was no more proof of the lack of arm than in his first interception by the Raiders Michael Huff last night.  In a pass attempt to receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who can jump with the best of them, couldn’t get high enough to at least break the interception up, doubts started to creep in further. It appears Warner has the job, at least for the San Francisco 49ers game in two weeks.

The St. Louis Rams reported that several receivers were injured in the game Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens at the Edward Jones Dome. Dante Hall was injured on a punt return. The play did not look that serious but after the tackle Hall limped off. Drew Bennett suffered a groin injury in the game, while his play on the field was once again not very good. I still do not know why the Rams gave a 30 million dollar contract to a player that had one decent year in his entire NFL career. With the Rams he has not played well and continues to have nagging injuries. I would love to see the Rams go into the season with Torry Holt, Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton as the top three; why not learn on the fly. In addition to Hall and Bennett getting injured Reche Caldwell sprained his knee which probably ended his hope of making the roster.

Only the Dante Hall injury would have an impact for now. The last spot on this roster will probably be whoever can make it as the last receiver. If Hall’s injury is long term does Brandon Williams, Derek Stanley or Marques Hagans get a shot?

I would like to thank ManningAlliance for posting Week 3 highlights of the St. Louis Rams vs. Baltimore Ravens game. This Highlight package includes all of the scoring plays in the game, including the first NFL touchdowns for Keenan Burton and Lance Ball.

• John Brown FG

• Keenan Burton Touchdown

• Travis Minor Touchdown

• Lance Ball Touchdown

7PM CST Saturday night.

Here are a few of the things we will be watching when the St. Louis Rams play the Baltimore Ravens at the Edward Jones Dome tonight. The Ravens come into tonights contest with a 1-1 record in the preseason. Troy Smith will be the starting QB for the Ravens tonight. I can’t believe they drafted Joe Flacco and they still have not decide who will be their #1 QB. They are deciding between Troy Smith and Kyle Boller, isn’t that like deciding between spam and tofu? The Ravens were 5-11 in 2007 and finished last in the AFC North. Statistically they also were not very good. On offense they were 24th in points, 23rd in passing, and 16th in rushing. Willis McGahee and Derrick Mason lead them on offense. The Ravens were 22nd in scoring D, 20th against the pass and 2nd against the run. On the defensive side of the ball the Ravens still have a ton of stars including Ray Lewis, so it should be fun watching the Rams first team unit try to move the ball against them.

• Log Jam at Receiver - The Rams still have 11 receivers trying to make the roster. The Rams will probably start the season with 6 or 7 so this is a huge battle. Al Saunders will play a part tonight trying to get the ball to these guys. With Holt, Bennett, and Hall along with rookies Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton there is probably only 1 or 2 spots remaining. Reche Caldwell, Marques Hagans, Dane Looker, Shaine Smith, Derek Stanley, and Brandon Williams are all on a huge bubble that is about to pop! Whoever can provide some needed depth on special teams will probably win this battle.

• Adam Goldberg - Currently backup for Orlando Pace at Left Tackle. This is one of the most important positions on the football field. Goldberg is a FOSL (Friends of Scott Linehan). Adam has only started 22 games in his career most of them with the Minnesota Vikings.

• Marc Bulger - I am tired of hearing how Bulger had a great pracice, let’s see a great game. It is time for Marc to step up and find open receivers instead of watching the pass rush. I know you have a $65 million dollar contract but do you have a fire in your belly? Marc is also one of the least emotional QBs in league. Maybe it is time to be a leader, if you don’t want to get hit maybe you should say something to your O-line once in a while. Can Marc play a decent game without great protection?
• Carriker and Long - Both Adam Carriker and Chris Long need to keep improving especially against the run. Both players need to be able to fill their gaps and keep the O-line off of the linebackers.
• Backup O-line - With Mark Setterstrom and Brandon Gorin out for the season the Rams need some young players to step. Watch how John Greco, Roy Schuening, and Nick Leckey all perform tonight. All will have a solid chance of making the St. Louis Rams roster.

What will you be watching for when the St. Louis Rams play the Baltimore Ravens at the Edward Jones Dome tonight, fellow Rams fans?