Contextualizing the talent on this team

[Rambitious1]

How about vs. the 2001 Rams with the following players:

QB Kurt Warner
RB Marshall Faulk
WR Isaac Bruce
WR Torry Holt
TE Ernie Conwell
LT Orlando Pace
RG Adam Timmerman
DE Grant Wistrom
MLB London Fletcher
CB Aeneas Williams

Of course they lost the Super Bowl vs. the Patriots.

Did they?
I mean Actually lose........?

 

[thirteen28]

It's crazy how stacked this team is now. To the point where it makes me paranoid. We just need the football Gods to favor us with health.

Well, at least we have the FO that tries to stack the odds in their favor, rather than just saying “we’re close” and then hoping things work out. We had a decent chance of going to the show without the offseason we had, but McSnead decided that wasn’t good enough and went out and got some difference makers.

 

[PhillyRam]

Still wondering why the Rams cut him loose. It's a hole they've tried to fill ever since.

Snead mentioned in a recent interview something to the effect that if a player is not on board with what they're doing, he sticks out and its not a comfortable situation for that player. My guess is he was bitching about wanting a contract extension and it was affecting his off the field workout and team activities. And they simply got him out of the building.

In Seattle we have seen him being more open and blunt in his interviews. He was likley like that behind the scenes with the Rams relating to an extension and they got tired of it.

 

[fearsomefour]

I've been thinking about this team relative to our Super Bowl team, and I think it is truly insane how good this team is, so I wanted to stack it up player to player:

Stafford - Stafford - Matt, if anything, seems to be getting better

Kyren/Corum - Michel/Henderson/Akers - the Kyren/Corum are tiers above those guys

Puka/Davante - Kupp/Woods - Kupp went off this year, but IMO Puka is better, and Davante better than Woods

Parkinson - Higbee - I'll say a push, but we are using our TEs much better

Alaric - Whitworth - Whitworth was better, but I don't think the gap is huge

Avila - Edwards - Edwards was solid, but I think Avila is better

Shelton - Allen - ironic that both are/were not popular here, but I think Shelton is a smidge better

Dotson - Corbett - not even close, Dotson

McClendon - Havenstein - IMO this is a wash with how well Warren played last year



Kobie - AD - obviously AD

Poona - Gaines - I liked Gaines, but Poona was better

Fiske - A'Shawn - again, I liked A'Shawn, but this is Fiske

Garrett - Von - obviously MG here

Young - Floyd - Young is better

Landman - Jones - Jones was a rookie, I think Landman is better here for how good Jones was at the time

Speights - Howard - Speights is better

McDuffie - Ramsey - I think Ramsey was a smidge better, but he also played pretty poorly in the playoffs overall

Watson - Williams - I was a big fan of Darious, and he played well, but I think Watson is a touch better

Lake - Deayon - our third CB spot was ROUGH that Super Bowl year

Kinchens/Curl - Rapp/Fuller/Weddle - yiiiiiiiiiikes


This is an overly simplistic way to view it, but by my estimation, the 2026 Rams are better at 8/11 key spots on offense, worse at one spot, and a push on two

For defense, better at 10/12 key spots, worse at two - one of those is Ramsey/McDuffie which may be arguable.

And then this teams depth is light years better - backup QB, TEs, DL depth, secondary depth.

And that 2021 team won the Super Bowl....

One of the best signings and such a key, yet undervalued (by casual fans/media) part of this defense is Poona Ford.
Dude is a stud.
You simply will have a hard time running in the A gaps when Poona is in.
Huge signing.

 

[Ramstien]

The improved backend of this defense is the biggest improvement on this team as a whole and for heavens sakes let the dogs eat, no soft arse zone coverage.

 

[Pupped]

What!? Jones was a rookie in the SB. He was drafted in 2021.

Strongly disagree on him being better at that point. One may argue that he was better later but that can't be statistically substantiated.

He wasn't a rookie by the time he played in the Super Bowl. He had a full NFL season under his belt.
Anyway.. fine.. but Jones special ability as a blitzer was one of the key factors in the Super Bowl.