ST. LOUIS RAMS
There’s been some good things coming out of Rams camp so far this summer, but I’m not buying all the hype. Do I believe Steve Spagnuolo will fare better than former Rams coach Scott Linehan? Yes. Will he turn the Rams into winners in his first season? Doubtful. There’s too many holes here on offene and defense. St. Louis plugged some of the gaps in its offensive line – drafting Jason Smith and signing Jason Brown – but the cupboard is bare at too many other positions, including wide receiver, linebacker and defensive back, for the Rams to be this year’s Falcons. Count on St. Louis picking up around 5-6 wins this year but no more:
QB: Marc Bulger used to be one of those guys you used to target in your draft. But under Linehan the past two seasons he was a guy you buried on your bench. Poor line play led to erratic play from Bulger and terrible numbers. He was sacked 38 times last season, three 13 picks and just 11 TDs. Those are almost identical numbers he had two years ago. But let’s forget about the past. Bulger finds himself in a new offense under a new regime with a new and improved offensive line. He will be better. But how much. I’d say somewhere between last season and 2006, when he threw 24 TDs and just eight picks. Steven Jackson will be the center of this offense and the weak receivers put a damper on Bulger’s potential. Expect 3,250 yards, 20 TDs, 14 INT. Not bad for a second QB on your roster.
RB: Injuries robbed Steven Jackson of valuable carries over the past two season. Don’t expect that to happen this year – he’s due for some luck on the injury front. And when SJax is healthy he’s arguably the biggest threat out of the backfield in the NFL. He’s what fantasy owners dream about: big, athletic, not in a committee, gets goal-line carries and he catches passes too. Think about this: Despite missing a quarter of his teams games in both 2007 and 2008, Jackson averaged 1347 total yards and 7 TDs a season over that span. I’m not sure where I’ll rank Jackson, but don’t let him get out of the top-5 in your draft.
WR: The news today is that Donnie Avery may miss the season opener STLPost with a broken foot. That’s a blow, but it may help out fantasy owners who like him. With Torry Holt now in Jacksonville, Avery was poised to be the No. 1 guy in St. Louis. He caught 53 balls for 674 yards and three scores (he also ran in a TD) last season, including a game against New England in which he caught 6 passes for 163 yards and a score. I wasn’t real high on Avery, but the injury will make him slip in most drafts. If you can get him as your third receiver late in the draft go for it. The second spot is up for grabs between Ronald Curry, Laurent Robinson and a cast of other misfit. Ignore.
TE: Randy McMichael is back from his broken leg that cut his 2008 season short, but the team likely won’t be showcasing him enough for him to make much of an impact. Throw in the fact he’s on the wrong side of 30 and he’s really not going to help them in the blocking game and he may not see the field a whole lot.
DEF: Unfortunately this unit has too many holes to make a huge impact this season. As Spagnuolo molds this unit into the image he wants, it’ll likely get better as the season goes along – especially the sack totals. But in the end this team will simply give up too many points to be a good play on a weekly basis.
QUOTES FROM CAMP
“He’s done a great job. He’s worked his tail off. He’s in great shape. He runs good routes. The guy is smart and he enjoys the game. It’s what you want in a wide receiver.”
Cowboys QB Tony Romo on WR Roy Williams, who had another good day at camp on Sunday.
“It looked really good. When we went down the field and hit a couple pass plays it reminded me of ’05.“It didn’t matter what the defense was doing, we were throwing the ball at will and doing what we wanted to do.”
Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco. This is interesting news for anyone thinking of targeting either Ochocinco or Carson Palmer
LINKS &THE LEAGUE
I am officially on the Saints bandwagon this year. With Gregg Williams running the defense I could see them winning 12 games an running away with the South. This article supports that theory. NOLA
Staying in New Orleans, it looks like former Huskies quarterback and NFL vagabond Mark Brunell has found another place he can fit in as a backup. NOLA
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