The 2010 season was the St. Louis Rams' 73rd in the National Football League (NFL), and their 16th in St. Louis. The team greatly improved on their near winless record of 1–15 from the 2009 season by achieving more total victories than in their previous three seasons combined for a record of 7–9, which almost won a weak NFC West ultimately decided by a loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the final week. Since the start of the 2007 NFL season, the Rams had won just 6 combined games and had not qualified for the playoffs since 2004. In the 2010 NFL draft, the Rams had the number 1 overall pick, which they picked Sam Bradford from Oklahoma. This year marked their second season under head coach Steve Spagnuolo. The Rams played all of their home games at the Edward Jones Dome, in St. Louis, Missouri.
The Rams fired two trainers (Jim Anderson and Dake Walden), and assistant line coach Art Valero left for the Seattle Seahawks.St. Louis Rams fire 2 trainers; line aide joins Seattle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jan. 24, 2010
Stan Kroenke was approved by the NFL on August 25, 2010, to purchase 100% of the Rams from the current owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez. Kroenke took control of the team before the start of the 2010 season. He also owns the Denver Nuggets of the NBA, as well as the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL.
Offseason
Key departures
Quarterback Marc Bulger was released by the Rams on April 5, 2010.
Key additions
2010 NFL draft
The Rams picked first in the first round after finishing the 2009 season with the worst overall record at 1–15. In addition, the Rams had a fifth round pick from the Philadelphia Eagles from a trade that sent LB Will Witherspoon to the Eagles, and a seventh round pick from the Atlanta Falcons from a trade that sent CB Tye Hill to the Falcons.
The Rams selected University of Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford with their 2010 number 1 overall pick.
+ St. Louis Rams 2010 NFL Draft selections Draft order Player name Position Height Weight College Contract Notes Round Choice Overall 1 1 1 Sam Bradford QB 6' 4" 236 Oklahoma 2 1 33 Rodger Saffold OT 6' 5" 318 Indiana 3 1 65 Jerome Murphy CB 6' 0" 196 South Florida 4 1 99 Mardy Gilyard WR 5' 11 7/8" 187 Cincinnati 5 1 132 Michael Hoomanawanui TE 6' 5" 270 Illinois 5 4 135From Washington Redskins, traded to the Atlanta Falcons 5 18 149 Hall Davis DE 6' 4" 271 Louisiana From Atlanta Falcons 5 24 163From Philadelphia Eagles, traded to the Denver Broncos 6 1 170 Fendi Onobun TE 6' 6" 249 Houston 6 19 189 Eugene Sims DE 6' 6" 235 W. Texas A&M From Atlanta Falcons 7 1 208Traded to the Washington Redskins 7 4 211 Marquis Johnson CB 5' 11" 192 Alabama From Washington Redskins 7 19 226 George Selvie DE 6' 4" 245 South Florida From Atlanta Falcons 7 47 254 Josh Hull LB 6' 3" 240 Penn State Compensatory pick
Staff St. Louis Rams 2010 staff Front office Owner/chairman – Chip Rosenbloom Owner/vice chairman – Stan Kroenke Executive vice president of football operations/coo – Kevin Demoff general manager – Billy Devaney Vice president of player personnel – Tony Softli Director of pro personnel - Mike Williams Director of player personnel – Lawrence McCutcheon Director of college scouting – John Mancini
Head coaches Head coach – Steve Spagnuolo Assistant head coach/quarterbacks – Dick Curl
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Pat Shurmur Running backs – Sylvester Croom Wide receivers – Nolan Cromwell Tight ends – Frank Leonard Offensive line – Steve Loney Quality control/offense – Andy Sugarman Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Ken Flajole Defensive line – Brendan Daly Linebackers – Paul Ferraro Defensive backs/cornerbacks – Clayton Lopez Defensive backs/safeties – Andre Curtis Quality control/defense – Matt House
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Tom McMahon Quality control/special teams – Derius Swinton
Strength and conditioning Strength – Rock Gullickson Assistant strength – Chuck Faucette
Final roster
Preseason
Schedule The Rams preseason schedule was announced on March 31, 2010.Rams Preseason Opponents Revealed Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap 1 August 14 Minnesota Vikings L 7–28 0–1 Edward Jones Dome Recap 2 August 21 at Cleveland Browns W 19–17 1–1 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 3 August 26 at New England Patriots W 36–35 2–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 4 September 2 Baltimore Ravens W 27–21 3–1 Edward Jones Dome Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: vs Minnesota Vikings
Regular season Schedule In addition to their regular games against NFC West division rivals, the Rams played games against the NFC South and AFC West according to the NFL's schedule rotation, and also played games against the Detroit Lions, who had finished last in the NFC North in 2009, and the Washington Redskins, who had finished last in the NFC East in 2009. Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site NFL.comrecap 1 September 12 Arizona Cardinals L 13–17 0–1 Edward Jones Dome Recap 2 September 19 at Oakland Raiders L 14–16 0–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 3 September 26 Washington Redskins W 30–16 1–2 Edward Jones Dome Recap 4 October 3 Seattle Seahawks W 20–3 2–2 Edward Jones Dome Recap 5 October 10 at Detroit Lions L 6–44 2–3 Ford Field Recap 6 October 17 San Diego Chargers W 20–17 3–3 Edward Jones Dome Recap 7 October 24 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 17–18 3–4 Raymond James Stadium Recap 8 October 31 Carolina PanthersW 20–10 4–4 Edward Jones Dome Recap 9 Bye 10 November 14 at San Francisco 49ers L 20–23 4–5 Candlestick Park Recap 11 November 21 Atlanta Falcons L 17–34 4–6 Edward Jones Dome Recap 12 November 28 at Denver Broncos W 36–33 5–6 INVESCO Field at Mile HighRecap 13 December 5 at Arizona Cardinals W 19–6 6–6 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap 14 December 12 at New Orleans Saints L 13–31 6–7 Louisiana Superdome Recap 15 December 19 Kansas City Chiefs L 13–27 6–8 Edward Jones Dome Recap 16 December 26 San Francisco 49ers W 25–17 7–8 Edward Jones Dome Recap 17 January 2 at Seattle Seahawks L 6–16 7–9 Qwest Field Recap
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Arizona Cardinals
The St. Louis Rams began their season at home for an NFC West match against the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams trailed in the 2nd quarter with Cardinals kicker Jay Feely nailing a 22-yard field goal, which was replied when Rams kicker Josh Brown made a 46-yard field goal. The Rams fell behind again with running back Tim Hightower making a 1-yard TD run, but were able to score with rookie quarterback Sam Bradford making a 1-yard TD pass to wide receiver Laurent Robinson. In the third quarter, the Rams took the lead for the first time when Brown nailed a 25-yard field goal, but it went downhill in the fourth quarter when quarterback Derek Anderson made a 21-yard TD pass to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, giving St. Louis a loss.
With the loss, St. Louis began the season at 0–1.
Week 2: at Oakland Raiders
Hoping to rebound from their divisional loss to the Cardinals the Rams flew to Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum for an Interconference duel with the Oakland Raiders. In the 2nd quarter the Rams would score first with QB Sam Bradford making a 7-yard TD pass to WR Mark Clayton. Then the Raiders replied with kicker Sebastian Janikowski nailing a 38-yard field goal; then he booted a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter. Then the Rams fell behind when QB Bruce Gradkowski made a 4-yard TD pass to WR Louis Murphy, followed in the fourth quarter by Janikowski nailing a 22-yard field goal. The Rams cut the lead when Bradford found WR Mark Clayton on a 17-yard TD pass, but couldn't pull out the victory.
With the close loss and 13th straight loss to an AFC opponent, the Rams fell to 0–2.
Week 3: vs. Washington Redskins
After two close losses the Rams hoped to bounce back at the Edward Jones Dome for their first win of the season. On the first possession the Rams drove down the field and capped off their drive with a 41-yard touchdown run by Steven Jackson. On the ensuing Redskins drive, Donovan McNabb drove into Rams territory before Na'il Diggs forced a fumble on Santana Moss. James Butler, who was playing for an injured Craig Dahl picked up the fumbled and returned it 49 yards before being forced out of bounds. Bradford threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Fells to make the score 14–0. The Redskins tried to start their offense again, but after being stopped on third down had to punt. Graham Gano's punt was blocked however by Rams rookie wide receiver Dominique Curry, and the Rams took over in striking distance for another touchdown. Sam Bradford threw his first interception of the day, and the Redskins were able to take over again, and were able to score a field goal. On the kickoff after the Redskins field goal, Mardy Gilyard, the Rams rookie kick returner/wide receiver fumbled the ball, and the Redskins took over on the 21 yard line. Donovan McNabb hit Santana Moss for a touchdown the next play. Steven Jackson was injured on the next drive for the Rams, and the Rams were unable to score. The next drive the Redskins kicked another field goal to make the score 13–14. The Rams marched down the field one last time, but were stalled in the redzone. With 31 seconds left Josh Brown attempted a field goal, but the Redskins blocked the kick and at the half the Rams led 14–13. At the start of the second half, McNabb hit Moss for a 56-yard pass. The Rams kept the Redskins out of the endzone, and Washington settled for the go ahead field goal to make the score 16–14. The next drive St. Louis marched down the field, and Kenneth Darby, playing for an injured Steven Jackson scored his first TD of the year from 12 yards out to make the score 21–16. Redskins were unable to score during the fourth quarter however, and McNabb was picked off by Bradly Fletcher as he attempted a comeback. Josh Brown kicked three field goals in the final quarter to seal the Rams first victory of the year with a score of 30–16, snapping a 13-game home losing skid. This win also marked their highest scoring performance in a regular season game since their 34–14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on October 19, 2008.
With the win, the Rams improved to 1–2.
Week 4: vs. Seattle Seahawks
The Rams' fourth game was played at home in an NFC west rivalry match against the Seattle Seahawks. In the first quarter the Rams took the early lead as QB Sam Bradford completed a 15-yard TD pass to WR Brandon Gibson. The Seahawks cut the lead with kicker Olindo Mare nailing a 22-yard field goal, but the Rams increased their lead when kicker Josh Brown made a 30-yard field goal, followed in the 3rd quarter by Bradford completing a 21-yard TD pass to RB Kenneth Darby. Then Josh Brown made a 31-yard field goal.
With the victory, the Rams improved to 2–2, thus successfully improving on their previous season. The win also snapped a 10-game regular season losing streak to the Seahawks.
Week 5: at Detroit Lions
Hoping to increase their current winning streak the Rams flew to Ford Field for an NFC duel with the Lions. The Rams trailed early with kicker Jason Hanson making a 30-yard field goal, but the Rams replied with kicker Josh Brown making a 28-yard field goal. In the second quarter the Rams struggled as Hanson's kick was returned 105 yards to the endzone by WR Stefan Logan, followed by QB Shaun Hill making a 1-yard TD pass to WR Calvin Johnson. The Rams tried to cut the lead with Brown nailing another 28-yard field goal, but they continued to struggle when Hill found TE Brandon Pettigrew on a 3-yard TD pass and then in the 3rd quarter he found WR Nate Burleson on a 26-yard TD pass. In the fourth quarter the Rams had more problems when they gave up a 48 and a 47-yard field goal by Hanson and an interception by DB Alphonso Smith in which he returned 42 yards to the endzone for a touchdown.
With the loss, the Rams fell to 2–3.
Week 6: vs. San Diego Chargers