Plenty of tickets still available for the game. Well, there must be, since the NFL is blacking the game out on TV.

* St. Louis vs. Oakland
Sunday, December 17, 2006. 1:00 PM, PST.
Week 15
The Unseen Battle

The Rams still have a rather capable offense what with QB Mike Bulger, WR Torry "Big Game" Holt, trusty veteran WR Isaac Bruce, and the beast of a player that is RB Steven Alexander.

Of course, all the so-called "skill position" players in the world won't help when you're playing behind a dinged-up offensive line and are in the first year of using a brand new offensive system under rookie Head Coach Scott Linehan.

The Rams can be hot, the Rams can be cold -- there's no telling which team will show up on Sunday. Two weeks ago they lost to the Arizona Cardinals, one of the absolute worst teams in the league as they play out the rest of their schedule waiting to fire Head Coach Dennis Green. One week ago the Rams traded blows with the Chicago Bears' taut defense before succumbing to a couple of special teams touchdowns, and failing to adjust to how the Bears had adjusted their D to STL's strategy.

The Rams are potentially a mid-range team even as they rebuild. The remnants of a proud offense saddled with a useless defense. This week is going to be a meeting of two teams with nothing but next year to play for.

If the Raiders do beat St. Louis this Sunday, it could be considered a mistake for the franchise, and here's why: