The 2011 St. Louis Rams weren’t playing for a division title this season; they were playing for a chance at Andrew Luck. With a 2-14 record, they were close, but the Peyton Manning-less Indianapolis Colts will get that pick instead. The Rams may have been one of the worst teams in terms of producing fantasy points this season, but did see a couple players succeed. Who are the biggest surprise and disappointments, and which star can say they were the Rams 2011 fantasy MVP?

MVP – Steven Jackson

Jackson didn’t have the best season of his career, but he surpassed 1,000 yards for the seventh straight season. He finished the campaign with 1,145 yards and five touchdowns, while also adding 42 catches for 333 yards and an additional score. Jackson will continue to be a late first or early second round selection next season, but would benefit greatly from a more stabilized offensive system.

Biggest Surprise – Brandon Lloyd

When the Denver Broncos traded one of the best wide receivers from 2010, fantasy GMs had to wonder what was wrong. He averaged nearly five catches a game during the four games he was a Bronco this season, but failed to reach the end zone. In 11 games as a Ram, Lloyd made 51 catches for 683 yards with five touchdowns, becoming one of the top-two fantasy threats for the Rams.

Biggest Disappointment – Sam Bradford

The second year quarterback was expected to make the Rams contenders in the normally weak NFC West, but after playing in just 10 games this season, there had to be serious discussion about drafting Luck if they got the first pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. After putting up more than 3,500 yards with 18 touchdowns, Bradford regressed in 2011, throwing for 2,164 yards and six touchdowns. There are going to be a couple of top quarterbacks in the draft that could pose a problem to Bradford ever becoming a star in the NFL. If the Rams can’t get Luck, maybe Robert Griffin III could be a solid fit for St. Louis.

For a closer look at All-Injury teams for all major fantasy positions and biggest stars and busts from each NFL team, click here.

More from this contributor:

LeSean McCoy is Top Fantasy Running Back in 2011

Backup Running Backs to make Splash in 2011

Don’t Give up on These Players too Early

Drafting Individual Defensive Players?

Top 2011 Fantasy Football Rookies

Hobson Lopes has been playing fantasy football for more than 10 years and can be followed on Twitter @HobsonLopes.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

That’s all for today.

St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford is doubtful for the regular season finale against the San Francisco 49ers. Bradford has missed five games with a high ankle sprain. Bradford is actually in an interesting position. If he plays and helps his team win, he might actually save his job. If the Rams lose, they might wind up with the top pick in the draft. That means the team is likely to draft Andrew Luck and jettison Bradford. But as much as Bradford might want to play, the likelihood is that he will be on the sidelines once again.

Bradford has not returned to practice with the Rams in the week leading up to the Week 17 contest against the San Francisco 49ers. He was hoping to push toward playing but with the game just a few days away, the chances are slim to none. Bradford has been battling the ankle injury for much of the season. The five games he missed haven’t come in succession. Bradford missed Week 6 and Week 7 but returned. He aggravated the injury again and missed more time. He last played on December 12 when the Rams faced the Seattle Seahawks. Given the nagging nature of his injury, it seems all but certain that the Rams will sit him in the final game. That means that veteran Kellen Clemens will start once again for the lowly Rams.

Bradford had a nice rookie season in 2010 but he has been a disaster in 2011. He has just six touchdown passes on the season. The Rams have the worst scoring offense in the NFL and the prevailing thought is that the team will go in a new direction. Just two years after Bradford was selected first overall in 2010, he could be out of a job if the Rams select Luck with the top pick. St. Louis will get the top pick if they lose and the Indianapolis Colts win. If that happens, the team will certainly move Bradford. Even if the Rams earn the second pick, there is a chance that a new coaching staff could move the quarterback. 2011 has been a cruel year for Bradford on the football field. It looks like he won’t get a shot at redeeming himself in the final game.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

What are your opinions.

Billy Devaney made this mess by making horrible draft picks and even worse free agent signings. Poor Steve Spagnuolo was asked to clean the mess up, but injuries and bad luck handcuffed Spags almost before the season ever started.

I’ve argued it might be better to keep Spags, simply because it would be better for Bradford to have the continuity of playing under the same offensive coordinator. Having said that, there are rumors Josh McDaniels is going to Kansas City, so keeping Spags is no guarantee that Bradford will run the same offense again next year anyway.

Either way, if Spags stays or goes, is 2012 going to play out much different than 2011? Even with a healthy secondary, a better O-line, and an extra weapon or two, are the Rams really going to catch the Niners?

I just don’t see it happening.

If the Rams don’t improve dramatically in 2012, Spags will get fired next year. So why not just speed this whole process up? Because by dragging our feet on this whole coaching situation, we are stunting Bradford’s growth. Think of QBs like Jason Campbell, who played for one coordinator after another…

It ruined their career before it ever started.

The Rams are going to go as far as Sam Bradford takes them. If he ends up being a bust, and the team has to change directions at the QB position, then it’s going to be another five years or more before the Rams are competitive. So Rams owner Stan Kroenke needs to do everything in his power to make Bradford successful.

Perhaps the most important thing Kroenke could do to help Bradford would be to wipe the slate clean and let Bradford start over with a new coach and a new GM.

Comment Below!.

ST. LOUIS (AP)—Justin King became the fourth St. Louis Rams cornerback to
be sidelined with a season-ending injury.

King has a shoulder injury that the team believes may require surgery.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo said Monday that King was in Pittsburgh having the
injury evaluated. King, who made 10 starts, was not active for the 27-0 loss to
the Steelers.

Previously, Ron Bartell, Brandon Fletcher and Al Harris were knocked out for
the year.

Spagnuolo said quarterback Sam Bradford’s status remains day to day with a
high ankle sprain.

If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it.

ST. LOUIS (AP)—Justin King became the fourth St. Louis Rams cornerback to
be sidelined with a season-ending injury.

King has a shoulder injury that the team believes may require surgery.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo said Monday that King was in Pittsburgh having the
injury evaluated. King, who made 10 starts, was not active for the 27-0 loss to
the Steelers.

Previously, Ron Bartell, Brandon Fletcher and Al Harris were knocked out for
the year.

Spagnuolo said quarterback Sam Bradford’s status remains day to day with a
high ankle sprain.

What are your opinions.

By Satchel Price

– Newsdesk contributor

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Dec 21, 2011 – The St. Louis Rams showed earlier this season that they’re capable of surprising a good team and pulling off an upset when they defeated the New Orleans Saints. But if they want to win again before the end of the season, they’ll need to do it again, as they’re facing the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers in their final two games to conclude the season.

With an ugly 2-12 record on the year, the Rams are one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Steelers, on the other hand, are 10-4 this season, clearly one of the best teams in the NFL. So there’s understandably a lack of optimism surrounding St. Louis this week, especially considering the health issues that quarterback Sam Bradford has had to deal with of late.

It may help that the Steelers are having some health issues of their own at the quarterback position these days, as Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger battles a high ankle injury similar to what Bradford dealt with this season. Roethlisberger managed to play the entire game against the San Francisco 49ers last week, but he looked noticeably hobbled and struggled with some throws all night long. 

The Rams have lost five games in a row, with their last win coming on Nov. 13 against the Cleveland Browns. After ending last season looking pretty good, there’s a decent chance that St. Louis will end this season with seven straight defeats.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. For more on the Pittsburgh Steelers, check out Behind the Steel Curtain. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Read More: Ben Roethlisberger (QB – PIT), Sam Bradford (QB – STL), Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams

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Read More: Kellen Clemens (QB – STL), A.J. Feeley (QB – STL), Sam Bradford (QB – STL), St. Louis Rams

Sam Bradford won’t let his ankle injury prematurely end his season, despite his St. Louis Rams having just two wins so far this season and no hope at making it into the NFL playoffs. The quarterback gets paid to play football and he plans to do his best to earn that paycheck as long as his injury allows.

Bradford missed Tuesday’s practice, but told the media afterward that he isn’t in any sort of hurry to hang it up for the rest of the season (via Turf Show Times):

“That’s my job,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. I’m here to play football. I’m not here to ride the (stationary) bike. I’m not here to sit on the sideline. No matter what happens, why wouldn’t I want to play?

“You put so much time in. You put so much work in. And then to just have it taken away and not to be able to go out there and do what you love to do. You know, it’s not easy. It (stinks) sitting on the sideline. I don’t like it. I think it’s miserable. There’s nothing fun about it. So as soon as I can get back out there playing, you’ll probably see me smile a little bit more.”

Bradford’s back-up, A.J. Feeley, remains sidelined with a fractured thumb so it’s likely that Kellen Clemens will get his second consecutive start is St. Louis if Bradford’s unable to play this weekend.

For more on Bradford and the Rams, be sure to visit Turf Show Times.

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This is how remarkably sad the St. Louis Rams’ offensive season has been to date: People cannot pat Kellen Clemens on the back enough for his 26-for-36, 229-yard performance in the Rams’ 20-13 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, and it turns out that Sam Bradford’s replacement successfully, according to Football Outsiders’ DYAR measure, performed nearly exactly at replacement-level, the mythical sabermetric construct at which a guy plucked from the bench should be able to perform. That’s how bad Bradford and Feeley have both been, and how crushing this season has been to our hopes: Clemens, performing exactly as a guy off the street should, was enough to warm our shivering hearts.

So thank you, Kellen Clemens—I am not here, like Brett Favre or Mark Sanchez, to bury you. Thank you for being the one Ram all season not named Steven Jackson or Brandon Lloyd to take your position on offense and then do exactly what we were expecting of you, no more and no less. Thank you for coming in as the backup quarterback and behaving approximately like a backup quarterback. In this insane season I needed a little something to believe in. 

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

By Steven Muma

– Newsdesk contributor

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Dec 20, 2011 – The St. Louis Rams practiced on Tuesday as they begin to prepare for Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the injury-riddled team was without a number of players once again. Quarterback Sam Bradford was held out of practice and is considered day-to-day according to Steve Spagnuolo.

Kellen Clemens got the start in place of Bradford last week and played pretty well under the circumstances, completing 25 of 36 pass attempts for 229 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

In addition to Bradford, cornerback Josh Gordy, defensive end Chris Long, quarterback A.J. Feeley, and cornerback Justin King missed workouts on Tuesday. Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd was held out because of an illness.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of the Rams, head over to Turf Show Times. And for more news and notes from around the league, check out SB Nation’s NFL news hub.

Read More: Kellen Clemens (QB – STL), A.J. Feeley (QB – STL), Brandon Lloyd (WR – STL), Justin King (CB – STL), Chris Long (DE – STL), Sam Bradford (QB – STL), Josh Gordy (DB – STL), Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Rams

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That’s all for today.

Sam Bradford is going to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The St. Louis Rams believe so, and that’s why they took him No. 1 overall in the 2010 NFL draft.

In my opinion, Bradford’s ascension is a matter of when, not if.

So when can we expect the former No. 1 overall pick to play like a franchise quarterback? That is a complicated question with a simple answer—when Bradford gets more help.

Bradford was drafted No. 1 overall, meaning he was selected by the worst team in the NFL. The Rams were coming off of a 1-15 record in 2009. That is the mess that Bradford inherited. He responded by helping the Rams to a 7-9 record last season, and the Rams were picked by many to win the NFC West in 2011.

However, a combination of a tough schedule, poor personnel decisions, awful coaching and injuries to key players derailed the Rams’ season almost before it ever got started. Surrounded by a very poor supporting cast, Bradford regressed.

Simply put, Bradford has not been a good quarterback in 2011.

However, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions about Bradford based on one bad season. Consider these stat lines of some pretty good quarterbacks.

QB 1: 26 TDs, 23 INTs, 62.7 percent passing, 84.1 QB Rating

QB 2: 19 TDs, 24 INTs, 60.9 percent passing, 72.2 QB Rating

QB 3: 24 TDs, 22 INTs, 56 percent passing, 76.9 QB Rating

QB 4: 22 TDs, 23 INTs, 52 percent passing, 70.2 QB Rating

QB 5: 18 TDs, 15 INTs, 60 percent passing, 76.5 QB Rating

Those quarterbacks are, in order: QB 1 is Peyton Manning (4th year in the NFL), QB 2 is Brett Favre (3rd year in the NFL), QB 3 is Dan Marino (7th year in the NFL), QB 4 is John Elway (3rd year in the NFL), QB 5 is and Sam Bradford (rookie season).

So if you break it down, our very own Bradford, playing with an awful supporting cast last season, put up numbers comparable to some of the best QBs to ever play the game at the same point in their career.

In the words of Adam Sandler, that’s “not too shabby.”

Now let’s go back and take a look at some of the players that these Hall-of-Fame QBs got a chance to play with.

Peyton Manning had Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Edgerin James, not to mention a very good offensive line. He also got to work under the same head coach and the same offensive coordinator for several years.

Favre had Sterling Sharpe (great player before he was injured), Donald Driver, Ahman Green, Antonio Freeman, Robert Brooks, Javon Walker and Andre “Bad Moon” Rison (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). Favre also had a great offensive line, and he got to work in the same offense—the West Coast offense—for his entire career.

Marino had Mark Clayton and Mark Duper. He played for Don Shula for crying out loud. Elway had Hall-of-Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, and he had the great Terrell Davis running behind him late in his career. He also played for a couple of very good coaches in Mike Shanahan and Dan Reeves.

Compare all of that to Bradford.

Poor Bradford’s best receiver to this point in his career has been Danny Amendola, a non drafted free agent who was picked up from Philly’s practice squad. When Bradford finally got of a good receiver to work with this season (Brandon Lloyd), Bradford was too banged up to play.

Speaking of banged up, look at the offensive line Bradford has to play behind. Jason Smith, the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, is a bust at right tackle. I mean, honestly, who spends the No. 2 pick in the entire draft on a right tackle? The fact that Smith had to be moved to right tackle means he is already a bust, never mind the fact that he is a lousy right tackle!

Bradford was sacked on over nine percent of his passing attempts this season, a staggering number. Consider that Manning was never sacked on more than five percent of his passing attempts in a season, and the amount of abuse Bradford has endured is truly staggering.

So add it all up: Bradford was drafted onto a terrible team, with zero playmakers available to throw to in the passing game, and he was put behind a terrible offensive line where he was forced to take a beating week after week after week…

The only part of the blueprint for “How to ruin a young QB” that is missing would be the part where you make him change coordinators two or three years in a row.

Oh wait, he will probably be playing for his third offensive coordinator in a row next year, so we’ve got that one covered also.

And we can debate a lot of things—will Bradford be an elite QB or not? But there is one thing we can all surely agree on. The only chance Bradford has to reach his potential is a total regime change in St. Louis. Because without some major changes in St. Louis, Bradford won’t wind up on any list with names like Manning, Favre, Marino and Elway.

Poor Sam will end up on a list with David Carr and Marc Bulger, and none of us want to see that happen to Bradford.

That’s all the news for today.

Sam Bradford is going to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The St. Louis Rams believe so, and that’s why they took him No. 1 overall in the 2010 NFL draft.

In my opinion, Bradford’s ascension is a matter of when, not if.

So when can we expect the former No. 1 overall pick to play like a franchise quarterback? That is a complicated question with a simple answer—when Bradford gets more help.

Bradford was drafted No. 1 overall, meaning he was selected by the worst team in the NFL. The Rams were coming off of a 1-15 record in 2009. That is the mess that Bradford inherited. He responded by helping the Rams to a 7-9 record last season, and the Rams were picked by many to win the NFC West in 2011.

However, a combination of a tough schedule, poor personnel decisions, awful coaching and injuries to key players derailed the Rams’ season almost before it ever got started. Surrounded by a very poor supporting cast, Bradford regressed.

Simply put, Bradford has not been a good quarterback in 2011.

However, we shouldn’t jump to conclusions about Bradford based on one bad season. Consider these stat lines of some pretty good quarterbacks.

QB 1: 26 TDs, 23 INTs, 62.7 percent passing, 84.1 QB Rating

QB 2: 19 TDs, 24 INTs, 60.9 percent passing, 72.2 QB Rating

QB 3: 24 TDs, 22 INTs, 56 percent passing, 76.9 QB Rating

QB 4: 22 TDs, 23 INTs, 52 percent passing, 70.2 QB Rating

QB 5: 18 TDs, 15 INTs, 60 percent passing, 76.5 QB Rating

Those quarterbacks are, in order: QB 1 is Peyton Manning (4th year in the NFL), QB 2 is Brett Favre (3rd year in the NFL), QB 3 is Dan Marino (7th year in the NFL), QB 4 is John Elway (3rd year in the NFL), QB 5 is and Sam Bradford (rookie season).

So if you break it down, our very own Bradford, playing with an awful supporting cast last season, put up numbers comparable to some of the best QBs to ever play the game at the same point in their career.

In the words of Adam Sandler, that’s “not too shabby.”

Now let’s go back and take a look at some of the players that these Hall-of-Fame QBs got a chance to play with.

Peyton Manning had Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Edgerin James, not to mention a very good offensive line. He also got to work under the same head coach and the same offensive coordinator for several years.

Favre had Sterling Sharpe (great player before he was injured), Donald Driver, Ahman Green, Antonio Freeman, Robert Brooks, Javon Walker and Andre “Bad Moon” Rison (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). Favre also had a great offensive line, and he got to work in the same offense—the West Coast offense—for his entire career.

Marino had Mark Clayton and Mark Duper. He played for Don Shula for crying out loud. Elway had Hall-of-Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, and he had the great Terrell Davis running behind him late in his career. He also played for a couple of very good coaches in Mike Shanahan and Dan Reeves.

Compare all of that to Bradford.

Poor Bradford’s best receiver to this point in his career has been Danny Amendola, a non drafted free agent who was picked up from Philly’s practice squad. When Bradford finally got of a good receiver to work with this season (Brandon Lloyd), Bradford was too banged up to play.

Speaking of banged up, look at the offensive line Bradford has to play behind. Jason Smith, the former No. 2 overall pick in the draft, is a bust at right tackle. I mean, honestly, who spends the No. 2 pick in the entire draft on a right tackle? The fact that Smith had to be moved to right tackle means he is already a bust, never mind the fact that he is a lousy right tackle!

Bradford was sacked on over nine percent of his passing attempts this season, a staggering number. Consider that Manning was never sacked on more than five percent of his passing attempts in a season, and the amount of abuse Bradford has endured is truly staggering.

So add it all up: Bradford was drafted onto a terrible team, with zero playmakers available to throw to in the passing game, and he was put behind a terrible offensive line where he was forced to take a beating week after week after week…

The only part of the blueprint for “How to ruin a young QB” that is missing would be the part where you make him change coordinators two or three years in a row.

Oh wait, he will probably be playing for his third offensive coordinator in a row next year, so we’ve got that one covered also.

And we can debate a lot of things—will Bradford be an elite QB or not? But there is one thing we can all surely agree on. The only chance Bradford has to reach his potential is a total regime change in St. Louis. Because without some major changes in St. Louis, Bradford won’t wind up on any list with names like Manning, Favre, Marino and Elway.

Poor Sam will end up on a list with David Carr and Marc Bulger, and none of us want to see that happen to Bradford.

There is the quick update of the day.

Read More: Kellen Clemens (QB – STL), A.J. Feeley (QB – STL), James Hall (DE – STL), Sam Bradford (QB – STL), Robert Quinn (DE – STL), Cincinnati Bengals, St. Louis Rams

With A.J. Feeley out and Sam Bradford reportedly shut down today for the season, the St. Louis Rams will take on the Cincinnati Bengals today with their third string quarterback under center. That quarterback, Kellen Clemens, was signed off waivers from the Houston Texans just two weeks ago. It gets worse from there: Along with Bradford, the Rams will be missing starting DE James Hall, who is likely to be replaced in the starting line up by rookie DE Robert Quinn.

Here is the full inactive list for Week 15:

• QB Sam Bradford
• LB Justin Cole
• QB Jay Feeley
• DE James Hall
• CB Justin King
• OT Mark LeVoir
• RB Quinn Porter

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. For more on the Cincinnati Bengals, check out Cincy Jungle. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it.

Read More: Kellen Clemens (QB – STL), Sam Bradford (QB – STL), Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans, St. Louis Rams

In Week 14, the St. Louis Rams pushed QB Sam Bradford into action against the Seattle Seahawks with an injured ankle and watched him put up the third lowest quarterback rating (49.9) of his young career. Bradford has been listed as doubtful for the Rams’ Week 15 match up vs. the Cincinnati Bengals, and on Sunday morning he was downgraded to out, according to a report by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

In his place will be Kellen Clemens, the one-time New York Jet who was claimed off waivers by the Rams from the Houston Texans a mere few weeks ago. It’s been an ugly season for the Rams, and with a quarterback who has only been with the team for two weeks going up against the leagues 11th rated passing defense, it doesn’t look like the trend will be broken on Sunday.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. For more on the Cincinnati Bengals, check out Cincy Jungle. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

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By Ryan Van Bibber

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Dec 16, 2011 – St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford is officially listed as doubtful for his team’s Week 15 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Bradford watched the Rams practice on Friday while wearing a walking boot on his sprained left ankle. According to the team, Bradford has not officially been ruled out, but head coach Steve Spagnuolo acknowledged that it would be a stretch for Bradford to play this week. 

Bradford suffered a high ankle sprain in October, which caused him to miss two games that month, including a Week 8 upset over the New Orleans Saints. The nagging injury refuses to go away, thanks in part to a Rams’ offensive line decimated with injuries and disappointing play. 

The Rams decided to play Bradford last week, even after he missed all but one practice leading up to the game. The second-year quarterback re-aggravated the injury in a Monday night thrashing by the Seahawks in Week 14. With just three games left to play, there is already talk about whether or not the Rams should shut Bradford down for the season. 

Kellen Clemens worked with the first team again in Friday’s practice, and will make the start this week in Bradford’s place. The Rams acquired Clemens prior to their Week 14 game on Monday. Clemens was released by the Houston Texans prior to joining the Rams. Clemens has not started a regular season game since 2009. 

For more on Bradford and the Rams, check out Turf Show Times. 

Read More: Kellen Clemens (QB – STL), Sam Bradford (QB – STL), Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams

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