Ramblin' Fan » offense

Important Upcoming Rams Dates

Justin Stine — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:38:21 +0000

Before I get started, just wanted to let everyone know that Sam Bradford and the Rams’ offense is on the front page of the fantasy sports page at Yahoo. It doesn’t really mean anything, but just wanted to let you all know.

The next week is going to be absolutely nuts all over the NFL, and our St. Louis Rams are certainly no different. As many time lines as we have seen recently, it looks like we finally have an actual, concrete list of dates for the next few weeks up to the first preseason game Saturday, August 13 against the Colts at the Jones Dome. Obviously, you shouldn’t be shocked if something changes with these at some point, but it looks like this list provided by Jim Thomas should be as close to accurate as we can get right now. Some of these dates will be affected depending on how long it takes to ratify the agreed-upon CBA, so keep that in mind as well.

Tuesday – Rams Park facilities open to players
- Team can sign all rookies – drafted or undrafted - starting at 9 a.m. St. Louis time.
- Team can negotiate with - but not sign - all veteran free agents, whether on Rams roster last season or on other rosters.

Thursday – Teams can waive or terminate player contracts as of 3:01 p.m. St. Louis time.

Friday – First day of Rams training camp. Activity limited to physicals and team meetings.
- Team may sign free agents and/or renegotiate existing contracts as of 5 p.m. St. Louis time.
- Signed rookies may participate immediately in physical activity; newly signed veteran players cannot take part in physical activity until new CBA is ratified.

Saturday – No pads or contact allowed at Rams practice.

Sunday – No pads or contact allowed at Rams practice.

Monday, Aug. 1 – First day that Rams are allowed to have padded practice.

Thurs. Aug. 4 – League year begins if collective bargaining agreement is ratified. All clubs must be under salary cap. (League year can begin before Aug. 4 if CBA ratified before then.)

Sat. Aug. 13 – Preseason opener vs. Indianapolis at Edward Jones Dome, 7 p.m.

Holt, Bruce Top 10 Fantasy WR’s In History

Justin Stine — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:18:02 +0000

As many of you know, I’m a huge fantasy sports guy. I worked as a fantasy sports writer for a year, and I pretty much play year-round in every major sport. So when the guys over at Rotoworld put together their Top 25 Fantasy Wide Receivers of All Time, I had to check it out. While it shouldn’t come as much surprise, the Rams were well represented, placing two players in the top 8.

Torry Holt came in at #4 overall, which I thought was a little high at first until I thought back to how amazing he really was during his time with this franchise. Holt was an absolute machine every season, and until he fell off at the end of his career, he was one of the most reliable elite receivers in NFL history. Here is the synopsis from Rotoworld:

“And he made it look so easy. Holt never finished as the No. 1 wideout, but he reliably put up boffo numbers for an eight-year stretch. Until he fell off a cliff in 2008, Holt essentially didn’t have one year that disappointed owners.”

Just a few spots behind Holt was Isaac Bruce, who checked in at #8 overall on the list. Bruce moved with the team from LA, and he was and elite WR in this league for well over a decade. Seeing Bruce out there just sort of became the norm for everyone in St. Louis, and as far as fantasy goes, he put up big numbers for a long, long stretch of time.

“ What made Reverend Ike different? Even after Torry Holt passed him in St. Louis, Bruce put up rock solid WR2 numbers for another half decade. He was in fantasy starting lineups for 14 years.”

There’s nothing wrong with strolling down memory lane to remember some of the great days and great players who were a part of this franchise, and hopefully there will be another crop of offensive threats to jump up fantasy draft boards here in the next few years.

What Can We Expect From Avery?

Justin Stine — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:59:53 +0000

There are numerous stories out there about Rams wide receiver Donnie Avery running a 4.4 40, which we discussed here several weeks ago the first time he did it. Many of these reports seem pretty confident that Avery is ready to play a major role in the offense next season, but color me skeptical. Obviously, I’m not the biggest Avery fan in the world, so I’m sure that has something to do with it. But what has Avery done during his career to make us believe he can be a big-time player? He had a couple nice performances a couple of years ago, but he has spent more time on the training table than he has catching touchdowns. Is the 4.4 impressive? Absolutely. I bet the Raiders would kill to have Avery on their roster. But as the follies of Al Davis and Co. have taught us over the past several years, speed isn’t the only indicator of a great player.

I’m not saying that Avery can’t do it, because he has shown flashes that he can. I think the talent is there, but how many times are we going to get excited about this guy heading into a season just do be disappointed? I think he’s going to have to prove to me he can stay on the field and be effective before I can sign off on relying on him on offense.