I manage a fantasy football team. They are called the Hammerheads. They were originally called the Elusive Hammerheads. The name came to me after watching a Discover channel special on the elusive hammerhead shark. The Hammerheads won the
ClanRam Cup last year so I feel that I can talk about some fantasy strategies without sounding like a complete idiot.
Yes, I know fantasy football is
NOT real, and that the team, players, and coaches don’t care about fantasy football, but we fans sure do. It gives us a sense of control, and puts us in the coaching box, instead of leaving us stuck in the stands with nothing to do but cheer.
So which Ram player would you draft for your fantasy team? Or should you stay away from them?
It is a common thought that fantasy coaches should avoid picking players off their NFL team. It is the “homer” principle in action, which just means, that each and every fan is convinced that their players are better than they really are. It is a common trap to fall into. My nephew, Drew, who is new to fantasy football, acted like a “homer” last year and picked up a lot of Steelers. He even played the Steelers on their bye week. He did not do very well during the bye week, but he did pretty well the rest of the season. For Drew, being a homer worked out last year, but I would not recommend it for everyone.
So please don’t pick up all the Rams players for your team, unless you are playing in my league; then feel free to pick them all up. It really is not a good strategy. The Rams players will all have good games and bad games at the same time. They will all take the same bye week off. It is best to mix your fantasy team up with players from many NFL teams.
So who are the Rams players that you should consider? The players that come to mind are: Bulger, Frerotte, Jackson, Faulk, Holt, Bruce, Curtis, Wilkins and that newly modified defense.
Marc Bulger
Bulger has been on my fantasy team the last two years and he has been a top scorer. The combination of a pass happy Martz and an accurate QB were good for adding up fantasy points. Last year Bulger was injured during the Colts game and he only played in 8 games. His stats for the year don’t look that good since he missed many games. Bulger had 14 TDs and 9 Interceptions in 8 games for 2005. He had 21 TDs and 14 interceptions the year before.
Bulger has been getting some recognition this off-season which will make him harder to draft. I have some reservations about drafting him this year since Linehan is talking about running the ball more often. This would limit Bulger’s scoring potential. There is also the possibility that Linehan will also use Frerotte at certain times since he has worked with him before. I will be looking at other QBs this year, but I still consider Bulger to be a top draft pick.
Gus Frerotte
Frerotte is a backup QB and I would never recommend picking up the backup unless the starter gets injured. A starting QB on any team will get you more points than any backup. I don’t recommend picking up Frerotte unless Bulger gets injured during the season.
Interesting stat, Frerotte actually ranks higher in fantasy points than Bulger for 2005 since he played in all 16 games scoring 18 TDs with 13 interceptions.
Steven Jackson
Jackson has potential this year. Faulk is out of the picture and the Rams may run the ball more this year. This could be a big year for
Steven Jackson. He ranked 11th in fantasy points in 2005 with 1046 rushing yards and 8 TDs, and 320 receiving yards and 2 TDs. You may want to move him higher on your draft board.
Marshall Faulk
There is no point in drafting Marshall this year. He just had knee surgery and will most likely miss the whole season.
Torry Holt
No questions there, draft him if you can. Holt ranked 5th in WR fantasy points for 2005 with 1331 receiving yards and 9 TDs. He ranked 6th in 2004 with 1372 receiving yards and 10 TDs. Torry should continue to put big numbers up, but he will be limited since he shares the load with a bunch of good WRs.
Isaac Bruce
Bruce had turf toe last year and he missed many games. For 2005, he only had 525 receiving yards and 3 TDs which was a sharp decline from the year before when he had 1292 receiving yards and 6 TDs. He is worth watching in training camp. Bruce has not scored enough TDs in recent years to make him a top fantasy draft pick.
Kevin Curtis
There is lots of potential in Curtis. He has speed and Marc likes to feed him the long ball. He had 801 receiving yards in 2005 and 6 TDs. He is not a top fantasy pick, but a nice addition as a 3rd or 4th receiver.
Jeff Wilkins
The Rams usually score a lot of points and Wilkins is very accurate. I would like to have Wilkins on my team. He ranked 6th in points for the kickers in 2005.
The Defense
I want to believe in the Rams defense, I really do, but they stunk up the joint for the last couple of years and I don’t expect them to improve that quickly. The Rams defense would not be a top choice for me this season.
Here are my top Fantasy Football tips:
● Write down the date for draft day on your calendar.
● Read the point calculations for each position. Different services calculate points differently.
● Set you draft order preferences up before hand in case you miss the draft.
● Make adjustments to your team for bye weeks and injured players.
● Talk smack with your league. It adds to the fun.
The fantasy football statistics came from Yahoo. Please be aware that these may differ from other services.