The St. Louis Rams open their 2012 season in a familiar situation: as underdogs. The Rams are 7 1/2-point underdogs to the Detroit Lions in Sunday's season opener.
The Rams have a lot of ground to make up after a 2-14 season in 2011, and that process began during the 2012 NFL draft when St. Louis held the No. 2 overall pick and turned it into the Nos. 14 and 45 overall picks (from the Dallas Cowboys), and the No. 39 overall selection and first-round selections in 2013 and 2014 (from the Washington Redskins).
Oddsmakers seem to agree that the rebuilding process will take until at least Week 2 of the NFL's regular season to take hold.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions are coming off one of their most successful seasons in years. The Lions finished 10-6 and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1999, though they lost in the wild card round to the New Orleans Saints 45-28.
The Rams kick off on the road against Detroit on Sunday at noon CT. The game will be televised on Fox.
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