Rapid decline?
The Rams were one missed field goal away from making the playoffs last year.
The Rams were one missed field goal away from making the playoffs last year.
Improvement comes from the development of a young OL especially if they can remain healthy. That alone can be a huge upgrade. Add in a more explosive RB corp with Henderson & maybe a rookie, and that will be a huge upgrade combined with an improved OL, which then allows play action work.Tough article but it is hard to call where we have significantly improved over 2019, forget about 2018.
DL may be a little stronger with Brock retuning and Robinson in the mix.
OL is a question with a 39 yo Whit manning the most critical slot.
LB will have three new starters.
Henderson is no pre 2018 Gurley, but maybe a step up from the 2019 version.
QB, WR, and TE (sure like to see more 2TE sets) are all +/- level.
I'd take our curent DB's over the that 2018 unit.
The relationship appears to have deteriorated with trade rumors surrounding Cooks he cryptically tweeted “free me” last week.
The relationship appears to have deteriorated with trade rumors surrounding Cooks he cryptically tweeted “free me” last week.
Obviously this guy doesn't really know much. The reason IMO articles like this come out is because NFL owners and GMs were so infatuated with what the Rams have in McVay, and for good reason: when you get a guy that young who also happens to be that good, you can see stability and consistency the likes of which have rarely been seen in the NFL.
As far as last season goes....if the Patriots had Russell Wilson and last year's Niners team in their division, there's a few years they probably would have gone 9-7 too.
For the Rams, Niners, and Seahawks, it seems anywhere from a first place to last place finish is in the cards for next year (I can't see the Cardinals winning the division but anywhere from 2-4 seems possible for them).
This guy could be right - the Rams could be in the midst of a rapid decline. But his reasoning is wrong - this was really the only season the Rams would be cap-strapped - and what he fails to point it out is that we somehow have spent nearly $40 million anyways. The contracts handed out this season: Floyd, Robinson, Whitworth - could all come off the books after this season.
We'll continue to see articles like this for the next few years though - being young and better at your job than older people is something this country has always had an issue with.