2008 Team Preview by RotoExperts.com Staff Writer Matt Wirkiowski

PROJECTED DEPTH CHART

Players listed in order of fantasy relevance. Recommended round to draft in standard 10 to 12-team leagues with 16 rounds in parentheses.

Quarterback: Marc Bulger (7), Trent Green

Running Back: Steven Jackson (1), Antonio Pittman, Brian Leonard

Wide Receiver: Torry Holt (3), Drew Bennett (15), Donnie Avery, Dane Looker, Dante Hall

Tight End: Randy McMichael

Kicker: Josh Brown (15)

NOTABLE PLAYER MOVES

Additions: G Jacob Bell, K Josh Brown, QB Trent Green
Subtractions: QB Gus Frerotte, WR Isaac Bruce, K Jeff Wilkins

No longer the home of the Greatest Show on Turf. Photo Credit: Kelly Martin

2008 ROOKIES TO WATCH

Round Two: Donnie Avery, WR, Houston

TOP POSITION BATTLE

C and RG:  Brett Romberg vs. Richie Incognito vs. Mark Setterstrom

2008 SCHEDULE

Top matchups in bold

Sept. 7: at Philadelphia
Sept. 14: N.Y. Giants
Sept. 21: at Seattle
Sept. 28: Buffalo
Oct. 5:  BYE
Oct. 12: at Washington
Oct. 19: Dallas
Oct 26: at New England
Nov. 2: Arizona
Nov. 9: at N.Y Jets
Nov. 16: at San Francisco
Nov. 23: Chicago
Nov. 30: Miami
FANTASY PLAYOFF MATCHUPS
Dec. 7: at Arizona
Dec. 14: Seattle
Dec. 21: San Francisco
Dec 28: at Atlanta

ENGEL EYE ON: THE ST. LOUIS RAMS

I would not be surprised to see Torry Holt suffer from the departure of Isaac Bruce this season. While Bruce is in the twilight of his career, he still commands respect from defenses and helped Holt in terms of drawing defensive attention away from him, even until his final days in St. Louis. Drew Bennett may not be able to draw defenders away from Holt like Bruce did, and there have to be some questions about whether Bennett can stay healthy or not. If the Rams have to dig deeper at WR, they have rookie Donnie Avery and guys who are really not suited to start. I still like Holt, but he may be much less consistent in 2008.

2008 FANTASY POSITIONAL OUTLOOKS

Quarterback:

The Rams had issues at quarterback last year, as Marc Bulger couldn't stay healthy, and ended up playing in only 12 games.  When Bulger was sidelined, Gus Frerotte stepped in and didn't do much to inspire confidence in his ability to lead the team to the end zone, and he was cut after the season.  For 2008, Bulger will be your starter, and the Rams are hoping for a healthier season from him.  In a bit of irony, the Rams signed 38-year old Trent Green to serve as this season's backup.  Green, if you'll remember, was poised to start for St. Louis in 1999, but needed knee surgery during the preseason, which allowed Kurt Warner to lead the Rams to their first Super Bowl victory.  Bruce Gradkowski was also signed in the off-season, and will be primarily responsible for holding a clipboard in the role of third-string quarterback.  A quarterback is only as good as his offensive line.  If that statement is as true in 2008 as it was in 2007, it will be a long year for Bulger.  Ram quarterbacks were sacked 48 times in 2007, pressured into 28 interceptions, and had five fumbles.  The offensive coordinator for the Rams is Al Saunders.  Saunders was the wide receivers coach for the Rams from 1999 to 2000, and is from the Don Coryell coaching family. Saunders' offense is a pass-oriented attack centered around a quarterback who is a rhythm passer, and wide receivers that are able to adjust their routes based on what the defense offers.  Bulger is a good fit for this system, as he is a very smart quarterback who has excellent timing and touch.

While you should not rely on Bulger as your number one quarterback, he would be an excellent backup, and should be targeted in the seventh round.  If he can turn the clock back to 2006, you will have a very tradeable commodity.  As for Green and Gradkowski?  There is no need to even write their names down on your cheat sheet.

Running Back:

The Rams are fining Steven Jackson $15,000 every day he misses camp, and have told his agent that they will not negotiate until he reports to camp.  Jackson is in the last year of his current contract, and feels he is underpaid.  Jackson is a powerful runner, who isn't afraid to lower his shoulder and drag the pile.  Although he missed four games last year, he still ran for over 1,000 yards for the third consecutive season.  The big question is what his workload will be in 2008.  In 2006 he averaged 27 combined rushing attempts/receptions per game, but in 2007 that number dropped to 23 per game.  Most of that discrepancy can be attributed to the fact that Jackson left games due to injury.  Assuming he is healthy, I would fully expect him to be back at that 27 combined touches per game.  The two running backs vying for the starting spot if Jackson were to hold out longer are Antonio Pittman and Brian Leonard.   Pittman is a cutback runner, which was the offensive scheme at Ohio State when Pittman was there.  Pittman would be the logical choice to be the starting running back if Jackson's holdout progresses into the season.  The Rams run a similar offense to the Ohio State offense, in which the offensive line is taught to block to create cutback lanes.  Leonard doesn't give you anything fancy.  Give him the ball and he'll go forward as hard as he can.  The other reason that Pittman could get the nod over Leonard is that Leonard can also play fullback and be a lead blocker.  Pittman cannot be a fullback.  You may see both Pittman and Leonard is the backfield at the same time quite often, as that would give the offense another dimension, and prevent the defense from keying on one of them.  Travis Minor is also on the roster to provide depth, and not much else.  At this point, neither Pittman nor Leonard is worth drafting, but if Jackson's holdout continues, pay attention to training camp, and whomever looks like the starter will be worth a double-digit round draft pick.
 

Torry Holt is an annual fantasy standout. Photo Credit: wvncsu

Wide Receiver:

The Rams need a shot of youth injected into their receiving corps.  10-year veteran Torry Holt is 32 and the other expected starter, Drew Bennett will be 30 in a couple of weeks.  The current third and fourth receivers on the depth chart, Dane Looker and Dante' Hall, are 32 and 30 in September respectively.  They may have found the first piece to that youth movement in the second round of the 2008 draft.  The Rams drafted Donnie Avery out of Houston; Avery is a burner who can get open and has good hands. Look for Avery to easily pass Looker and Hall on the depth chart, and become the slot guy on three-receiver plays when the season starts.  Lining up on the field with Avery are the aforementioned starters; Holt and Bennett.  Holt, who seems to have lost a step, has also gained game smarts, and is still a dangerous receiver.  With his quarterback and running back missing games, and the other starting receiver being the now-departed, decrepit Isaac Bruce, you would've thought that Holt would have been defended to the point he wouldn't get any looks.  However, Holt was able to overcome all of those hurdles, and post excellent numbers, with 93 receptions, 1,189 yards and seven touchdowns.  That's six consecutive seasons in which he's caught at least 90 balls, and eight consecutive seasons he's had at least 1,000 yards.  Don't expect a drop-off this year; Holt is a solid early third-round pick.  Bennett, on the other hand, was the Rams slot receiver last year, and caught only 33 balls for 375 yards and three touchdowns.  Look for Bennett to get more deep balls thrown to him now that he's playing wide, but not enough to pick him as anything more than a late-round roster filler.  Avery should not get any attention in one-year leagues, but would be a nice pickup in dynasty leagues.  Looker, Hall and the other receivers should receive no consideration on draft day.

Tight End:
Randy McMichael had a disappointing season, his first with the Rams after spending the first five years of his career with the Miami Dolphins.  McMichael had only 39 receptions for 429 yards and three touchdowns.  For a tight end who is purported to be athletic, McMichael has never been able to utilize that athleticism to have a breakout-type campaign.  For his career, McMichael has averaged 52 receptions and 587 yards per season, while only averaging 3.5 touchdowns per season.  While the Rams would love to see McMichael have a big season, it doesn't look likely.  The Rams signed former Jet and Buccaneer tight end Anthony Becht to serve as the backup.  Becht is a very good run blocker who can catch a pass as well.  There is no need to put a Ram tight end on your cheat sheets.

Kicker:

With the retirement of long-time Ram kicker Jeff Wilkins, the Rams were in the market for a kicker.  Luckily for St. Louis, Josh Brown was a free agent.  Brown had spent the first five years of his career with division rival Seattle, and surpassed 100 points in every season.  Brown has a strong leg, and is 44-of-68 in his career from beyond 40 yards.  Brown should once again surpass 100 points, and could reach 115.  While you should never pick a kicker before the final round of your draft, Brown is a top-six kicker, and should definitely be chosen. 

Defense/Special Teams:
The Rams were abysmal on defense in 2007, as they gave up the second most points in the league, and finished in the bottom half of the league in yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, and passing yards allowed.  Additionally, they weren't able to mount much of a pass rush, as they had only 31 sacks.  The only area in which they finished in the top half of the league was in turnovers created.  The Rams run a 4-3 defense, and in an effort to shore up the defensive line, selected Chris Long out of Virginia with the number two overall pick.  Chris Long is the son of Howie Long, best known for those cute Radio Shack commercials with Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher.  Well actually Howie Long is best known for his Hall of Fame career as a defensive end for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, so Chris has outstanding bloodlines. 

Joining Long on the defensive line are Leonard Little, who even at 33 is still considered a speed rusher, La'Roi Glover, and Adam Carriker.  It will be up to the defensive line to keep opposing offenses in check, because the linebacking corps is weak, and there is no depth.  Your starters include middle linebacker Will Witherspoon, who is by far the best of the bunch, and flanking Witherspoon on either side are Pisa Tinoisamoa and Quinton Culberson.  Leading the secondary is cornerback Tye Hill, who is one of the best cover corners in the league.  Most teams will avoid Hill, and instead pick on the other starting corner, Fakhir Brown.  Manning the safeties are Corey Chavous and O.J. Atogwe.  The Rams defense may be improved, but clearly is lacking in many areas.  Do not consider the St. Louis defense on draft day.

Offensive Line:

The offensive line is basically a M*A*S*H unit.  Future Hall of Famer Orlando Pace, a monster at left tackle, has missed 23 of the past 32 games due to various injuries, and may miss time this year as well.  The three men fighting for two starting spots at center and right guard, Richie Incognito, Brett Romberg, and Mark Setterstrom, all missed multiple games last year due to injury, and in fact Setterstrom has missed part of training camp.  That void has allowed the Rams' third-round pick John Greco, an offensive tackle out of Toledo, to get some reps in at guard.  The Rams' coaching staff already likes Greco's energy, and this versatility will make him even more valuable.  The Rams had problems protecting the quarterback in 2007, and the quality of the line will rest upon the shoulders of Pace.  If Pace is healthy, he should be able to stabilize the line enough to give Bulger the time he needs.  If not, then the Rams will need to play musical chairs with their line, and that usually spells disaster for offenses.

Matt knows that Missouri is the Show-Me State, so he knows that fans of the Rams are saying "Show me a playoff team!", while Steven Jackson is saying "Show me the money!"  Every Saturday Matt shows you who is the Mother Lode and who is Fool’s Gold here at RotoExperts.com.  Got a question or comment?  E-mail Matt at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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