RotoWorld has it's minicamp tour of the NFC West up at their site. They penned it mostly from a fantasy perspective, but that's a decent way to get some insight on teams this time of year.
Items of interest pertaining to the Rams:
- They report that Torry Holt "appears to be healthy" heading into the season, which is consistent with earlier reports on Holt's status. Needless to say, the Rams need a healthy Holt, both because of his ability and his ability to get draw coverage and leave other WR threats open.
- Speaking of those other threats, RotoWorld's assessment doesn't dog Drew Bennett quite like the others. They think he'll get plenty of catches.
- Steven Jackson gets the usual effusive praise. They include a cautious notes about an injury to Pace and the precarious state of the O-line, but I think they're overestimating that threat for a couple reasons. 1) With the addition of Jacob Bell, the middle of the field should be a much friendlier place to run than it was last season with the parade of replacements, 2) while anything's possible, the likelihood of the Rams suffering an injury epidemic on the O-line again is very slight.
- It's becoming widely accepted fact that McMichael's in for a good season with Al Saunders calling the plays.
Nothing out of the ordinary there as far as the Rams go, but I did find a note about Mike Martz interesting in the review. Long time Rams fans won't recall any big seasons for tight ends under Martz. In fact, prior to last season when Randy McMichael had 39 catches, 431 yards and 3 TDs (considered a disappointment and the fewest balls McMichael has caught since his rookie season in '02), the last time a Rams TE had more than 35 catches was in 2001 when Ernie Conwell had 38 catches, 441 yards and 4 TDs.
Seems Martz has changed his tune since arriving in SF. With the 49ers, Martz plans to use TE Vernon Davis as a receiver. Here's what Mad Mike had to say:
"Instead of breaking down and head-faking and doing all these things, we're going to use his speed. And I think he understands that really well at this point."
I suppose that's a big part of their plan given that old friend Isaac Bruce has been thrust into the #1 WR role in SF. Davis will have to get around Chris Long first.