Insider View: The St. Louis Rams

[STLCover2]

I just had an idea: why don't each one of us who follows a team in our hometown give a brief, objective overview of what's going on with that team. There are bound to be details about system/personnel, etc., that escape the national headlines but have fantasy implications. Feel free to post on your favorite team.


Here's what I see going on with the Rams:

The focus of the Rams seems to be on their O-line. Kyle Turley, their right tackle, and Dave Wohlobaugh, their center are done for the year. This has some speculating that their offense will fall apart. I'd look at it this way: the Rams line was overrated before the start of the year, and is probably underrated now.

Wohlobaugh was a liability last season, as teams exploited the Rams weak interior lineman. This year Adam Timmerman moves to center, and Chris Dishman comes out of retirement to play left guard. He is a big dude and might give the Rams line the push they lacked in the running game last year. Grant Williams moves into Turley's spot at RT. He's adaquate, not great, but Turley was somewhat overrated to begin with.

Some Fantasy notes: Last year was not a fluke for Torry Holt. He put up those yards because he is Bulger's favorite target in a Mike Martz (read: pass heavy) offense. Don't expect that to change.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT expect the same numbers out of the Ram's defense this year. LOVIE SMITH "WHEN IN DOUBT, BLITZ" SYSTEM IS GONE! There is a new, albeit similar, system in place. However, the Rams are without their best corner, Travis Fischer, who scored 2 touchdowns last year, and relying on defensive tackles who have not lived up to their potential.

[deftdelivery]

Some good points, and I'm certainately glad you're down on STL defense this year....they will have a bad year no doubt for fantasy owners. One piece of info you are missing is Pace's resigning, if that factors into your thoughts on the o-line at all...what do you think about the rushing game this year?

How will Faulk and Jackson do? Is Lamar Gordon going to see PT?

[IRON CHEF]

If you don't mind, I will contribute a bit.

The Rams' defense is definitely not in great shape this year. They are a shaky fantasy option at best. D Line problems, loss of Lovie, and Fisher being injured hurts a lot. Fisher's replacement, Garrett, has been making some poor plays. Also, Tommy Polley has been demoted in favor of Brandon Chillar. Lack of motivation or drive led Martz to benching him. You would think this would fire him up, but he has shown little emotion since the demotion. The unit as a whole has had very sloppy tackling lately.

On the offensive side, there are certainly concerns but probably not as much as some suspect. Pace is starting against Arizona, hopefully in as best condition as possible. I'm hoping Martz makes the fatass run wind sprints until he pukes out all that extra weight. Apparently no one has held hard feelings towards him, at least the players and coaches aren't letting on about it. As for the rest of the line, they are shaping up pretty admirably. Chris Dishman has toned down, and has done a very good job run blocking. This leads me to believe that although the line will be less effective that the team as a whole won't be hurt as much as some believe. If/when Faulk gets hurt Jackson will be ready to step in, that is probably the reason Gordon is around. When Gordon is given the chance he can be a very effective runner, but he won't see much playing time unless an injury occurs.

[IRON CHEF]

And for all you rams fans....

http://www.ramsforum.net/phsycho/2004_intro.swf

[STLCover2]

Excellent Video!

That did it for me - Now I'm pumped for the season. You gotta love the image of Leonard Little closing on Quincy Carter like a cheetah after a gazelle.

[IRON CHEF]

Ah, damn. This thread got moved to a forum with that averages about 1 hit a week. I think we should get rid of all of the team forums, or bunch them all together into one. Not sure if that would work, but nonetheless the team forums are sorta pointless at this point.