Worry #1 LT. Noteboom has started LT in this league for years, and did a good job. His only issue was health. He's an experienced and competent LT and knows the offense very well. And, more the Rams know him very well. He'll do just fine. I'm not sure that Jackson is particularly better than Noteboom.
Worry #2 RT. This is where I just don't know. McClendon was seen only in practices and scrimmages; yet, I heard no bad reports. Beyond that....it's ???????????
Worry #3 C. I think this one is more interesting than scary. There is just no way that Avila was failing. And, clearly McVay is NOT going to start somebody at Center who doesn't know what they're doing. I don't know if it has anything to do with size, but Avila is even bigger than Jackson, and a 315 lb. Center is still LARGE.
Worry #4 ILB. Is there a drop-off from Jones to Reeder? Sure, at least as far as athleticism. But it's my belief that we may not even have a ILB in the lineup more than about half of the D plays. We have some hard-hitting physical Safeties, and the ILB position is evolving. I think we're going to see Safeties featured in Shula's D. ILBs must cover as well as play the run tough and that is really hard to do. The thing is this: Reeder won't make some of the plays Jones is capable of. But neither will he be in the wrong place at the wrong time and just screw it up. He's experienced and he's a good football player.
Stafford is not going to get killed. For one reason, if the Oline isn't able to keep the Detroit guys at bay, McVay will call more running plays and short passes. He is not going to risk Stafford for a season in order to get through the first 1 or 2 games.
I don't have the stats, but I seem to recall how some of the teams that regularly got into the playoffs sometimes had slow starts. But, the team got better and better and peaked for the playoffs. Some teams seem to be peaked coming out of the gates, but then level off and struggle with the playoffs.
It's an axiom that winning in November and December is more important than in September.
