Chris Smith's Thoughts

What a phenomenal career Isaac Bruce has enjoyed. He is heading into his 13th season in the NFL and he has had seven 1,000 yard receiving seasons and 77 receiving touchdowns over that span.  For the first time though in many seasons the Rams will be out the tutelage and offensive genius of Mike Martz who favored the passing game and Bruce is no longer capable of putting up big receiving numbers consistently throughout the year.  Last year he only managed to catch 36 passes for 525 yards and 3 touchdowns in his eleven games played which translates into 52 receptions for 761 yards over the course of the season.

Does Bruce have anything left in the tank?

Everybody knows that Bruce is on the downslope of his long career.  The question is does he have one last big season in him.  He still has enough speed and quickness combined with veteran savvy to make plays on the field but there are a number of reasons to believe he will not see another 1,000 yard season.

Reason #1: A new coaching staff is in place and while new head coach Scott Linehan is known for being an offensive guru in his own right, he will not favor the passing attack like former head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Martz did with the club.  Less passing attempts will result in a smaller pie for everybody to share in 2006

Reason #2: There is no question that Torry Holt is the #1 receiver in St. Louis.  It is his show and he is in the prime of his career.  What hurts Bruce however is that young receiver Kevin Curtis has emerged as a viable option as well from the receiver position and he will push Bruce for playing time this season.

Reason #3: Age.  Bruce is at the point in his career where age is certainly a concern and he could bigging showing the affects of age at any point now.  Sure he may be able to hold off the inevitable decline for another season or two but it is likely we saw him starting to hit the wall last season and he may never again have a full, productive 16-game season.

Positives

• Lots of veteran savvy
• Still has enough speed and quickness to make plays on the field
• Has developed a good relationship with QB Marc Bulger

Negatives

• Age is becoming a real concern
• New offensive philosophy should result in considerably less passes being thrown in 2006
• Competing with younger receiver Kevin Curtis for touches

Final Thoughts

Bruce will still have his great moments this season but they will happen sporatically throughout the season and his overall numbers will not be terrific at season's end. Expect his per game numbers to be similar to last year (3.3 receptions per game) and he may have more struggles with staying healthy on the field. His days of being a good starting receiver in fantasy football have now officially come to an end.

Quotations from the Message Board Thread

To view the entire Player Spotlight thread (there's a ton of fantastic commentary in there), click here.

mlball77:
With Martz no longer calling the shots in Stl and the emergence of Kevin Curtis, it may seem probable to many that Bruce will see a significant drop in his numbers (when looking at the last three years). Although I think its reasonable to expect a decrease in the overall production of the Stl passing game now that Martz is gone, I don't think its safe to assume that Curtis will supplant Bruce as WR2 in Stl... not yet anyway. Due to age, potential for injury, and a change in offesnsive scheme; I don't expect a 1000 yd season from Bruce, but feel he'll be solid in 06.

LHUCKS:
I think Linehan's more conservative offense will turn Bruce into a sub-1000 yard performer, but a still serviceable WR#2 in most fantasy leagues.

Isaac Bruce Projections

SOURCE	RSHYD	RSHTD	REC	RECYD	RECTD
Chris Smith	0	0	52	730	5
Message Board Consensus	0	0	67	923	6