Click here for our 2009 Analysis on the St. Louis Rams - Published July 2009

2009 Fantasy Recap – St. Louis Rams

The Rams- $#!t sandwich.  I could not find a better way to describe the Rams in 2009.  That actually may even be an insult to sandwiches.  Is there any part of last season that could be considered good for the Rams?  Let’s see here.  No.  Nah, huh uh.  Ok,  Steven Jackson,  but then that just pains me thinking about how f’in good S-Jax would be on a competent team.  He rolled for the 2^nd most rush yards behind CJ28 (1,416), but due to the killer B’s (Boller and Bulger), he managed just 4 tuddies.  So while I suppose fantasy leagues that don’t award points for TDs weren’t complaining (are there any of those? God I hope not), the rest of us were stewing about. 

In nine games, Marc Bulger only managed 5 TDs and 6 INTs.  Amortized over 16 games that’s not good.  Kyle Boller came in and actually managed to play worse… 3 TDs on 6 INTs in 5 starts.   By week 14, coach Spags just said “screw it” thinking things couldn’t get any worse, and tossed his rookie QB Keith Null into action.  They got worse.  3 TDs and 9 INTs in 3 starts.   

The Rams receiving corps accordingly suffered as a result of the poor QB play.  Donnie Avery busted after garnering some attention as a rookie in 2008.  He managed 6 less receptions in 4 more starts.  Laurent Robinson was threatening to validate my “sleeper” appointment from this time last year, as he impressed in the first 2 games (141 yards and 1 TD), but then had his fibula fractured thus ending his season in week 3.     

Passing Offense  

Rushing Offense  

2010 Offensive Line Analysis

St. Louis Rams 2010 Oline analysis – provided by UltimateFFstrategy.com

2010 Offensive Philosophy

Steve Spagnulo returns to coach the Rams for a 2^nd season along with his OC Pat Shurmur.  The plan will most likely be to run Steven Jackson another 325 or so times, to keep the pressure off their new rookie and 1^st overall draft pick QB Sam Bradford.   Good news for Rams fans, Pat Shurmur was the QB coach in Philly for 10 years and was the man who groomed Donovan McNabb.  It’s difficult to say whether or not the Rams will opt to pass less and run more in 2010 because they don’t have anyone beyond S-Jax that they can depend on.  So Bradford should expect more passing attempts than recent rookies Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan did.   Bottom line, there is only one direction for this offense to go from a fantasy perspective.

AIR:  Sam Bradford will be light on dependable targets for his first year.   I really like Laurent Robinson (if he can stay healthy), but it thins out after that.  Donnie Avery has some wheels, but actually managed less production in four more starts in 2009 (vs. 2008).  Keenan Burton is injury prone and overall weak.   Another 50+ recepts is a lock for S-Jax assuming he stays upright.   As odd as this might seem, Bradford represents a huge upgrade under center for this team.  One thing is very familiar with is the end-zone having chucked 80+ TDs between his sophomore and junior seasons in Oklahoma.

GROUND:  This is easy – S-Jax run left, S-Jax run right.   Their top draft pick from 2009, Jason Smith, returns after a disappointing rookie season.  He was banged up for much of it, but appears healthy.  The entire line is now healthy (G Jacob Bell also missed time last year) for the first time in over a year.   

QB

Sam Bradford - Bradford tried to do the right thing and stick around for his Senior season at Oklahoma despite being regarded as a top 5 draft pick in the 2009 draft.  He injured his (throwing) shoulder in the very first game in 2009, missed a few weeks, then came back and re-injured the same shoulder – his college coach Bob Stoops ended things then and there.   What we know about Bradford is that in college he was a prolific passer having tossed 86 TDs in 893 attempts.  Those numbers are unheard of at any level.  For perspective, Peyton Manning threw 90 TDs in college on 1,354 attempts.   1^st overall pick in 2009 Matt Stafford tossed 51 TDs in 987 attempts.   Drew Brees threw 90 TDs in 1,678 attempts.   Questions remained as to how far he had come from the injury, but he seemed to allay those concerns this past spring.  There have been a small handful of rookie sign-callers that were productive enough to warrant a start in a pinch (Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan, Matt Stafford, and Ben Roethlisberger - to name a few), so Bradford should be drafted.

RB

Steven Jackson - He's 26 years old and a total beast of a fantasy RB. He takes A LOT of flack because most fantasy experts (like yours truly) rank him high every season and he typically only returns top 10 production. Kidding, I had him ranked 7th in RBs and he finished 9th, so bite me. At any rate, the guy is as versatile as they come. One of about 6 true every down RBs let in the game (AP, MJD, Turner, Gore, and CJ28 being the others). He is a brute up the gut, has the speed to turn the corner on any LB, and has sticky hands out of the backfield. Furthermore, for those of you hating on SJax - he has had the distinct displeasure of ballin' alongside the worst signal callers in the NFL (Bulger and Kyle Boiler or whatever his name is). So he gets a rookie in 2010. It's got to be an improvement, right? It'll be more 8 in the box for Sjax, but he's more dependable than anyone left on the board by my count.

WR

Laurent Robinson - LR is on my sleeper list again for 2010 because he is the tallest, fastest, most sure-handed WR on the Rams roster. It's a definite stretch in that a rookie QB (Bradford) will be under center, so keep your hopes in check with this guy. He can be had for very little investment, as I'm seeing kickers and defenses being draft before this kid. As a keeper/dynasty guy, he's a no brainer, because he's young, and Bradford is the real deal. Unfortunately, though, as of June, Laurent was still experiencing effects from his broken leg suffered in September of 2009.

Donnie Avery - He can stretch the field for rookie Sam Bradford, but should not be drafted.

Verdict - The only WR with fantasy potential for 2010 (until Bradford proves himself) is Laurent Robinson.

2010 St Louis Rams NFL Draft by Round

Click here for St Louis Rams 2010 Off-season Movement