nERD: -14.69
Record: 2-14, 4th in NFC West

Head coach Scott Linehan was fired just four games into this season, but this didn’t do much to fix the fundamental issues with the team. The St. Louis (Los Angeles) Rams were going to continue their doldrums for a while.

Maybe they felt comfortable with Marc Bulger under center, but regardless, trading a promising young player like Ryan Fitzpatrick away for a seventh-round pick seems like a waste, especially when your starter ranked 36th among 37 qualifying quarterbacks that year in Total NEP per play. Running backs Steven Jackson and Antonio Pittman came in outside the top-40 of the 57 qualifying backs in Rushing NEP per attempt.

Among the 83 qualifying wide receivers, all three of the Rams’ wideouts with more than 50 targets ranked 60th or worse in Reception NEP per play, including the legendary Torry Holt. Only an offense this bad -- 10th-worst since 2000 -- could bring his game down.

It’s always fun to get premium young players as a fan, but no team likes to be drafting second overall because of what that meant for the previous year. The Rams were able to acquire defensive end Chris Long at this pick to help bolster their pass-rush, but there was very little defensive joy in St. Louis that year. Long picked up just 4 sacks and 40 total tackles. Free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe had five interceptions, but that is little comfort for the league’s 28th-ranked defense, which gave up the fourth-worst Adjusted Defensive Rushing NEP per play rate since 2000.

Unfortunately, 2009 would bring little solace to Rams’ fans.