The St. Louis Rams are a team to watch in 2013. As the NFC West continues to grow into one of the strongest divisions in the NFL with the rise of the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams are certainly worth keeping an eye on. St. Louis finished in third place last year in the division. After adding a lot of young talent along with head coach Jeff Fisher, the team's best days are ahead of them.
Sam Bradford is young and slowly putting his rookie mistakes behind him. In 2012, he threw for 3,702 yards and 21 touchdowns along with 13 interceptions. The hard part is that he is in a division with two of the most hyped up young quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick. Bradford threw for more yards than both quarterbacks, but ended up with the worst record of the three. Bradford lacked for a supporting cast last season, something that will change this year.
The Rams drafted highly touted rookie receiver Tavon Austin to be one of Bradford's new favorite toys, something he is loving after a string of offseason workouts.
"He looked for me a lot at practice," Austin said. "He definitely believes in me and I definitely feel good about myself. He kind of talked to me, let me know the thing I'm doing good, the things I'm doing bad as far as landmarks, if I should have kept the corner high or should I bend it off. I definitely believe he got a lot of trust in me and I got trust in him."
Austin is just one of Bradford's new weapons on offense. Austin's teammate Stedman Bailey is also in St. Louis, making a strong wide receiving tandem. Austin believes that between he, Jared Cook and Bailey, the Rams receiving core offers a lot of potential.
St. Louis needs receiving potential. The Rams are hopeful Bailey emerges into the clone of Carolina receiver Steve Smith with his top speed and ability to play both in the slot and outside. Austin has the skill set to develop into one of the league's best wide receivers. The Rams lost three of their top five receivers in the offseason, leaving Chris Givens as the top player. Bailey and Austin offer the unit an instant upgrade in talent, something Bradford will feast on.
