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AlbaNY_Ram
This is what I think I've learned from a bunch of stuff I've read and listened to, so take it with a grain of salt.
McVay is a student of the offensive side of the ball. Some would call him an offensive genius, noting that the Rams were last in scoring in the NFL in 2016 and then lead the league in scoring in 2017, McVay's first year as HC.
Last they were 27th.
McVay want's to get back to (or at least near) the top of the list again. To do so he has to shift a lot of spending from the defensive side of the ball to the offensive side of the ball.
The Rams are taking on $46.1M in dead money this year from their three biggest moves on defense: $19.6M from the Ramsey trade, $19M from cutting Wagner, and another $7.5M from cutting Floyd.
That is killing the Rams cap this year. But before these moves the Rams were already over the cap in 2024 (in addition to being over the cap in 2023). Now, the Rams sit $55.5M under the cap in 2024. Plus they have freed up over $120M in cash that was tied up in those three contracts, money they can now spend elsewhere. And most (all?) of it will go to players who will help the Rams score more points.
The decision has been made to fix the offense, but it probably isn't a 1 year job. With some better luck with injuries, perhaps a hit or 2 in the draft, and a couple key low-level FA signings we could see a noticeable improvement this year. But it probably won't be until the 2024 season that the rebuilt offense will be fully realized.
In the mean time the defense will get younger, perhaps more athletic and/or quicker. And they will give up more points. But if the current remaking of the Rams offense works as planned, the Rams offense will score the points necessary to carry a defense that won't be as good. And best case scenario, the Rams will get a lead once in a while and make the defense's job a little easier.
Note that the Chiefs won the SB with the highest scoring offense in the league coupled with the #16 scoring defense. I think that's where we're headed.
Well said!
I’ll try to echo that In a much more simplistic sense, I think much of the fan angst is derived from watching the Rams lose starters via release, and free agency and not knowing the plan moving fwd to replace those players in the short and long term. We as fans aren’t privy to the plan that the front office very likely spent months on, and what that entails this season and in future years. As I mentioned in a previous post what position group did you feel really good about at the end of last season even hypothetically if they were all healthy at the end of the regular season?
Quite a few starters from last season were going to be free agents, and many of the players that received extensions were due for huge cap hits and some didn’t live up to those contracts. This offseason, the Rams received a commitment from McVay that he’s here for awhile , they went out and searched for the right coaches to connect and teach young players who they envision will have to have larger roles, while making moves that should improve the teams’ cap situation, and draft capital starting next year.
The three year window post Super Bowl was the plan but for various reasons the team had to pivot and change course. If the team is able to coach up existing young players, and make good decisions adding players in the draft and free agency this year and next, we may look back at 2023 and marvel at how the team quickly changed course back into a playoff contender.
Geaux Rams
