“Homer take on the Rams” post by Dick84...

Here’s Dick84...

MY HOMER TAKE ON THE SEASON.

First off... I see two games the Rams wouldn't be favored in if the season started today... At New Orleans and.. Possibly, at home against the Eagles.

Two.

One of the biggest factors so many outsiders point to when questioning the Rams this year is Jared Goff. I get it.. They don't feel he has the "swag" they like.. He didn't have a great game against the Falcons and he had that Rookie year.
Well... Nothing I've read/heard/seen suggests he's done anything but grow in this offseason. He grew appreciably every year at Cal. His system is the same.. He's still maturing.

Simply said... I don't see much chance of him having a setback and, more likely, expect he'll have a nice jump this season.

Related factor... Coaching. McVay's had an offense for three years now and has shown me enough that he can adapt and change and grow. Remember.. A year ago.. Most of us thought the Tight Ends were going to have a big year because *that's what McVay did*.... Well, nope. He creates effective offenses. I trust him scouting himself and making changes over other teams scouting the Rams and figuring out how to stop them.

Another weird take some outsiders have is not expecting Cooks to have much impact.
Why? He's been incredibly consistent in his career and McVay has been trying to get him for two years. In McVay's last year in DC... Garcon and Jackson had 1000 yards plus. Sure.. Someone will get fewer touches this year.. But I also expect the Rams to run more plays total and to have appreciably higher total yards.

The biggest worry, to me, was losing Whitworth.. and Noteboom just makes me feel confident that the Rams would be okay.

Now.. losing Goff? Of course that would be awful.

Rams D... Well... The corners are a massive upgrade. Do people forget that the Rams were winning games last year with Troy Hill starting? He's 6th on the depth chart now. Joyner and Johnson have had a full year together.. They added freaking Suh. Yes... They have some challenges on generating pressure from the edges... But it's not nearly as profound as some suggest. Health will be important. If Longacre and Easley are healthy... I don't think we'll be talking too much about the outside pressure problem.

I also like the young guys.. JFM.. Ebukam.

Here's a random one... Littleton will lead NFL inside linebackers in Sacks. The kid knows how to slice through a line.. Notice how he did that so often on special teams and that he did it in one of two starts last year. He's an instinctive player and fluid athlete.

Special teams will be awesome.

The homer in me sees a very, very special season. When you go "best case scenario" for every team... The Rams best case scenario seems to be higher than anyone else, imo.