St. Louis Rams Preview

¬Rams once again loaded on offense, short on defense

By: Kyle Smith

2006 was a year of transition for the St. Louis Rams. New head coach Scott Linehan and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett were busy implementing their schemes, to varying degrees of success. The offensive tempo under Linehan was different from what Rams fans were used to seeing. Previous head coach Mike Martz had a throw-at-all-costs philosophy while Linehan preferred to employ a more balanced, ground-oriented attack to the delight of Steven Jackson owners everywhere. With a full season under the new regime, the Rams have a number of players that should contribute mightily to your fantasy squad this year.

Quarterback:

Marc Bulger continues to be one of the most underrated QBs in football, if only because of the Rams relative lack of success and his tranquil demeanor both on and off the field. You will rarely see Bulger’s emotions, and that calming influence is part of what makes him an upper echelon QB. Bulger had the best year of his career in 2006, making his second Pro Bowl and ranking fourth in the NFL with 24 touchdown passes. He was third in passing yards with 4,301, and trailed only Peyton Manning in TD/INT ratio at exactly 3 to 1. Bulger should rank no lower than fourth or fifth on your QB rankings, but you may be able to steal him in later rounds because of his relative low profile. Owners in some leagues are sure to pass on him in favor of better known but less productive players like Tony Romo and Eli Manning.

Running Back:

Steven Jackson had his breakout party last year, leading the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 2,334. He was fifth in football in rushing yards with 1,528, and fourth in rushing touchdowns, with 13. On top of those numbers, Jackson proved to be a supreme threat in the passing game, often as an outlet for Marc Bulger. He was seventh in the NFL with 90 receptions and added three more scores through the air.

To back up Jackson this year, the Rams drafted Rutgers all-purpose back Brian Leonard in the 2nd round. Leonard will occasionally rest Jackson, as the Rams need to lessen his touches. Jackson’s 436 combined rushing attempts and receptions were far too many, and he will not be able to stay healthy with that heavy of a workload. Leonard was brought in to remedy that situation. Steven Jackson should be no worse than the third running back taken in your fantasy league this year. I have him ranked second on my board, behind only LaDainian Tomlinson. You can certainly make an argument for Larry Johnson as the second overall back, but the NFL record amount of carries Johnson got last year, along with being four years older than Jackson, make him a more serious injury risk.

Wide Receiver:

A position the Rams have long been deep in is wideout. Though they lost Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald to free agency, the Rams are again stocked with talent at the position. Torry Holt is one of the game’s best, even though he had a down year (for him), as he battled a knee injury for most of the season. Still, he was eighth in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,188, fourth in receptions with 93, and third in touchdowns with 10. His longtime counterpart, Isaac Bruce, also had a very solid year, tying Hines Ward for 20th in football with 74 catches, and ranking 12th in receiving yards with 1,098. His lack of touchdowns is a concern, as he only snagged three.

The Rams added Drew Bennett in free agency to man the slot as the number three receiver on the team. Bennett brings a different look to the Rams, as his 6-5 body allows him to be a threat inside the red zone. Playing with the inaccurate Vince Young, Bennett’s overall numbers were down, as he had only 46 receptions for 737 yards and 3 TD’s in ‘06.The tight end spot will be manned by Randy McMichael, as the Rams signed him to a deal after Miami cut him during the off-season. His numbers will surely suffer in St. Louis because of the multitude of weapons available for Marc Bulger to choose from. He won’t put up 62 catches again, and probably will not register the 640 receiving yards, either. He might improve on his 3 touchdowns, however, giving him some value.

His backup is Joe Klopfenstein, a second year player that was not much of a factor last year, and will get even less opportunity now.  Wide receiver is always an interesting position to monitor in fantasy football drafts. Every owner has different philosophies. Some start taking wideouts in round two, some wait until the fourth round. Whatever your philosophy is, you should consider Torry Holt as no lower than fifth on your WR rankings. Isaac Bruce and Randy McMichael should be attractive options in later rounds, but I would probably steer clear of Drew Bennett unless Holt or Bruce gets hurt.

Defense/Special Teams:

A longtime thorn in the sides of Rams fans has been the miserable play of the Rams special teams, which routinely gave up big yardage covering kick and punt returns, hurting the defense by arming the opposition with a short field. They also rarely got a big return out of their special teams and rotated return men all season.They tried to upgrade that this year with a trade for Kansas City’s Dante Hall. Formerly known as the “Human Joystick,” Hall suffered a drop in numbers last year as he was heavily involved in the offense for the first time. Linehan has said he will use Hall sparsely on offense this year, keeping him fresh for return duties.At kicker, Jeff Wilkins remains a solid fantasy option. He tied Chicago’s Robbie Gould for first in the NFL with 32 field goals made, knocking home 86.5% of his tries. Wilkins should be one of the top kickers off the board, but wait until the last round to do so.

Defensively, the Rams were not good last year. They were twenty-third in overall defense, giving up 335.1 yards per game. St. Louis ranked second to last in rushing defense, getting gashed for 145.4 ypg. Their pass defense was better, as they allowed only 189.7 ypg through the air, but don’t be fooled, that was because teams just handed the ball off all day. The only good news for the Rams is they were +12 in turnover differential, good for fourth in the NFL.

The Rams defensive unit is one to avoid. Coordinator Jim Haslett is implementing his scheme, and the team got new players in the off-season such as James Hall, Todd Johnson, Chris Draft, and rookies Adam Carriker, Jonathan Wade, Cliff Ryan and Keith Jackson. We will find out soon enough whether or not this unit is improved. Until then, keep them off your radar on draft day.