FanHouse PisaTinoisamoa

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Expectations in the Windy City are sky-high, coming off an offseason in which the Bears acquired who should be their first franchise quarterback in ages: Jay Cutler. He's doing photoshoots, selling jerseys with ease and playing well in preseason games. Can it translate into a playoff run ... or more?

While those truly following the Bears' every move this offseason know the defensive backfield is a much greater concern than wide receiver, the masses are left trying to figure out who newly acquired quarterback Jay Cutler will be throwing to (the sheep can now insert, "no one!" and feel good about themselves).

After all, the leading receivers -- in terms of catches -- last season were running back Matt Forte and tight end Greg Olsen. Devin Hester was the top wideout, with 51 catches and 665 yards. Rashied Davis caught 35 balls, but no other wide receiver in training camp caught a single NFL pass in 2008.

In 2003, Pisa Tinoisamoa led the 12-4 St. Louis Rams in total tackles as a 22-year-old rookie. His defensive coordinator was Lovie Smith. After five seasons apart, the two will once again be working together in 2009, as the Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year deal with the linebacker.

At first glance, due to the hulking presence of Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, you might think there's no way the Bears need a linebacker. Tinoisamoa does, however, represent an upgrade to the serviceable yet unspectacular duo of Hunter Hillenmeyer and Nick Roach at the strong side linebacker position. It will be a two-down job on many possessions, as Urlacher and Briggs never leave the field.

Back in 2002, Pisa Tinoisamoa led the St. Louis Rams in tackles. He became the first rookie in franchise history to pull off that feat. He also had the most tackles on the team in 2004, 2005 and 2008. Friday, he was released from the Rams -- likely a cost-saving measure since he would have counted $4.25 million against the salary cap this season and was signed through 2011.

After landing James Laurinaitis in the second round of the draft, the Rams will likely slide Chris Draft to the strong-side and let the rookie Laurinaitis start in the middle from the get-go.

To get you ready for week 13, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Atlanta Falcons/St. Louis Rams preview.

2007 Records:

Atlanta Falcons 3-8 (4th in NFC South)
St. Louis Rams 2-9 (4th in NFC West)

Last Game:

Colts 31, Falcons 13
Seahawks 24, Rams 19

When the Falcons have the ball: There hasn't been much to say about the Falcons offense this year that doesn't fall into the "You know, Coach, yards per carry is an important stat. Maybe you should pay attention to it" or "Well, maybe it's time to give Chris Redman a go?" departments. But Roddy White has been a pleasant surprise. The Rams' defense has been steady against the pass all season, and their rush defense has held three straight opponents to under 100 yards.

The crew at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch put the bye to good use, compiling an extensive account of how the Rams, who in three years broke records, dominated the NFL, and won a Super Bowl, became the team -- term used liberally -- we see today.

There are the five most damaging decisions, all the money tied up in injured players this year (btw, Leonard Little is on the IR), Jim Thomas' lengthy and fascinating document on how Dick Vermeil's first retirement began the degradation of the franchise, and a few draft-day gambles that didn't pay off. Yeah, that about covers it.

Speaking of those draft-day gambles, here's what I found most damning from Thomas' must-read:

Only one player remains from the '00, '01, and '02 drafts - the three drafts that followed the Greatest Show seasons.

Even factoring in the rapid turnover rate of players in today's NFL, there should be four or five current starters from those drafts now in the prime of their careers, helping to form the backbone of the 2007 Rams. Instead there is just long snapper Chris Massey, a seventh-round pick in '02.

Fast forward through the '03 and '04 drafts, and only running back Steven Jackson, and linebackers Pisa Tinoisamoa and Brandon Chillar remain. So out of the five drafts following the Super Bowl XXXIV championship season, only four players remain: three starters and a long snapper.

Jackson is the only Rams Pro Bowler produced from any draft since Super Bowl XXXIV - that's a 1-for-63 batting average over the past eight drafts.

Not in those words, exactly. Not in any gambling terms, really, because betting is illegal and very, very wrong. If Roger Goodell finds out that you're betting on his games, he'll personally come to your house, suspend you from watching the NFL for four weeks, put tracking software on your computer to monitor your surfing habits (cancel that Bang Bros. account), and probably kick your dog on the way out.

But Pisa Tinoisamoa, returning this week from a sprained ankle suffered in the season opener, scoffs at people who are already burying the Rams. They're 0-3 and playing the 3-0 Cowboys, and have looked pretty much terrible this year. But that's no justification to take your money and run to bet on the Cowboys and their 13-point spread (!!!).

"As a defender, these are the kind of games we play for," he said. "It's kind of like one of those movies: 'All right, nobody thinks we can win. What are we going to do? Are we going just buy into what everyone thinks or are we going to go ahead and show them what we think, which is the opposite?'"

The Cowboys should win this game, but 13 points? Really? Should any team be favored by 13 points unless you've got the benefit of talent and espionage AND are playing the Bills? Yeah, the Cowboys have looked impressive, lest we forget that logic doesn't always prevail in the NFL. The Cowboys are bound to slip up, the Rams are bound to get the offense on track, and the Cowboys' overrated defense is the perfect unit for Marc Bulger, Torry Holt, and the rest of the Rams' passing attack to find their form against. This has all the makings of a shocker.

It's a very, very, very distant second to actually winning a game, but there's a bit of good news in St. Louis: at least they're getting healthier, at least in certain areas.

Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa and guard Richie Incognito returned to practice on Wednesday. Tinoisamoa will return to the lineup Sunday, while Incognito is questionable. The Rams are being guarded with information Incognito's progress, lending validity to that awesome, awesome birthname (my first born shall be dubbed Incognito Mantzouranis), but it looks as if he'll sit one more game before returning in Week 5.

Getting both players back will be important, but Incognito's injury is certainly more detrimental. Actually, the Rams' run defense has been better without Tinoisamoa in the lineup. Chris Draft was signed in the offseason to help in that role, and Tinoisamoa's absence has led to more playing time for the former Panther.

Meanwhile, the Rams' offensive line currently consists of former first-round pick Alex Barron, Brett Romberg, and three guys that played offensive linemen in The Replacements. And things haven't been good. The litany of injuries on the offensive line have led to a couple of broken ribs for Marc Bulger and a torn groin for Steven Jackson, the two most important players on the team. It's also been a large part of the team's winless start, so, yeah, probably good to get all these guys back on the field.

To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the St. Louis Rams/San Francisco 49ers preview.

2007 Records:

St. Louis Rams: 0-1 (t-4th in NFC West)
San Francisco 49ers: 1-0 (t-1st in NFC West)

Last Meeting: Rams 20, 49ers 17

When the Rams have the ball: Last week was pretty much a disaster for the Rams offense. Not only did they do nothing of any substance against the Panthers, they lost two key members of their offensive line for extended periods of time. Not the way any team wants to start the season.

That could haunt them a lot this week. The 49ers switched to a 3-4 defense this offseason, and if last week's game was any indication, they're going to blitz. A lot. They sent 4+ blitzers more often than any other team in the season's opening week.

The 49ers face a much tougher test tomorrow in Steven Jackson (provided, of course, he can hold onto the ball), but they dominated a pretty dangerous Cardinals passing attack. Marc Bulger is a ball-control quarterback, but he's going to be under a lot of pressure, and the 49ers have two very Pro Bowl-worthy corners waiting.

When the 49ers have the ball: If Alex Smith is to break out as expected this year, he'll have to play much better than he did against Arizona. Luckily, this is the type of defense to gain some confidence against. The Rams are playing without their top two cornerbacks, Tye Hill (injury) and Fakhir Brown (suspension). And they've never been good at stopping the run. Ashley Lelie might fool fantasy owners into picking him up with a couple of big catches, as the Rams struggle with speedy receivers, and Frank Gore could very well run for 200 yards, especially with outside linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa out.

The good news for the Rams rush defense: their weakness last year, runs up the gut, was largely patched over against the Panthers, stemming in part from solid play from rookie Adam Carriker.

The bad news: the Panthers chose to go outside instead, and still piled up 186 yards on on 38 carries. Oh, and they've got Frank Gore coming up. Oh, and outside linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa has a sprained ankle.

Scott Linehan described Tinoisamoa as "day-to-day" this week, and differentiated the injury from a high ankle sprain. So the news isn't, say, on par with a franchise left tackle missing the season. Still, it's not exactly encouraging when arguably your best linebacker is dealing with a bum ankle (a lingering injury) after the first game, especially when that linebacker missed five games and spent the other 11 hampered by nagging injuries last year.

Tinoisamoa's job is, of course, helping contain the edges that all those outside runs are going. And against Gore, the Rams' defense will need all the help it can get -- the 49er averaged 130.5 yards per game. I'm no prognosticator, but after dissecting the reality of the situation and the people/history involved, I've got to brace Rams fans for potential disappointment: expect more of the same.