The Rams can be dominating on offense, usually scoring in the mid-30's every game. They can run and pass equally well.
Special Teams are consistent and exceptional. Great Kicker. Great Punter. Excellent coverage. And even though Cooper has been sidelined, our KO and PR hasn't been bad at all. Now that he's back, I'd expect that by the final 2 games, he'll be back in form and giving us another weapon to change field position.
Our D is rough around the edges and right now might be our Achilles Heel. Yet, they have this ability to make plays in the late 4th quarter to close out wins. This is no small thing. On the positive side, we have perhaps the best interior pass rush in the league. Our outside pass rush has been average at best, but Fowler will probably help that substantially (as the strip sack of Wilson last week shows). Our run defense has been spotty. If a team is going to get to us, it always seems to be in the first half; then the Rams tend to clamp down on it (have no idea why). Our Secondary is also average at best, and yet seems to make plays when it counts the most. Peters has been up down too much. But getting Talib back is going to make a huge difference there.
Our ILB's actually have done a good job. They are good tacklers, have very good speed, and cover well.
But our D has tended to give up lots of yards on big plays (run or pass) and recently lots of points. Even so, I think we're only a couple of players on D away from having a really good D to compliment our nearly unstoppable O.
We need a better FS. I thought Joyner would be terrific this year and he seems nearly invisible; always a step late. His short stature makes him a liability in the Red Zone and against the taller WRs and average sized TEs.
We need another good pass rushing threat at OLB. Fowler looks like he's going to be a big help. But we also need pass rush from the other side. Neither Ebukam or Longacre have given us much.
And, we need either Peters to return to form or another good press-man cover corner. My guess is that Peters is coming out of his funk, and Talib on the field will help him further.
It is my opinion that this can be accomplished through the draft and FA in this coming off season. And if the FO can be successful with those acquisitions, I think the Rams can be a dominant team in all 3 units for years to come.
