The Rams started off the year slowly last season before their offense opened up and started clicking, while the Panthers struggled to meet expectations and stay consistent. I don't think the Panthers necessarily improved, but the Rams added a couple offensive weapons in WR Drew Bennett (strained quad) and TE Randy McMichael. Bennett's supposed to play this week and should flourish in the St. Louis offense. The Panthers will most likely pound the ball early and look for Steve Smith more in the second half, but with Smith's Keyshawn-less supporting cast still trying to get it together, he'll have some trouble breaking free of the double-teams.
Predicted Score: Rams 28, Panthers 24
Fantasy Focus Carolina: Another difficult fantasy assessment because of the running back tandem, it's unclear how exactly things will shake out early. I think the Panthers will be effective running the ball against a mediocre Rams defense, but don't expect anything worthy of a #1 RB from DeShaun Foster or DeAngelo Williams just yet.
Start: Steve Smith, DeShaun Foster, John Kasay
Consider: DeAngelo Williams, Jake Delhomme
Sit: Any other Panthers WRs, Team Defense
St. Louis: Coming off one of the best seasons for a RB in fantasy football history, all eyes will be on Stephen Jackson. But the real story might be in how effective Torry Holt is early in the season with his self-admitted knee problems - which may or may not be a smokescreen. I do believe Bulger will be effective with the added offensive firepower, but it remains to be seen if this team will be a viable contender in the NFC.
Start: Steven Jackson, Marc Bulger, Torry Holt, Jeff Wilkins
Consider: Isaac Bruce, Drew Bennett and Randy McMichael
Note: Team statistics are shown as the average per game
through Weeks 12 to 17 of the 2006 season after deducting the best
and worst value from the data set. The exception is yards per rush attempt, completion %, yards per
pass completion, yards per pass attempt and the NFL averages, which are each calculated based on
totals through Weeks 12 to 17 with no adjustment.
Defense Stats Comparison
CAR Defense
STL Defense
NFL Average
Points against
23.0
25.8
21.1
Rushing yards
114.8
140.5
123.7
Rushing yards per attempt
3.81
4.42
4.30
Completion %
55.5%
58.1%
60.0%
Passing yards
166.3
185.5
201.8
Passing yards per completion
11.68
11.01
10.67
Passing yards per attempt
6.48
6.40
6.40
INT return
0.5
1.0
1.1
Fumble recoveries
0.0
0.5
0.7
Sacks
2.0
1.3
2.2
Weather
Dome stadium
Team vs. Team History
Carolina Panthers vs. St. Louis Rams
Season
Week
Date
Vis
Home
Score
Winner
2000
10
2000-11-05
CAR
STL
27-24
CAR
2000
14
2000-12-03
STL
CAR
3-16
CAR
2001
9
2001-11-11
CAR
STL
14-48
STL
2001
15
2001-12-23
STL
CAR
38-32
STL
2004
14
2004-12-12
STL
CAR
7-20
CAR
2006
11
2006-11-19
STL
CAR
0-15
CAR
Note: Only playoff games from the
2004 and 2005 seasons are included in the team vs. team history.
Playoff games from seasons prior to 2004 are not currently included in the database.
