Preview: Rams can =benefit= from injury situation

The Rams host the Atlanta Falcons tonight in their first home game of 2009. Some of the things I'll be trying to keep an eye out for:


* Benefits of player injuries. Injuries to the team over the past week are some reason for concern, yes, but they make the field tonight an ideal laboratory for putting other players in positions we need to see them in. I.e.:


* We need to find out how Kyle Boller looks with the starting offense, and will, since Marc Bulger's out with Warner Pinky Syndrome.
* Keith Null earned more playing time last Friday night. He's gonna get it.
* Alex Barron's injury - he's iffy for tonight - means we may see Jason Smith with the starters. Can he hack it? And Jacob Bell's concussion puts some pep in the steps of Mark Setterstrom and John Greco.
* Three WRs (Avery, Carter, Foster) are out, but even on a roster this thin at WR, that doesn't have to be a bad thing. It's an ideal night for a young, intriguing prospect like Nate Jones or Sean Walker to break out. It'll be great to see those guys get extra reps. I'd even bet somebody does take a big step forward at WR tonight, though Atlanta has a very promising DB prospect of their own, third-round pick Chris Owens.

Other stuff to watch:
* Will there be any pass rush? I especially want to get a look at Chris Long.
* Will there be any blitz protection? This will be a lot harder to diagnose from the stands than by watching TV (and I have forgotten to bring my binoculars for the game), but I'll do my best. We also have to mind that any time Boller escapes from a blitz, that'd still be a sack of Bulger. We want Boller's jersey nice and clean tonight.
* The defensive youth movement. I'll also try to keep an eye on James Laurinaitis and the fight for positions in the secondary, where the youngsters disappointed a little bit against the Jets.
* Finally, what's the atmosphere in the Dome going to be? It underwent $millions in renovations in the offseason: has it improved as a venue any? And the Rams underwent all kinds of organizational changes in the name of improving the gameday experience; how's that going to play out?

And you thought tonight was just a plain old exhibition game, eh?