With a short honeymoon in L.A., Rams know they will have to win soon

NFL 2016: With a short honeymoon in L.A., Rams know they will have to win soon
By RICH HAMMOND

[www.ocregister.com]


At some point, the Rams understand, the narrative must change.

Billboards and slick videos touting their homecoming to Los Angeles will carry the franchise only so far. Probably only to the first losing streak. Then the honeymoon ends, and the tough questions begin, starting with: Why can’t this team ever be better than .500? How about a playoff appearance?

The Coliseum will be full this year, but the watchability of the product remains to be seen. The preseason gave cause only for tempered enthusiasm, but players believe they’re ready for a major step forward.

“I just think as a collective unit – offense, defense and special teams – there’s been more attention to detail and a sense of urgency,” defensive lineman Will Hayes said. “It’s not necessarily pressure, but you get tired of being 7-9 and 8-8. I don’t see why this team can’t win 10-plus games.”

Perhaps that cloud of mediocrity didn’t drift over from St. Louis. Perhaps the change of scenery will produce a change in attitude. The Rams, it seems clear, need something.

The Rams have gone 11 consecutive seasons without a playoff appearance. Only Buffalo (16 seasons), Oakland (13) and Cleveland (13) have longer current droughts. The Rams haven’t been above .500 since 2003, when they went 12-4 and lost to Carolina in the second round.

Coach Jeff Fisher and General Manager Les Snead took over a team that went 2-14 in 2011. In their four seasons, the Rams have put up records of 7-8-1, 7-9, 6-10 and 7-9. Progress, yes, but it has stalled.

From a roster standpoint, the Rams undeniably have improved. In recent drafts, they’ve added players such as running back Todd Gurley, defensive tackle Aaron Donald, receiver Tavon Austin and linebacker Alec Ogletree, plus this year’s first-round pick, Jared Goff, the presumed quarterback of the future.

The offensive line is solid and if the Rams simply can improve their offense from awful to average, they should improve on 2015, when they lost twice in overtime and two other games by a total of nine points.

“I think the biggest thing is that for the last couple years, we’ve been playing with a lot of first- or second-year guys on this team,” Hayes said. “Those guys are starting to become veterans and becoming a little more seasoned. That’s what is helping us out now.

“Guys who were making mistakes, we’re not really making those any more. I think that’s going to play a big part, and it’s starting to show in our team. Our offense is looking just as productive as our defense.”

If veteran leadership was supposed to help, though, the Rams made a couple curious decisions this week when they cut their roster to the NFL-mandated maximum of 53 players.

The Rams terminated the contract of starting linebacker Akeem Ayers, who was the only player on the roster with a Super Bowl ring, with New England in 2014. He was the only one even to play in the game.

Hayes is now the only player on the active roster who has ever appeared in a playoff game. The Rams also terminated the contract of backup defensive lineman Cam Thomas and put offensive lineman Garrett Reynolds on injured reserve, although Reynolds could return.

The Rams likely will have the youngest roster in the league, in terms of average player age, but the team is growing together. A player such as Ogletree, even though he’s entering only his fourth NFL season, has taken on a bigger leadership role.

“It’s hard for young teams like that to win, especially when you’re playing against veteran teams that know how to win,” Hayes said. “I think that’s going to be a difference for us this year, in those close games. We will be more prepared to win this year, with the guys being older and wiser. Those mistakes that we were making, I don’t think we will make as many any more.”

By all accounts, the Rams have been able to deal with distractions well and stay focused. Not only did they relocate from St. Louis, but they had camera crews following their steps during training camp as part of the HBO documentary “Hard Knocks.”

The Rams went 2-2 in preseason, with familiar positives and negatives for anyone who followed the team in St. Louis. The defensive front seven looked strong while the offense was inconsistent.

Quarterback Case Keenum won the starting job, but faces a tough NFC West that includes conference-championship contenders Arizona and Seattle. The Rams, though, believe that experience and improved offense will help turn some of 2015’s narrow losses into victories.

“It’s hard for young teams like that to win,” Hayes said, “especially when you’re playing against veteran teams that know how to win. I think that’s going to be a difference for us this year, in those close games. We will be more prepared to win this year, with the guys being older and wiser. Those mistakes that we were making, I don’t think we will make as many any more.”

Those mistakes, as Fisher famously said on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” are the 7-9, well, manure, that have kept the Rams stagnant for much of Fisher’s tenure.

The behind-the-scenes show didn’t reveal a ton, other than the usual stoic Fisher going on a brief, memorable rant about how “I’m not (bleeping) going 7-9 or 8-8 or 9-7. Or 10-6 for that matter.”

That’s a high bar, particularly for a young roster that still contains plentiful questions.

“We start over now,” Fisher said after the preseason finale, “and I’m looking forward to putting this team on the field at the start of the regular season, because I think we’re going to be pretty good.”