June 12, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein (4) kicks during minicamp at ContinuityX Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

The Rams scrimmage at the Edward Jones Dome on Saturday was by all accounts a pretty big success, as just under 13,000 people showed up to check out the new-look squad under head coach Jeff Fisher. As it always goes with this kind of thing, there were a few guys who stood out, but it probably wasn’t the guys you would expect. The biggest star of the day was probably rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein, who put on a long-distance field goal show. Zuerlein nailed kicks from 39, 44, 49, 54 and 59 yards before just missing a 64-yarder that had the distance but drifted to the left. I know it’s still only practice, but the kid has a bomb and he looks to be fairly accurate as well. Plenty of people were floored when the Rams picked Zuerlein in the draft, but those who saw him today probably feel quite a bit better about that selection now.

Another player who had a good day was WR Brandon Gibson, who seems to put on a show every year in the preseason and then return to the actual Brandon Gibson when the regular season kicks off. I’m not saying we should discount what he is doing so far of what he did today, as he made two really impressive catches during the workout, but I will remind everyone that he has a history of being a different player when the games count. For what it’s worth, Sam Bradford really likes him and they seem to be on the same page, so that could bode well for his chances to make the team. I won’t be heartbroken if he doesn’t make the final cut, however.

The offense got plenty of work in today, and it sounds like coach Fisher was pretty happy with how everything went. “It was really good. All week I think they were kind of looking forward to this to kind of finish up the first phase of camp. What we wanted to accomplish today was a lot of situation things. We did a 4-minute offense, trying to get the ball back on defense and play keep away on offense, and of course we did the 2-minute with a lot of good individual work and 1-on-1 situation stuff. Overall, it was good. We came through healthy. It looks like we’ll get some guys back on Monday. Most of the DBs will be back on Monday. They’re obviously done now, they’re off tomorrow, we come back Monday and we’ll have three good, solid days of camp and then we’ll start preparing for our first preseason opponent.”

Bradford also had positive things to say about the workout. “Really, it was just a normal practice for us. We went through the same thing we do in a normal day, but I thought we had a great two-minute drill today. It’s something that we talked about actually last night in our meetings, so it was nice to see that carry over onto the field and (for) us to go out and execute the way we did today. Other than that we got some good work in some different areas. Today was the first time we went goal line. Got some good live snaps down there. I’ll have to look at the tape, but I thought we had a pretty good practice today.”

SJ39 shared the positive feelings as well after practice. “So far so good. We’ve been installing this (offense) now for some months. We started in the spring and I think a lot of it has carried over and the guys are clicking, especially within the 1s. The blocking schemes are being able to … everyone’s been on the same page and looking really good on the run game. We have to continue to just work on it and just work on the chemistry and make sure that we can try all stay on the field together. That’s how you can build off of that success.”

Dec 12, 2011; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) against the St. Louis Rams at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Rams 30-13. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Is it just me, or is there a different NFL player getting arrested every day? While there have been somewhere around 30 players who have gotten in trouble with the law over the last few months, I wanted to focus on one of the more recent offenders: Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. Lynch was pulled over at about 4 a.m. on Saturday in California after he was spotted swerving through traffic and almost hitting two different cars.

I might be picking on Lynch a little by focusing on his issue, but as a Rams fan this could have way more of an impact on our season than any of the others. Lynch already served a three-game suspension back in 2009, so you have to think that Roger Goodell is going to lay the smack down on him this time as well. I think most people assume that Seattle is going to be better than the Rams in 2012 (whether they are correct or not is another story), but if Lynch is forced to miss some significant time then the Hawks could be in trouble.

I’ve always kind of liked Lynch, and I really wanted the Rams to go after him to back up SJ39 when he was on the market a few years ago. However, Seattle grabbed him instead and he has had a pretty nice run since he got the Pacific Northwest. Considering the questions they have at quarterback right now, they can’t afford to be without Lynch early in the season.

I don’t know what’s going to happen here, but I would imagine that Goodell isn’t pleased with so many of his players getting in trouble. If he chooses to make an example out of some of these guys, Lynch could find himself is even hotter water as a repeat offender. We’ll have to wait and see, but any decision could have a pretty serious impact on the 2012 NFC West.

Dec 12, 2011, Seattle, WA, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) hands off against the Seattle Seahawks during the first quarter at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated St. Louis, 30-13. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-US PRESSWIRE

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.