Lions-Rams
Time: NOON CT
Spread: DET -3.5
Total: 41
Odds c/o Pincle
It now is sort of a question of who is worse between these two opponents, with both the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams sitting on a 4-8 record and respective coaches on the hot seat. The Lions will host the Rams as 3.5 point favorites, but this is hardly a game loaded with intrigue and anticipation.
Check out our NFL odds page for instant line updates on every game.
The Lions at one point had hope this season and a three-game winning streak following the firing of both its team president and GM, while also replacing the OC. It has mattered little in the long run, though.
The Lions led 20-0 over Green Bay last week but ended up blowing it. Aaron Rodgers fired a 61-yard hail Mary pass to put the Packers past Detroit 27-23. HC Jim Caldwell said, “Some of you will ask me questions about last Thursday, I’m not going back there, the fact is that you have to get focused on St. Louis in a hurry.”
Such dismissal, denial even, will hardly go far to save his job. Caldwell can pretend the signs are not there in front of him. But that will not mean they are not.
Shop and compare the best online sportsbooks with our sportsbook review page.
Rams HC Jeff Fisher also had his team throw up a crapper last week. It lost 27-3 to the Arizona Cardinals to record the fifth straight loss for St. Louis. This was a season that at one point seemed to hold a lot of promise, but the playoff hopes evaporated just as quickly as Fisher’s job may this offseason.
The Rams have been outscored 58-10 the last two weeks and it ranks last in the NFL in passing yardage (178 per game) while converting just 24.5 percent of third downs. Fisher already fired OC Frank Cignetti and replaced him with Rob Boras, who had been a finalist for the job last offseason. This week represents a test to prove he should keep that job, because the Rams may be on the verge of gutting things.
Rams QB Nick Foles was benched on Nov. 15 and replaced with Case Keenum, but now Keenum is on the shelf with a concussion. Foles has played the last two weeks but has thrown four INTs with no TDs while racking up a passer rating of 47.0.
Since the Rams acquired Foles, he has hardly been the standout he once was in Philadelphia. He has thrown seven TDs and 10 INTs in 11 starts, and even Sam Bradford who was dealt for him is better than that. Keenum had thrown 12 of 26 for 136 yards and a TD in his lone start, and he will be starting again in this week’s affair.
Fisher said, “We’ve got good players, we’ve got to use them. We need direction moving forward offensively and we’ve got to get better QB play. We’ve got to get better play out of all the position groups.”
It is easy to lay the load on the QB, but Fisher’s deflection of poor coaching and laying blame on his team is hardly going to inspire a stronger effort. He spoke on the commitment to his backfield, but that has been a largely unproductive group. The Rams have gained less than 100 yards in its past four games and rookie Todd Gurley is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry over the last five games after starting his NFL career in fine form.
Prior to the downslide, Gurley had averaged 6.4 yards per carry and the Lions know that Gurley can quickly return to that if he gets better blocking from the OL. The Rams need him to start playing like he did, even though finishing above .500 is now not possible. It will be the 12th straight year the team has been sub-.500 and the Rams have not made the playoffs since 2005.
The Lions QB Matthew Stafford has completed 68.5 percent of his passes while throwing seven TDs and no INTs over the past two games. That is the Stafford that Detroit is used to seeing, but it has been a long, tough season for Lions fans.
Maddux Sports Is Hammering the NFL Bookies Once Again, Click Here Now To Win With Us This Season!
