The loss of Aaron Donald is significant - simply one of the best (if not the best) defensive players of his generation and a certain first ballot HOFer. I am not minimizing his loss, but I do realize that the beat goes on.
6 of the 12 starters (the 12th being slot corner) are entering their second or 3rd year. [
www.ourlads.com] I will be extremely disappointed if any of these guys peaked in their rookie or sophomore season. So right off the bat half the players ought to be better this year than last year.
What about the current backups who were rookies last year: Durden, Mathis, Fatukasi, Hampton, Tomlinson, Ingle, Taylor, McCutcheon? Is it unreasonable to expect at least 2 or 3 of those guys to pitch in in a big way this year?
VanValkenburg, Hummel, Kendrick, Thomas - all entering their 3rd year. Is it unreasonable to think the light bulb comes on for one for these guys?
Did Ernest Jones and/or Bobby Brown peak last year, their 3rd in the league? I sure hope not ...
They signed major talents at CB (Williams) and S (Curl) significantly upgrading 2 more spots.
Free agency isn't over.
Trade rumors will swirl from now until the Tuesday after week 8 (the current trade deadline).
And the draft will bring in a ton of new talent (literally).
Then when you consider that the Rams could have a higher scoring offense while simultaneously being a more capable ball-control offense, maybe the defense doesn't even have to be better.
AlbaNY_Ram
