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Taylor Smith
<a class="postlink" href="http://nflsoup.com/fantasy-football-2013-what-to-make-of-the-st-louis-rams-rb-situation/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://nflsoup.com/fantasy-football-201 ... situation/</a>
For the first time since 2004, the primary ball-carrier for the St. Louis Rams will be somebody other than Steven Jackson.
Nine years and over 10,000 yards later, the Rams will have another guy assuming the role as RB1 in their backfield. The question is: who will that be?
Despite playing in all 16 games a year ago, Jackson saw his workload diminish a bit as the team divvied the carries between Jackson and some of the team’s youngsters.
Jackson still topped 1,000 yards and was, by far and away, the Rams’ leading rusher, but rookie Daryl Richardson, a seventh-round pick, came out of nowhere to gain 475 yards on just 98 carries.
St. Louis drafted Isaiah Pead out of Cincinnati in the second round prior to last season, but he saw just 10 carries all year as he was passed on the depth chart by the more explosive Richardson.
Two other names to watch in the Rams’ backfield heading into training camp are rookie Zac Stacy and Terrence Ganaway, who was drafted in the sixth round last year, but saw no action on the field.
So, with Jackson now in Atlanta, somebody figures to step-up and take his spot as the team’s primary ball-toter. If you’re a fantasy owner, where should you look? While Richardson boasted the most impressive numbers last season, he’s not necessarily going to be the one to seize the job in 2013.
While he’s considered the most athletic option, many seem to have Richardson tabbed as a change-of-pace back more than an every-down type. He carried the ball 10 or more times in just two games last season, and, as you may expect, produced his two biggest rushing yardage totals in those games.
However, he didn’t score a single touchdown all year.
Pead, who was expected to be Jackson’s primary backup, hardly saw the field at all, as mentioned above. On his 10 carries, though, he did average 5.4 yards per attempt. He also caught three passes and returned 10 kicks, but fumbled on one of each. Obviously, Jeff Fisher and friends didn’t really trust him enough to give him many opportunities to touch the ball. Like Richardson, Pead is in the 5’10″, 200-pound range.
Stacy is an intriguing candidate here as more of a big, bruising type runner. He’s about 220 pounds, and showed impressive strength at the combine, but he’s also quite shifty and elusive running up-the-middle. Ganaway was a standout at Baylor, but he doesn’t really figure to be a major player in this competition.
It seemingly comes down to Richardson vs. Pead. Unless one of them absolutely blows the coaching staff away during camp and the preseason, we may be headed for a running back-by-committee type situation in St. Louis. Let’s also not forget that Pead will miss the first game of the regular season after being suspended due to violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Considering he already obviously wasn’t in the greatest standing with Fisher last year, he’s certainly not helping improve relations by getting himself banned for a game. That said, Fisher was quoted as saying the suspension won’t cost Pead the ability to earn the starting gig in camp.
So, as of today, your guess is as good as mine regarding who will come out on top here. Based on last year, I’d say the team has to be impressed most by what they saw from Richardson, who has more big-play potential than any of them.
But check back once preseason rolls around for updates on this front. If you’re drafting sometime soon, I’d say that only Richardson and Pead are worthy of late-round flier picks. If you’re going into things with either of these two as one of your starting backs, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
<a class="postlink" href="http://nflsoup.com/fantasy-football-2013-what-to-make-of-the-st-louis-rams-rb-situation/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://nflsoup.com/fantasy-football-201 ... situation/</a>
For the first time since 2004, the primary ball-carrier for the St. Louis Rams will be somebody other than Steven Jackson.
Nine years and over 10,000 yards later, the Rams will have another guy assuming the role as RB1 in their backfield. The question is: who will that be?
Despite playing in all 16 games a year ago, Jackson saw his workload diminish a bit as the team divvied the carries between Jackson and some of the team’s youngsters.
Jackson still topped 1,000 yards and was, by far and away, the Rams’ leading rusher, but rookie Daryl Richardson, a seventh-round pick, came out of nowhere to gain 475 yards on just 98 carries.
St. Louis drafted Isaiah Pead out of Cincinnati in the second round prior to last season, but he saw just 10 carries all year as he was passed on the depth chart by the more explosive Richardson.
Two other names to watch in the Rams’ backfield heading into training camp are rookie Zac Stacy and Terrence Ganaway, who was drafted in the sixth round last year, but saw no action on the field.
So, with Jackson now in Atlanta, somebody figures to step-up and take his spot as the team’s primary ball-toter. If you’re a fantasy owner, where should you look? While Richardson boasted the most impressive numbers last season, he’s not necessarily going to be the one to seize the job in 2013.
While he’s considered the most athletic option, many seem to have Richardson tabbed as a change-of-pace back more than an every-down type. He carried the ball 10 or more times in just two games last season, and, as you may expect, produced his two biggest rushing yardage totals in those games.
However, he didn’t score a single touchdown all year.
Pead, who was expected to be Jackson’s primary backup, hardly saw the field at all, as mentioned above. On his 10 carries, though, he did average 5.4 yards per attempt. He also caught three passes and returned 10 kicks, but fumbled on one of each. Obviously, Jeff Fisher and friends didn’t really trust him enough to give him many opportunities to touch the ball. Like Richardson, Pead is in the 5’10″, 200-pound range.
Stacy is an intriguing candidate here as more of a big, bruising type runner. He’s about 220 pounds, and showed impressive strength at the combine, but he’s also quite shifty and elusive running up-the-middle. Ganaway was a standout at Baylor, but he doesn’t really figure to be a major player in this competition.
It seemingly comes down to Richardson vs. Pead. Unless one of them absolutely blows the coaching staff away during camp and the preseason, we may be headed for a running back-by-committee type situation in St. Louis. Let’s also not forget that Pead will miss the first game of the regular season after being suspended due to violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Considering he already obviously wasn’t in the greatest standing with Fisher last year, he’s certainly not helping improve relations by getting himself banned for a game. That said, Fisher was quoted as saying the suspension won’t cost Pead the ability to earn the starting gig in camp.
So, as of today, your guess is as good as mine regarding who will come out on top here. Based on last year, I’d say the team has to be impressed most by what they saw from Richardson, who has more big-play potential than any of them.
But check back once preseason rolls around for updates on this front. If you’re drafting sometime soon, I’d say that only Richardson and Pead are worthy of late-round flier picks. If you’re going into things with either of these two as one of your starting backs, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
