Not Much Fantasy Love For The Rams

I know there are varying opinions about fantasy football out there, and while I’m a big fan of playing, I can understand those who aren’t as into it as I am. No matter what side of the fence you fall on when it comes to the issue, I think we can all agree that the 2011 version of the St. Louis Rams weren’t exactly loaded with prized fantasy talent. Yahoo! Fantasy has opened their “Juggernaut Index” rankings for the upcoming season, and they have the Rams checking in at No. 31 of 32 teams. For those of you who don’t know, this ranking system rates teams based on fantasy potential only. They aren’t trying to predict real wins and losses, they are just looking at a team’s roster and assessing the fantasy potential. With that being said, I don’t think the ranking is unfair at all. By the way, in case you were wondering, the only team ranked lower than the Rams is the Miami Dolphins.

The article doesn’t have much to say on the good side about the Rams, but they do acknowledge that Sam Bradford will likely be better this season. He probably doesn’t have much fantasy value, but he should be better. The most love on the offensive side of the ball went to Brian Quick (surprise) and Steven Jackson (not a surprise). Apparently, there is some buzz surrounding Quick in the fantasy world, so it sounds like we aren’t the only ones who are expecting big things out of him. I think his transition to the NFL could be a little tougher than people think, but I agree that he could be a nice late-round fantasy receiver.

SJ39 is always a solid fantasy performer, but it can be frustrating that he doesn’t get in the end zone more often. An improved offense could help him get in more often this season, and as long as he’s healthy he should put up fine numbers.Danny Amendola is a pretty solid PPR player, and he could be a nice value after missing so much time last season. The writer at Yahoo! isn’t a fan of Lance Kendricks, and while I wouldn’t draft him, he might be worth keeping an eye on over the first few weeks.

My biggest issue with this article (other than the picture of Bradford on his back captioned “Sam Bradford, in his usual pose”) comes on the defensive side of the ball, when I think this team will be much improved and worth a look in fantasy play. With the addition of Cortland Finnegan and a solid group of pass-rushers, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Rams’ D is worth owning. If Jeff Fisher gets these guys playing his style and they stay relatively healthy, this group may be a nice value pick late in your draft if you miss out on some of the upper-level defenses out there.