Faceoff - DL James Hall, St. Louis Rams

Posted 7/17, exclusive to Footballguys.com

Upside - by John Norton

Granted there is some risk with Hall who has struggled through injuries for the past couple of years, but the reward could be huge. First take a look at the injuries, in '05 he fought a nagging groin problem that restricted his quickness and took a serious bite out of his sack totals. Ultimately Hall missed only 2 games and though his 5 sacks were far from stellar, the 52 solo tackles and 3 forced fumbles are hard to ignore. Groin injuries can sometimes become long term problems (see John Abraham) but Hall showed no lingering effect in '06 when he was on pace to go 41-14-12.5 before suffering a shoulder injury that ended his season after just 7 games. There are a ton of NFL players who have had very similar injuries, had the same surgery and have never had a problem again. Hall is 30 years old. While that's not a spring chicken in NFL terms, it's hardly over the hill either. In short, the injury history doesn't scare me much. Now let's look at the production. Hall has produced or been on pace for 40+ tackles in four consecutive seasons. In two of the past three years he's produced or been on pace for 11+ sacks. Were it not for the injuries he would surely have 3 consecutive top 20, and very possibly top 10, fantasy rankings. The last factor is certainly not the least important. Hall has been putting up strong numbers while in Detroit, where he's had very little help. He's been their only significant pass rush threat since Robert Porcher retired and has been the focus of pass blocking schemes since his breakout year in '04. With that in mind, what effect will Leonard Little have on Hall's numbers? For the first time in his career Hall will be working as an every down player with a stud bookend opposite him to help take the heat off. He's a proven 40+ tackle and double digit sack guy, in the best situation of his career. Barring injury I'll be very surprised if Hall doesn't make the top 15 this season and won't be at all surprised if he lands in the top 10.

Downside - by Sigmund Bloom

James Hall seems more inspired as a Ram than he was as a Lion, but his fantasy prospects remain positively uninspiring. Hall lacks the pass rush ability and consistent track record to trust as an every week starter at DL, and he shouldn't be selected as anything more than bye week/injury filler in your DL lineup.

Hall has averaged about a sack every three games over the course of his career. He doesn't have any killer pass rush moves or sick quickness in his repertoire. While he is a grinder who is active in run support, Hall is not a consistent week to week presence in the box scores. Last year, Hall came out of the gate hot with two sacks, and then he failed to post a sack in the next four games. If you benched him because you became frustrated with his slump, you missed his three and half sack game vs. Buffalo in week 6. Hall did not torment his owners with up and down performances for the rest of the season, but it was only because his season ended in week 7 due to a shoulder injury.

Hall was almost as inconsistent in his top 10 fantasy season of 2004. He maddeningly alternated between games with 4 or 5 solo tackles and 1 or 2 sacks, and games with a solo tackle and a handful of assists. The rollercoaster ride would be tolerable if Hall's peaks were higher, but he's not the kind of edge rusher that takes over games. The best hope for Hall to go off this year is if protection schemes are preoccupied with Leonard Little, but that is not the profile of an every week starter, a player that depends on being ignored to produce at a high level.

When it comes time to take your DL3, or take a flier at DL2, there are plenty of up and coming pass rushers like Matt Roth, Dewayne White (who the Lions signed to replace Hall after trading him to the Rams for a 5th round pick), and Robert Geathers who promise more upside than Hall. There are also more accomplished veteran pass rushers such as Andre Carter, Patrick Kerney, and Adewale Ogunleye who are better bets to go off in any given week. Hall is only worth a choice at the end of your bench, despite his new digs.