NFL Insider -- 2008 Team Outlook: Todays Team is : St. Louis Rams

Over the next several days we will take a look at the outlook of the 32 NFL Teams. They will be informative for both the fan of football and also some have information for you fantasy football buffs too. Give us your feedback by leaving your comments. Thank you and have a great season... 2008 Team Outlook: St. Louis As per Shawn Larabee, The Rams opened 2007 with extreme optimism. They entered the season boasting a dangerous vertical passing game, improving young defense, and one of the league's most dynamic running backs. They were also competing in a division that was looked at as being up for grabs. The future seemed bright. Then disaster hit. They lost their franchise left tackle to injury on opening day and never seemed to recover. Without a suitable replacement for Orlando Pace, the Rams' O-line was a mess and continued to be plagued by injuries and inconsistent play all season long. QB Marc Bulger was routinely battered and bruised thanks to poor pass protection and he rarely looked comfortable when dropping back to throw. Constantly under pressure, Rams QB's accounted for a league worst 28 interceptions. Poor offensive line play also seemed to factor into Stephen Jackson's disappointing and injury-shortened season. With the passing game hobbled, Rams opponents were able to stack the box and focus on stopping Jackson (who only managed 83.5 yards per game – well off the fifth place mark of 95.5 he had posted in '06). Despite their offensive struggles, the Rams' defense showed considerable promise. They have a lot of young talent and showed their commitment to continuing their progress by drafting Chris Long with their first pick in the '08 draft. Coupled with Adam Carriker and supported by linebacker Will Witherspoon and O.J. Otogwe in the secondary, St. Louis looks to have the right pieces in place to field a truly imposing defense. Their success in '08 will hinge, once again, on the offensive line. Orlando Pace is expected to be back to full health by the start of the season and will be playing beside former Titan, Jacob Bell - who should be a significant upgrade over last year's starter, Mark Setterstrom. With an improved and healthy O-line, the Rams could be a completely different team in '08. QB Marc Bulger, STL (QB - #14) - Quality Backup 2007 was a season to forget for Marc Bulger (and most people in the St. Louis Rams organization). He missed four games due to injury and simply was not sharp for most of the season. Thanks to a drastic decline in TD:INT ratio, completion percentage and QB rating, Bulger will likely be looked at as nothing better than a second string fantasy QB, but he could still be a pleasant surprise to owners who draft him late. He still has plenty of weapons at his disposal and better O-line play this year could make a huge difference in his play – provided his confidence isn't completely shattered by the disappointments of last year. RB Steven Jackson, STL (RB - #4) - Stud (low risk) Jackson didn't quite live up to the lofty expectations he faced in 2007. His rushing yards and attempts dipped somewhat, while his opportunities as a receiver almost dropped off entirely. He caught only 38 balls in '07 after posting an explosive 90 catch season in '06 and just didn't have the ball in his hands often enough to warrant his top billing as a fantasy superstar. Expect that to change in 2008. With Al Saunders as the new offensive coordinator, Jackson should again become the focal point of the St. Louis attack. Remember that Saunders spearheaded the Kansas City offense that made superstars of Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson and during his last stint in St. Louis in 2000, he orchestrated an offense that saw Marshall Faulk record almost 2,200 total yards and 26 TDs in only 14 games. We can safely predict that Jackson will surpass the paltry 5 rushing TDs he managed in 2007. RB Brian Leonard, STL (RB - #74) - Fantasy Handcuff Stephen Jackson owners will want some protection this season and while Brian Leonard is a great all-around back who did a serviceable job filling in for Jackson last season, he may not remain the #2 option in St. Louis. Rams coaches would like to have Leonard on the field more often, but as a fullback this year (which might mean that backup tail duties will fall to sophomore Antonio Pittman). Keep an eye on developments over the spring and summer to see who gets the majority of time spelling Jackson. While Leonard seems like the safer option for goal-line carries in the absence of Jackson, the coaching staff may have plans to use Pittman as tailback with Leonard lead-blocking. WR Donnie Avery, STL (WR - #80) - Deep-league Only "Rough," "unrefined," "project," "one-dimensional"… all terms that have been used by scouts to characterize Donnie Avery – the Rams' second round pick in the 2008 draft. Avery possesses great speed and will, ideally, work out of the slot as a third receiver in a similar capacity to Kevin Curtis pre-2007. He'll also likely contribute some as a returner, though he'll probably have to earn the coaches' trust before they put the ball in his hands on any sort of regular basis. Avery exhibited some game-breaking tools in college, so consider him worth watching but draftable only in deep leagues until he proves he can handle playing at the pro level. WR Drew Bennett, STL (WR - #69) - Bye Week Fill-in Most fantasy owners will discount this guy and they're probably right to do so. Bennett has only one solid season to his credit and it stands out starkly against 6 seasons of very mediocre stats. Still he showed with the Titans in 2004 (80 catches, 1,242 yards and 11 TDs) that he can be a viable and productive #1 option at wideout. Since then, he has played in more of a peripheral role, but will be asked to step up this season to fill the shoes of Isaac Bruce. Don't expect a repeat of 2004, but Bennett's numbers this season could be a pleasant surprise. WR Torry Holt, STL (WR - #14) - Solid/Safe Pick Since his rookie season 10 years ago, Torry Holt has been the measure of consistency. During his illustrious career with the Rams he has averaged almost 90 catches, over 1,300 receiving yards and almost 8 TDs per season. Even with the offensive downturn of '07, he still managed 93 catches for 1,189 yards and a respectable 7 TDs. At almost 32 years of age, he's shown few signs of slowing down and can still put up Pro-Bowl caliber numbers. If Marc Bulger stays healthy and the O-line improves from last season (an almost certainty, given their absolutely abysmal play in 2007), then Holt's numbers should rise which will make him a great value selection in fantasy drafts. TE Randy McMichael, STL (TE - #21) - Sleeper (undervalued) After basically being the primary option in Miami for the better part of his five years as a Dolphin, it was thought that McMichael would thrive in an offense where he wasn't the only weapon. This wasn't the case in his first year with the Rams. Problems with QB protection meant that he was asked to stay in and block more than he ever was with the Dolphins and, as a result, he recorded the fewest receptions since his rookie season. Blocking was never his strong point and the Rams would love to make better use of him in their passing game. Look for McMichael to rebound in 2008 as the offense finds more creative ways to get him involved.