Entries Tagged 'St. Louis Rams' ↓

For those of you who thought St. Louis Rams tackle Orlando Pace was mulling retirement, he’s here to tell you otherwise. A report today indicates he is in no way ready to retire, at least not until the conclusion of next season. If he’s healthy before the ‘08 season kicks off, he’ll be wearing a uniform.

“I’m going to come back and play,” Pace told the Post-Dispatch. “I will play. Initially, (retirement) crosses your mind. You think, ‘Man, I can’t go through another year like this.’”

The 7-time Pro Bowl tackle has had his season ended the past two years, an obviously frustrating experience. But he wants to leave the game on his own terms:

It seems the Rams coaching staff realized that Gus Frerotte isn’t the cure to what ails the offense. His six turnover performance (5 of which were interceptions) reminded fans that he’s one of the worst backup quarterbacks in the NFL. In his defense the Rams (0-6) are one of the worst teams in the NFL right now, competing with Miami and Cincinnati for that title.

So in his stead Marc Bulger will return to the offense. He’s missed the past couple weeks with a pair of broken ribs.

“Yeah, I’m playing,” Bulger said. “I’m ready now after standing around for two weeks. They definitely feel a little better, but I haven’t been hit.

After a series of staggering defeats — and a pair of cracked ribs — the Rams are preparing to sit Marc Bulger this weekend in favor of Gus Frerotte.

“I was never going to pull myself out, I know that much,” Bulger said, when asked why he’s been playing this long with injury. “It’s real easy to play hurt when you’re winning, but it’s just not in me to pull myself out when we’re 0-4.

“It was going to have to be the coaches pulling me out, and that’s what happened.”

Without a doubt the Rams have had the NFL’s most disappointing offense this season, especially from a fantasy football perspective. The offense has stumbled and bumbled its way to an 0-4 record, scoring an average of only 9.8 points per game (how does that happen?), the worst offensive showing in the NFL this season.

Did you have the first pick of your fantasy draft? Or the second? Or the third or fourth? Chances are, you considered yourself lucky. In fact, I’m guessing that if you had the first pick, you wasted no time sending in your pick. You probably didn’t flinch and you probably figured you had the safest investment in your draft.

“LT.”

You didn’t need to accompany it with anything else. Who was going to question that decision? Every pundit with a pen or laptop told you that there was no way you could consider selecting anyone else. After all, how often do 31-touchdown seasons occur among running backs?

LT. The initials that once stood for the most feared linebacker in the history of football now represent the most feared running back since Barry Sanders. LaDainian Tomlinson has the uncanny athleticism to dodge tacklers, throw tight spirals, break through defenders’ tackles, and catch out of the backfield.

And after the 2006 season, everyone confidently predicted Tomlinson would be the consensus first overall pick in every fantasy league under the sun for the 2007 season. After all, a record setting 186 points (the 755 of football) and 28 rushing touchdowns allows a prognosticator to make those sorts of predictions.

And they weren’t wrong. LT has been on the cover of just about every fantasy publication and on the tip of the tongue of every fantasy owner with the first overall pick in their respective draft.

After a short-lived holdout on Thursday, the St. Louis Rams and quarterback Marc Bulger have agreed to a new contract extension that will pay him just over $10 million per year for the next 6 seasons. Also, $27 million is guaranteed.

Smart move by the Rams to lock up Bulger. A two time Pro Bowl quarterback, Bulger has thrown for more than 3800 yards three of the past four seasons — he was injured in 2005 — and at least 20 touchdowns in those seasons.

Injuries are a slight concern, however, and last season was the first time in his career he started all 16 regular season games.

Last season the Saints were predicted to disappoint (again), the Cardinals to be the league’s sleeping giant, and Peyton Manning was still considered a choke artist. Then we all watched as the Saints pulled off a miracle, the Cardinals never awoke from their slumber, and Peyton Manning is now on the same pedestal as Tom Brady (a notch higher, in this writer’s opinion).

Hey, no one can get ‘em all right. But I’ll still try.

Just kick back and watch as the following 10 predictions come to fruition by the end of the season.

At one time it was “the greatest show in turf” in St. Louis. Since then the Colts have taken the crown, with such star talent as Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, and Reggie Wayne.

But who is 2007’s best fantasy offense? Which offense drops jaws with its talent while tallying the scoreboard and boxscore with big numbers?

Though it is generally accepted each season that Peyton Manning will be the first quarterback drafted, there is some unsettled debate as to who should be taken second and thereafter.

The usual candidates return: Tom Brady, Matt Hasselbeck, Marc Bulger, and Carson Palmer. But a new contender entered the fray last season, Drew Brees. His unprecedented 4418 yards, 26 touchdowns, and mere 11 interceptions gave him the nod as the second best producer at quarterback in 2006.

Fantasy owners, meet your top six fantasy quarterbacks for the 2007 season:

By now the national consensus is that running back LaDainian Tomlinson is the best overall fantasy football player. And why not assume that? After a record breaking season in 2006, Tomlinson remains in the prime of his career. But it’s time owners look to number two overall and consider the available options.