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Betting preview: St. Louis Rams

Dave Tuley
Erin Rynning

With the NFL season finally here, ESPN Chalk's NFL Vegas experts -- Dave Tuley and Erin Rynning -- bring you individual team previews for all 32 squads. They break down each team's strengths and weaknesses, along with season win total bets and Super Bowl 50 odds.
St. Louis Rams

Super Bowl odds: 60-1 (opened 25-1)

Season win total: 8 (under -180)

2014 regular-season record: St. Louis 6-10 (7-9 ATS)

Odds courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, as of Sept. 7

Dave Tuley

Tuley's Take: One of the more interesting trades of the offseason was St. Louis sending Sam Bradford to Philadelphia for Nick Foles. It's rare for teams to swap starting quarterbacks, after all. The Rams got rid of injury-prone Bradford and are hoping Foles doesn't inherit that tendency. While they also probably upgraded the running game by drafting Todd Gurley, they'll have to wait for him to be healthy.

Jeff Fisher has long been considered the best coach in the league in the role of underdog, but last year's team was really enigmatic. The Rams beat the Seahawks outright as 7-point home dogs, beat the 49ers as 10-point road dogs and beat the Broncos as 8-point home dogs. But they were only 5-6 ATS as dogs for the season and 6-10 ATS overall. I'll be looking to bet them in spots as live dogs, but they're not consistent enough to back blindly.

Over/under (8): Early bettors took the over when St. Louis' win total was 7.5, and now it's at 8, but with even heavier juice on the under. That's probably the right play, but I'm not going to lay the extra vig.

Super Bowl odds (60-1): The 60-1 price on the Rams is too cheap to play. The biggest obstacle is the division they play in. Heck, the division price of 8-1 is too cheap as well.

St. Louis Rams Betting Trends

STAT TOTAL HOME AWAY FAVE UNDERDOG O/U
2014 ATS 7-9 3-5 4-4 2-3 5-6 8-8
3 Yr ATS 25-23 12-11 13-11 5-6 20-17 25-23
JF ATS 167-150-4 80-79-1 87-71-3 67-75-3 98-72-1 1 67-149-5


Erin Rynning

Summary: This will be the fourth year of the Jeff Fisher regime, and it's time to produce. In their first season under Fisher, the surprising Rams went 11-5 ATS, but they've failed to build on that momentum, going 14-18 ATS the past two seasons. In their defense, the NFC West has been loaded with the dominating Seahawks, Jim Harbaugh-ruled 49ers and sturdy Cardinals. Personally, I look to back teams in the NFL that can pressure the quarterback and/or control games with their front seven. The Rams are exactly that team, but their offense is most likely a year or two away from making them a true contender.

Reason for optimism: The front seven for the Rams is deep, athletic and young. Yes, it's awesome to have an All-Pro quarterback to control an NFL game, but the Rams can counter with that defensive front.

Reasons for pessimism: The Rams' quarterback play, along with their offensive line, continues to be a massive question mark. Their offensive line will be one of the least experienced in the NFL, with two rookies projected to start.

O/U (8): The Rams are well coached and will be led by a standout defense. If their offense can play average football, they will make the playoffs. The bet is on the over.

Super Bowl odds (60-1): If Nick Foles can duplicate his 27-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio from 2013, the Rams will be playing in February. I'm not betting on that happening