Posts tagged MarcBulger at FanHouse

With the news of Steven Jackson's signing holdout concluding yesterday, I'm sure Rams fans and SJax's fantasy owners alike are toasting to the renewed hope in the dangerously-close-to-being-lost 2008 season.

As a guy who once coached my alma mater would say: "Not so fast, my friend."

The Rams still have offensive concerns. Let's sort through them.

The Offensive Line
Orlando Pace has missed practices with soreness in the surgically repaired shoulder which ended his season after just one game last year. One of the main reasons the Rams offense took such a hit last year was the absence of Pace. You could even argue -- I certainly would -- that's what led to Marc Bulger's injury problems, considering Pace is his backside protection and the injuries were to his dome and rib-cage.

Guard Mark Setterstrom and tackle Brandon Gorin are already out for the season. They were slated as backups, but the line durability and depth was a major concern heading into the season, as they Rams used 13 different starters for the five slots last year.

With the news of Steven Jackson's holdout concluding, I'm sure Rams fans and SJax's fantasy owners alike are toasting to the renewed hope in the dangerously-close-to-being-lost 2008 season.

As a guy who once coached my alma mater would say: "Not so fast, my friend."

The Rams still have offensive concerns. Let's sort through them.

The Offensive Line
Orlando Pace has missed practices with soreness in the surgically repaired shoulder which ended his season after just one game last year. One of the main reasons the Rams offense took such a hit last year was the absence of Pace. You could even argue -- I certainly would -- that's what led to Marc Bulger's injury problems, considering Pace is his backside protection and the injuries were to his dome and ribcage.

Guard Mark Setterstrom and tackle Brandon Gorin are already out for the season. They were slated as backups, but the line durability and depth was a major concern heading into the season, as the Rams used 13 different starters for the five slots last year.

Although the Rams had to go through the season while missing 1,348 various offensive linemen because of injury, the one malady that cast the biggest cloud over the entire season was Orlando Pace's. In the very first game of the season, after recovering from a triceps injury the year before, many bad things happened in his shoulder and that was that for the 2008 season.

The team's offense couldn't get going after that. Marc Bulger suffered terrible pressure and missed time with injury. Ditto for Steven Jackson. Apparently, Pace's absence lingered into the locker room, as well. But that has changed with Pace, one of the best tackles ever, healthy and in camp again. The team has been encouraged to see their legend back, and Torry Holt noted the comfort and stability he brings to Bulger and the rest of the offense.

But Pace himself notes that, while he's healthy now, "you never know until you take that one shot." And that's really what it comes down to. It's great that Pace is healthy now, but he's 32 and has missed 23 games in the last two seasons. How long can he stay healthy? And if he can stay healthy, how long before his skills begin to diminish?

I really thought the Rams should have gotten a serious contingency plan in the draft this year and they didn't. And so the offense rests all of its hopes again on Pace. We'll see how that works out for them.

Staff rankings were compiled by averaging the individual rankings of each member of Fantasy Fanhouse. The rankings are based on standard leagues where you gain points for yardage and scores. Or something ...

For the first time in years we enter a fantasy draft season in which Peyton Manning will not be the first QB off the board in the overwhelming majority of leagues -- like the free ones over at FleaFlicker.

While Will Brinson doesn't want you to be the one that takes the plunge in the first round with him -- neither do I -- Tom Brady still checks in as the top QB in our staff rankings. Hopefully you can grasp the concept of being overrated yet still number one at the position.

Some other highlights:
- No, we aren't worried about Manning's knee. You shouldn't be either. The Colts offense is a juggernaut, and he already has great chemistry with their skill guys. Training camp would just be a formality.

- While we don't love Jay Cutler or Matt Schaub as much as some others, we most certainly love Jake Delhomme, Marc Bulger, and Philip Rivers. We can be contrarian like that.

- For bigger leagues where you can start multiple QBs, the 20s are a bargain basement of sleepers. JaMarcus Russell, Trent Edwards, Tarvaris Jackson et al can be had dirt cheap for the potential value they hold.

- Jason Campbell is also a good sleeper, but settle down. Anyone who proclaims him as anything better than top 15 is trying way too hard.

FanHouse's Top 5:
1. Tom Brady, Patriots
2. Peyton Manning, Colts
3. Tony Romo, Cowboys
4. Drew Brees, Saints
5. Carson Palmer, Bengals

See the rest after the jump ...

Training camp is finally here and FanHouse breaks down the most important position battles heading into the season, team by team.

The Rams' offensive line was destroyed by injuries last year. They hope that additions in free agency and the draft will improve the unit's overall talent and depth, but they're pitting two of the players hurt last year -- Brett Romberg and Mark Setterstrom -- against each other at center.

Romberg is a natural center out of the University of Miami who was the starting snapper for nine of his healthy games last year. Setterstrom has never played the position before, starting his career as a left guard, but the team sees a lot of promise in the 24-year-old and wanted to find a spot for him after signing Jacob Bell to fill that spot this year.

Setterstrom is also significantly bigger, with two inches and almost 20 lbs. on Romberg. That's a significant difference in a division with a lot of big-bodied defensive tackles.

After last season, it'll be a nice problem to have two capable centers on the roster. And if this season's anything like last, they'll both be needed. In the end, the Rams need to just let the best man win and hope that guy stays healthy for all 16, depth or no depth. For Marc Bulger's sake.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, Fantasy FanHouse is here to preview each and every team. Listen closely, you're almost guaranteed to win your FREE fantasy football league, only over at Fleaflicker.

Meet The ...
24th ranked offense in the NFL in 2007. Could it be? The "Greatest Show on Turf" has been reduced to rubble. Well, not entirely. Steven Jackson and Marc Bulger both missed four games, Isaac Bruce got old, and Bulger was without all-world protector Orlando Pace for all but one game.

The Breakout
For once, I'm not going to follow directions. There isn't one breakout on this team I'd like to spotlight, but instead several guys that will totally out-perform last year's value. First and foremost is Jackson. He's right with Brian Westbrook and Joseph Addai in the mix for the third overall pick. Next, as Tom Herrera already covered, Bulger is due for a huge bounce-back. Invariably when he does, Torry Holt comes back to his expected level of production. Randy McMichael was rescued last year from the exile that is Miami's offense, and now he'll get to reap the rewards. I guess my short answer is that I'd rather name this category "The Bounce Back" and say "The entire offense." They aren't 24th-in-the-NFL bad. Not even close.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, Fantasy FanHouse is here to preview each and every team. Listen closely, you're almost guaranteed to win your FREE fantasy football league, only over at Fleaflicker.

Meet The ...
24th ranked offense in the NFL in 2007. Could it be? The "Greatest Show on Turf" has been reduced to rubble. Well, not entirely. Steven Jackson and Marc Bulger both missed four games, Isaac Bruce got old, and Bulger was without all-world protector Orlando Pace for all but one game.

The Breakout
For once, I'm not going to follow directions. There isn't one breakout on this team I'd like to spotlight, but instead several guys that will totally out-perform last year's value. First and foremost is Jackson. He's right with Brian Westbrook and Joseph Addai in the mix for the third overall pick. Next, as Tom Herrera already covered, Bulger is due for a huge bounce-back. Invariably when he does, Torry Holt comes back to his expected level of production. Randy McMichael was rescued last year from the exile that is Miami's offense, and now he'll get to reap the rewards. I guess my short answer is that I'd rather name this category "The Bounce Back" and say "The entire offense." They aren't 24th-in-the-NFL bad. Not even close.

Torry Holt has reached a point in his career when he doesn't have to sugarcoat things. He's got his Super Bowl ring, and as he enters his 10th season, he's still one of the NFL's top-5 wide receivers (that can very easily be overlooked/forgotten altogether playing in St. Louis these days).

This might partially explain his in-season blowup directed at head coach Scott Linehan, his recent joking suggestion that he might join the Panthers, and these comments about the Rams 2008 second-round pick, and the guy who will replace Isaac Bruce, Donnie Avery. (Or maybe Holt's just really, really frustrated with playing on a losing team that doesn't look to get better anytime soon. Definitely one or the other, though.)

Asked his early impressions of Avery, Holt said tersely, "Right now, I don't have any impressions of Donnie Avery. ... Hopefully, during training camp he'll show me something."

As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Bill Coats rightly points out, "It's not that Holt is unhappy with Avery; he just wants to let him know that he has to prove himself before he can run with the big dogs. Which is fine with Avery. 'I like that,' he said. 'When other people are strict on me, it brings the best out of me.'"

Well, only four more days of smokescreens, verbal misdirections and blatant lies. Until then, though, we'll have to continue to try to divine how teams really feel about the players they're going to sink millions into over the next few years.

LSU's Glenn Dorsey is roundly considered a top-5 pick, but nagging health concerns have dogged him for about a year now. He suffered a hairline fracture in his tibia before his senior season, but still managed to rack up honors for his stellar play. The Rams could be interested in Dorsey, and unlike some other NFL teams, aren't worried about his injury history.

"He's as good against the run as anybody I've ever seen, bar none," [Billy] Devaney [executive vice president of player personnel] said Saturday. "And like a lot of guys, I think he will be a better pass rusher in the NFL. He has the ability to be a top-notch pass rusher."

Dorsey would play along side last year's first-round pick, Adam Carriker, and for a team with countless needs, beefing up the defensive line is pretty high on the to-do list.

All else being equal, however, you'd have to think St. Louis would rather have Michigan left tackle Jake Long. Orlando Pace is on the downside of a great career, and Alex Barron is too big a liability to entrust with protecting Marc Bulger's blind side.

The good news for the Rams is that Long or Dorsey will definitely be available this Saturday -- it's one of the few perks to holding the second-overall pick -- and either way, the Rams will be a better team come 3:15 p.m. EST or so. On paper, anyway.

The Rams have plenty of needs, but running back isn't one of them. I suppose you could make the argument that St. Louis doesn't have much depth behind Steven Jackson, but there's absolutely no depth in front of him. Rams quarterbacks and the 48 sacks they suffered in 2008 can attest to as much.

Which is why the Marc Bulger thinks Jake Long would make sense as the team's No. 2 pick. And given the defensive issues last year, Chris Long is also an option. But running back is out ( at least if Bulger was running things):

I don't think we're going to pick (Darren) McFadden ... " Then he paused. With a smile, Bulger added, "I hope we don't take a quarterback."

Bulger is coming off a particularly frustrating season; St. Louis finished 3-13 and Kurt Warner's former backup, according to the Post-Dispatch, had career lows in "completion percentage (58.5), touchdown passes (11) and passer rating (70.3), and for the first time as a starter tossed more interceptions (15) than TD passes."

There's still no chance the Rams draft a quarterback -- at least with the second pick -- especially after signing Bulger to a shiny new deal last off-season. New offensive coordinator Al Saunders should help things next year (Redskins fans might disagree; duly noted), but ultimately, it all comes down to the offensive line actually, you know, pass blocking. Drafting Jake Long would be a good start, and if somebody could tell Alex Barron that leading the league in false-start penalties is a bad thing, that might help too.