Not much was expected from either the St. Louis Rams or Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season. But expectations might have to be adjusted in regards to these rapidly maturing rosters.
The Rams will be looking to move over .500 for the first time in three seasons and the Bucs will be looking to keep pace in the NFC South when the teams meet on Sunday.
After finishing 1-15 last season and breaking in a new quarterback in 2010, most people figured St. Louis would be among the worst teams in the league again while pushing a young roster toward future success.
But with the NFC West wide open with no great teams, suddenly the Rams find themselves in contention - just one-half game behind the unimpressive duo of Seattle and Arizona.
St. Louis (3-3) moved back to .500 last week with a 20-17 upset victory over the San Diego Chargers. While San Bradford threw a touchdown pass and Steven Jackson rushed for a score, the most impressive thing about the Rams last week was the defense, which held the top-ranked San Diego offense to 287 total yards.
Larry Grant, James Hall and Chris Long each recorded two sacks in the contest and Oshiomogho Atogwe intercepted a pass for St. Louis, which worked its way up to 23rd in the NFL in total defense with the performance.
One place the Rams have not had much success is on the road, where they have been outscored 60-20 in losses to the Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions. The 44-6 rout at Detroit included three turnovers.
The veteran star of the team, Jackson is on the verge of some franchise history, needing 32 rushing yards to match Eric Dickerson’s franchise record of 7,246. Jackson has gone over 100 yards in each of the last two games and ranks fifth in the NFL with 507 on the season
He should have some clear lanes against Tampa Bay, which ranks next to last in rushing defense, allowing 157 yards per game.
The Bucs (3-2) were not much better than St. Louis in 2009, finishing 3-13 with the youngest roster in the league.
Still among the youngest teams in football, Tampa Bay is one-half game behind the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints in the NFC South despite an offense that ranks 27th in rushing and hasn’t gotten much production out of starting running back Carnell Williams.
Williams was held to just 18 yards on 10 carries last week in a 31-6 loss to the Saints. The defense was torched for 475 yards in the setback.
Second-year quarterback Josh Freeman has shown signs of becoming a solid NFL quarterback this season, lifting his rating from 59.9 in his 2009 rookie campaign to 83.4 while throwing for six touchdowns against three interceptions.