Steve Spagnuolo is going through a rough season in his first as an NFL head coach. He had the unenviable task of taking over a roster which was left in disarray by the previous administration. No real effort had been done to bridge the gap from The Greatest Show on Turf to the next wave of players, with the notable exception of drafting studly running back Steven Jackson before Marshall Faulk was retired.
The results to this point have hardly been surprising. Poor Spags and his troops endured seven losses, including several blowouts, before finally earning their first victory this past Sunday against the Lions. While he's cherishing this first win, Spagnuolo realizes it's the first step of many.
Think IDP leagues are the way to go? Then Ballhawkin' is for you. Here, we pick out a few Individual Defensive Players that could have huge weeks and are possibly sitting in your free-agent pool.
Those of you that picked up Stephen Cooper heading into Week 1 were treated to a pleasant surprise, as the San Diego linebacker notched 13 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and two passes defended. In my league, he earned me 19 points, which was good enough for the top defensive performance of the week. Other great calls were Louis Delmas with 15 points, James Laurinaitis with 14 points, and E.J. Henderson with 9.5 points. I wasn't so lucky with Kerry Rhodes and Jason Taylor, although Taylor did get a sack in his game.
Despite making a good amount of money to coach in the National Football League, Steve Spagnuolo has an unenviable task this year: coaching the St. Louis Rams. The Rams won just two games a year ago, and the roster was in a state of transition -- and in disrepair, really -- when he took over as the new head honcho.
If not for the ineptitude of the Lions, the 2008 Rams would have easily been the worst team in football. Only two teams scored less points and only one team (Lions, of course) allowed more. Some of the most talented players were aging and they dismissed two former stars (Orlando Pace and Torry Holt) as part of the rebuilding process after the disastrous campaign. Spagnuolo, though, is tired of hearing about and having to talk about 2008.
Think IDP leagues are the way to go? Then Ballhawkin' is for you. Here, we pick out a few Individual Defensive Players that could have huge weeks and are possibly sitting in your free-agent pool.
All IDP leagues are created differently. I have one that starts five defense guys from any position each week. I have one that starts two DLs, two LBs, two DBs, and two flex defenders each week. I have another with different settings than those two, but you get the picture. As such, it makes it extremely difficult to figure out who's going to be available in your league on a weekly basis.
Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
The Rams enter the 2009 season in full-on rebuilding mode. Another bad season wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for the future of the franchise as a whole, as they need to continue to grow their young players. The remnants of the strong Rams rosters from earlier this decade are either gone or aging quickly. New head coach Steve Spagnuolo will look to mold the next generation his way, starting immediately.
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy FootballFanHouse's daily gathering of links from around the web, covering the goings-on in NFL Training Camp which have an impact on fantasy value.
The Michael Vick hype train stopped in Buffalo today, with Rich Eisen mistakenly tweeting about a phantom press conference after the interweb stirred up some Vick-to-Buffalo hype. I still think it would be best for Vick to play behind an elite QB for a while and build some good faith with the NFL. At this point, you can still ignore Vick in your drafts, and keep Edwards steady as a solid QB2.
Update: Vick reportedly has signed a two-year deal with the Eagles. He'd certainly have a ton of weapons if he saw the field in Philadelphia. I don't think that'll happen, unless Donovan McNabb succumbs to the injury bug, not out of the question considering the QB's history of health issues.
What else happened on this football-packed Thursday?
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.
Meet the ... Steve Spagnuolo era. The first order of business? To rebuild almost everything. The Rams have already begun a makeover which will most certainly continue after another season of double-digit losses. I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say this is the last year Marc Bulger will be the Rams' starting quarterback. There isn't much to like about this squad from a fantasy perspective -- outside of the beast who is pictured to the right.
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it Summer Scramble, and this afternoon we look at some Burning Questions in the NFC West and offer a ridiculously early prediction.
Back in 2002, Pisa Tinoisamoa led the St. Louis Rams in tackles. He became the first rookie in franchise history to pull off that feat. He also had the most tackles on the team in 2004, 2005 and 2008. Friday, he was released from the Rams -- likely a cost-saving measure since he would have counted $4.25 million against the salary cap this season and was signed through 2011.
After landing James Laurinaitis in the second round of the draft, the Rams will likely slide Chris Draft to the strong-side and let the rookie Laurinaitis start in the middle from the get-go.
Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.
The Rams entered the draft with far too many holes to be filled with simply seven picks. Steve Spagnuolo entered the Gateway City with the task of returning the Rams to national prominence after they have fallen apart in just a few years. There are some talented pieces in place, and they've addressed some needs this offseason, but many more positions need attention. The logical starting point -- because they've done it before with Orlando Pace -- was a stalwart left tackle. Jason Smith was taken to fulfill this role with the second overall pick.
Steve Spagnuolo is going through a rough season in his first as an NFL head coach. He had the unenviable task of taking over a roster which was left in disarray by the previous administration. No real effort had been done to bridge the gap from The Greatest Show on Turf to the next wave of players, with the notable exception of drafting studly running back Steven Jackson before Marshall Faulk was retired. 
Despite making a good amount of money to coach in the National Football League, 
Think IDP leagues are the way to go? Then 
Training camps have wrapped up, the 
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all. 
Back in 2002, 
Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 
