Are the Rams Contenders Again?

[Mojo Ram]

Not sure why so many of us are down on this team.

I don't get it either. I guess if a team isn't increasing it's win total every year they've somehow bottomed out of relevance or something. The Rams have been on an upward trajectory since '17 and minus a gimpy Gurley....the HC and team core is still intact. Peaks and valleys happen.

How many wins could Jeff Fisher get outta this roster? 6, 7, 8?
And some of you think McV will drop into the division cellar with 6 wins?....weird.

 

[OldSchool]

Yes they were last year even with some question marks.

 

[Memento]

Yes, they're absolutely contenders.

I'm not as concerned about the linebackers as some are; I think that Travin Howard makes a huge jump this year; he was playing big snaps down the stretch and was great in coverage. Kiser should at least be a serviceable backup and special teams player. Floyd could definitely play a good number of snaps inside as well, and you still have Ebukam, Okoronkwo, Lewis, and Polite as the edge rushers who could definitely play a big role this year (or, at least, pass-rushing for Lewis and Polite). Keep an eye on Rozeboom as well; I think he takes Reeder's job.

Offensive line should be interesting, for sure. I honestly think that Edwards, Corbett, Evans, and Noteboom take a huge step forward in their development this year (yes, I think Noteboom will be healthy). Anchrum is another name to note, as I have him taking Allen's job as the interior line backup. He was a good tackle at Clemson whose skillset should translate well to the interior. Havenstein is the X-factor here; if he's healthy and in-shape, we'll have an excellent pair of bookends with him and Whitworth.

Running back is an interesting situation. I like both Akers and Henderson, and I think that they split carries at first, as Henderson is more of a big-play threat than Akers (and if Henderson can improve his blocking, look out). If Brown bounces back, we could have three good-to-great running backs.

Kicker is what concerns me the most, but we have three options who look good enough on paper. I think Sloman wins the job, but right now, it's a three-horse race.

If the kicking position is good enough, I say that we go 13-3, and I can see any game we play as winnable. With a much improved run-stuffing game, we'll force the Whiners and Hags to go to imperfect passing games, where we'll beat them with a great cornerback and safety group, along with AD and a solid pass-rushing group. With a better running game, we'll force them to honor it, and therefore, open themselves up to a deadlier play action and screen game than we had last year.

 

[Liberator]

I think our games against SF will be slobber knockers and we’ll win one or both.

It's a shame that SNF game may be without fans or with limited fans. Would love to see their reaction live on TV when we whoop em.

 

[Memento]

Oops, forgot about Chandler Brewer in my last post. I like him a lot as well.

 

[dieterbrock]

When did we ever stop being contenders?

Boom
Agreed. Would have made playoffs last year under this year's playoff format.

 

[Rams43]

Hell yeah the Rams are contenders!

For me the list of ‘20 question marks is a short one.

Namely, pass rush from the edge and maybe a teeny question re run D from ILB. Neither of these ‘questions’ are biggies, btw.

The OL will emerge from the 15 candidates already on the roster. All other ‘holes’ seem to have been addressed via FA and draft, IMO.

And I am a HUGE fan of this new coaching staff. Sooooo...

 

[snackdaddy]

I understand why some people don't consider them contenders. The line played poorly most the season. The defense did too. The failed to make the playoffs. They have limited cap space to sign free agents and no first round picks. But when I see some people point to the loss of Gurley and Cooks, it appears to me those people are short sighted.

They think of Gurley's previous all pro seasons. They think of Cooks previous 1000 yard seasons. Both of them are huge injury risks. For the second straight year it was clear Gurley is not the same player with his mystery knee problems. How hard is it to replace 857 rushing yards at 3.8 yards per carry? How hard is it to replace Cooks 42 catches, 583 yards and 2 TD's?

The line played poorly when rookies were forced into action before they were ready due to injuries. We shouldn't be surprised they struggled. They did improve later in the season. But these people can't look past the early season struggles. I'm pretty sure next time around these guys will be much better prepared.

Do I think the Rams are Superbowl contenders? No I don't. I do think they are playoff contenders. And if they make the playoffs they are a battle tested team. McVay has learned some things. I think he'll be a well prepared coach if they make the playoffs.

 

[Merlin]

In addition to new coordinators.... the Rams are making some projections:

OL will improve internally AGREE

Run game beefed with Robinson, others AGREE

Linebacker, Floyd, Lewis, edge, internal improvement UNSURE

WR, TE and DB’s are solid on this team AGREE

RB change Akers upgrade to 2019 Gurley AGREE

I like what we’ve done. Anxious to see the linebackers and edge come together.

Change OL to UNSURE and that's where I'm at. Overall we should be happy with our chances as we're in the mix. This is so much better than the dark days of hoping we can get to .500 ball. But there's nothing wrong with being honest with ourselves that we're not a top contending team unless a lot of guys step up.

 

[Merlin]

Pretty much. But where the Rams have a significant advantage is McVay. He's better than most other coaches IMO. He'll squeeze more out of his offense than most teams will.

Have said this before but I think McVay is worth 3 wins. And I think this is a .500 roster because of my OL and LB concerns as well as a new first-time DC. So IMO 10 to 11 wins is within our range.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

And I think you are dismissive of the Rams

Guess we will have to agree to disagree

I am not impressed with teams that had losing records last year. They will have to prove it to me. Maybe they will get better but until they do...

Miami NY Jets Dallas Washington NY Giants Chicago Tampa Bay Arizona - all had losing records last year.

That's 9 games against teams with losing records,

I think the Rams can go 7-2 against them easily.

And I think the Rams can go 4 - 3 against the teams with winning records.

But I can see me being off by 1 game with the above - sooooo 10-6 is what I am sticking with.

I really hope you are correct....and I am wrong.

 

[Tano]

I really hope you are correct....and I am wrong.

I'll give you a cheers to that.

 

[Tano]

I'll give you a cheers to that.

But I will say the first 3 games concern me

Dallas Philadelphia Buffalo

3-0 - they are better than i thought and I could see 14-2

If they can go 2-1 against those 3 teams - I can almost assure you a 10 - 12 win season

1-2 9-7 or 10-6

0-3 uh oh they better get their confidence going or they could go 6-10 like you said

 

[TheBunk]

Hate him or not, Colin Cowherd is the first national voice I've heard to start changing his opinion on the Rams as a contender going into the year. I think once all that off season champ declaration stops, more will start to look at what this team did as far as addition by subtraction during our off season and get more credit.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

But I will say the first 3 games concern me

Dallas Philadelphia Buffalo

3-0 - they are better than i thought and I could see 14-2

If they can go 2-1 against those 3 teams - I can almost assure you a 10 - 12 win season

1-2 9-7 or 10-6

0-3 uh oh they better get their confidence going or they could go 6-10 like you said

I'm thinking they start 0-3. New coordinators on offense and defense. Online still wasn't that good at the end of last season. The defense is still looking weak at ilb and has some questions at OLB. So much relies on how fast the defense and Oline can learn and improve on over camp.

They are playing three teams that have been in the playoffs recently. None of those teams has had major turnover this year. Dallas may have improved Special Teams. The Eagles will have a fresh Carson Wentz, and Buffalo is a rising young team just coming off a playoff appearance.

Hate him or not, Colin Cowherd is the first national voice I've heard to start changing his opinion on the Rams as a contender going into the year. I think once all that off season champ declaration stops, more will start to look at what this team did as far as addition by subtraction during our off season and get more credit.

 

[Malibu]

Absolutely they are contenders. Better defense, improved offense with Akers and Jefferson and Hopkins (over Mundt), and a schedule reminiscent of 2018, probably a bit softer actually.

IMO the biggest improvement offensively will be a better run offense scheme and improved depth at RB. In the WR's I think they have an upgrade overall in Jefferson over oft-injured Cooks. Jefferson runs outstanding routes, is taller, with enough speed to threaten deep. He's a better fit to run all WR routes from all 3 WR positions. Hopkins is a huge upgrade over Mundt. People say Hopkins can't block, but that's what they said about Everett too. As Everett has shown blocking is something that can be coached. It's not like Hopkins hasn't blocked which he has. He was used as a wham blocker in college and that very well could be his role this year.

Defensively, the acquisition of Robinson can't be overstated. He will bring another Suh like presence in the middle of the d-line. Like Suh he's a 3 down player. I think with Floyd they have as good of an edge rusher as Fowler with more versatility on how Staley can use him. In Lewis I think they got a real steal. He's got 1st round level talent and in 2 years when he's a full-time starter opposite Floyd, the Rams will finally have two top edge rushers. They still have Ebukam at SAM and with the emergence of Williams and the drafting of Burgess they have 4 CBs. They have depth behind Rapp with Fuller and depth behind Johnson with Burgess who IMO will replace Johnson at FS next year. With Long and Ramsey as their boundary CBs they are set to play press-man coverage across the board in the secondary. This will give the d-line that extra second to bring the pressure. Kiser is an upgrade to Littleton as he has the speed to be played in ways Littleton couldn't. That really leaves the competition at LB to be at the second ILB position. This defense is faster and deeper than I can remember across the board. I really feel that this unit can be a top 5 defense.

I think only injuries and their own mistakes can derail the Rams this season. They will have a few tough games on their schedule but no one they can't beat if they play their A game. I've said this before, I think they have the potential to go undefeated in the regular season and realistically shouldn't finish any worse than 13-3.

I agree most of this, but you lost me with Kiser is better than Littleton. Kiser can't stay healthy and is not proven compared a guy who play over 97% of the snaps and a unbelievable beast in coverage. May not have been great against the run, but like letting Saffold go this departure May sting. The only saving grace potentially is Staley and he was a LBs coach so he will be strong there and maybe able to hide our deficiencies. But he is a freshman DC and Wade had all the experience in the world. So definitely some trade offs.

11-5 feels about right, but like everyone will say we go as far as the OL takes us.

Lastly I want to say I feel most people underestimate Goff. To me he has HOF potential with McVay. Like Belichick/Brady combo. Together the two are magic. All you guys have to see is look when we had a better OL and better run game.

 

[Tano]

I agree most of this, but you lost me with Kiser is better than Littleton. Kiser can't stay healthy and is not proven compared a guy who play over 97% of the snaps and a unbelievable beast in coverage. May not have been great against the run, but like letting Saffold go this departure May sting. The only saving grace potentially is Staley and he was a LBs coach so he will be strong there and maybe able to hide our deficiencies. But he is a freshman DC and Wade had all the experience in the world. So definitely some trade offs.

11-5 feels about right, but like everyone will say we go as far as the OL takes us.

Lastly I want to say I feel most people underestimate Goff. To me he has HOF potential with McVay. Like Belichick/Brady combo. Together the two are magic. All you guys have to see is look when we had a better OL and better run game.

I think he meant better than Littleton against the run. No way is he better then Littleton overall. Littleton was a beast in coverage. But I truly believe Littleton is better as an outside linebacker in a 4-3 defense with coverage duties as his primary assignment.

 

[Tano]

I'm thinking they start 0-3. New coordinators on offense and defense. Online still wasn't that good at the end of last season. The defense is still looking weak at ilb and has some questions at OLB. So much relies on how fast the defense and Oline can learn and improve on over camp.

They are playing three teams that have been in the playoffs recently. None of those teams has had major turnover this year. Dallas may have improved Special Teams. The Eagles will have a fresh Carson Wentz, and Buffalo is a rising young team just coming off a playoff appearance.

I am hoping for at minimum 1-2 because then their schedule gets easy for the next 3 games and they can be 4-2 after that. They will be on their way to a 10-6 season.

Dallas is tough. Buffalo's defense is tough but their offense is Meh - I watched a few of their games last year since my wife is a fan of them. Could be a tough hard fought 13-10 win. If we had Zuerlein still I would be more confident. I could see them kicking a 50 yard field goal at the end of the game to win. Goff is fairly decent in the last few minutes of the game.

However, I definitely think they can beat the Eagles. They just don't look that impressive to me.

 

[Liberator]

However, I definitely think they can beat the Eagles. They just don't look that impressive to me.

The Eagles will probably be better late in the year then in September I think. Lotta new weapons on that offense.