21 things to keep in mind before you pencil the #Rams in as a guarantee dumpster fire this year:
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21 things to keep in mind before you pencil the #Rams in as a guarantee dumpster fire this year:
link
JAKE ELLENBOGEN
@JKBOGEN
21 things to keep in mind before you pencil the #Rams in as a guarantee dumpster fire this year:
1. Sean McVay is their coach. He's got a .612 win % and took a 4-12 team and turned it into 11-5.
2. Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald and Jordan Fuller have had a ton of time "off" and will be fresh for the season.
3. Cam Akers found his groove at the end of last year. If he carries that into this year he's a top 5 RB in football.
4. OL was addressed in the draft. They went with a high floor IOL in Steve Avila. They have 2 centers they feel good about in Allen and Shelton. They have Havenstein holding down the RT spot. They have last year's 3rd rounder Logan Bruss who could develop into something and they have Noteboom and Alaric Jackson to battle for the tackle spot. The OL's issue last year was injuries, if they stay healthy they should be fine.
5. Tyler Higbee is coming off his 2nd best year of his career.
6. Van Jefferson missed half of last year and played the 2nd half of 2021 injury while still going over 800 yards in his 2nd season. Big contract year as Van takes over as WR2. Expecting a big jump.
7. Tutu Atwell's emergence. He played one game legitimately where he got a shot with Stafford and immediately blew up the Saints secondary on a TD bomb. A true deep threat to combine with Van and Kupp.
8. The #Rams played a ton of games in the first half of the season with 3 of their 4 top corners missing games. Jordan Fuller missed 14 games. Aaron Donald missed 6 games. Its not like this team didn't deal with adversity on defense.
9. Raheem Morris. He's been a great defensive coordinator regardless of what anyone wants to say last year without players all year, constantly shifting the lineup every game except for one his defense kept the Rams in it going into the 4th quarter.
10. Their schedule isn't THAT tough. It's not a great finale or a great start but most of the games are winnable. Games come down to a few plays and decision-making in close games, McVay has won plenty of those games. Going against Arizona twice, Seattle twice (who they almost beat both times with Wolford and Baker), Commanders, Giants, Saints, Browns, Colts those are all more winnable than others.
11. All the pressure is off this team. What pressure do they have? No one in the mainstream thinks they will be good. They have 2 primetime games. They will be in the shadows, teams are more dangerous when people least expect them.
12. Last year was a mess. We've heard it all. McVay retirement talk was circulating all year, injury rate was abnormal, they started off the year getting blown out by the Bills at home in front of everyone with "Run it Back" on their mind. It just was bad. This team is vastly different than that team.
13. Ernest Jones is going to take the next step. The Bobby Wagner loss while significant can be remedied with Ernest Jones' ascension this year.
14. The scheme they run on the defensive side will minimize the damage. Big issue is that people are acting like this defense is going to play bump and run all game just straight man defense with Kendrick and Rochell. Not at all what they are going to do. Still going to play that soft-shell zone coverage, still "Bend don't break" mind you, the offense should be much better, last year's offense killed the defense and Raheem and company hung in there and kept them in games they shouldn't have otherwise been in.
15. Sean McVay admitted he started developing a renewed enjoyment for the game towards the end of last year. Guys like Skowronek, Van, Atwell, Hoecht, Durant stepped up. They became leaders. Those guys are ahead of schedule because they got a lot of playing time last year Hoecht especially.
16. They went out and got high character, leadership driven and high floor guys who can play right away. The culture is back like it never left. Having guys like Avila, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Tre Hodges-Tomlinson and Bennett is going to go a long way.
17. A mold has been broken. The Rams changed their archetype up a little in this draft. I believe they are going in a different direction with what they do with their team. People are also assuming McVay who has coached multiple top 5 offenses has been figured out and doesn't have a counter punch remaining.
18. The coaching staff was devoured post Super Bowl losing big names Ejiro Evero and Kevin O'Connell, the Rams played into February and missed on some coaches because of it. They went back to Liam Coen who I don't believe was the OC KOC was and losing Evero was a significant loss for the defense. This year however, I believe with their "broken mold" they went out and reinvented their coaching staff adding new minds like LaFleur, Wendell, Caley and bringing in an oldy but a goody in Aubrey Pleasant.
19. I'm not saying they win the Super Bowl FYI. I'm saying the talk they are going to be absolutely horrendous is ridiculous. Everyone is penciling in the Eagles for a Super Bowl return but didn't do that when the Rams lost in the Super Bowl to the Patriots, the narrative was "Super Bowl hangover" its just a reminder things happen.
20. Teams that look great on the Rams schedule now are due for some regression and we see it every year. Injuries happen, new schemes, coaches and even players don't work out the way they looked like they would on paper and of course teams like the Rams in 2017 take the world by storm. Is that this team? I don't know. What I do know is that this team isn't going to be worse than last year with a healthy Super Bowl winning QB in Matthew Stafford, the best WR in Cooper Kupp, the most dominant player in Aaron Donald, talented role players and an excellent coaching staff.
21. I didn't love the off-season and that is no secret. However, after an A+ draft from the Rams it was confirmed to me this team ain't f--ing laying down whether you want Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or "insert QB no-one is talking about that will emerge and end up in the top QB conversation by the end of the year" ... Rams are going to be better than you think. Unless you believe this team is going to win a Super Bowl this season because that's just a tad premature.
Bet against McVay at your own peril.
#HelmetHornsMatter
“Well, the color is good, I like the metallic blue,” Youngblood recently said while laughing, via NFL Journal. “The horn is terrible. It looks like a ‘C.’ When I first saw it on the logo I honestly thought it was a Charger logo.
“Now when I see it on the helmet, it just isn’t a ram horn. There is no distinct curl like a mature ram horn. I don’t know how the Rams could get that wrong. That is your symbol and it has been for what? Seventy years or more? Longer than I have been alive? It’s just not us, it’s not the Rams.”---Mr. Ram Jack Youngblood
link
JAKE ELLENBOGEN
@JKBOGEN
21 things to keep in mind before you pencil the #Rams in as a guarantee dumpster fire this year:
1. Sean McVay is their coach. He's got a .612 win % and took a 4-12 team and turned it into 11-5.
2. Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Aaron Donald and Jordan Fuller have had a ton of time "off" and will be fresh for the season.
3. Cam Akers found his groove at the end of last year. If he carries that into this year he's a top 5 RB in football.
4. OL was addressed in the draft. They went with a high floor IOL in Steve Avila. They have 2 centers they feel good about in Allen and Shelton. They have Havenstein holding down the RT spot. They have last year's 3rd rounder Logan Bruss who could develop into something and they have Noteboom and Alaric Jackson to battle for the tackle spot. The OL's issue last year was injuries, if they stay healthy they should be fine.
5. Tyler Higbee is coming off his 2nd best year of his career.
6. Van Jefferson missed half of last year and played the 2nd half of 2021 injury while still going over 800 yards in his 2nd season. Big contract year as Van takes over as WR2. Expecting a big jump.
7. Tutu Atwell's emergence. He played one game legitimately where he got a shot with Stafford and immediately blew up the Saints secondary on a TD bomb. A true deep threat to combine with Van and Kupp.
8. The #Rams played a ton of games in the first half of the season with 3 of their 4 top corners missing games. Jordan Fuller missed 14 games. Aaron Donald missed 6 games. Its not like this team didn't deal with adversity on defense.
9. Raheem Morris. He's been a great defensive coordinator regardless of what anyone wants to say last year without players all year, constantly shifting the lineup every game except for one his defense kept the Rams in it going into the 4th quarter.
10. Their schedule isn't THAT tough. It's not a great finale or a great start but most of the games are winnable. Games come down to a few plays and decision-making in close games, McVay has won plenty of those games. Going against Arizona twice, Seattle twice (who they almost beat both times with Wolford and Baker), Commanders, Giants, Saints, Browns, Colts those are all more winnable than others.
11. All the pressure is off this team. What pressure do they have? No one in the mainstream thinks they will be good. They have 2 primetime games. They will be in the shadows, teams are more dangerous when people least expect them.
12. Last year was a mess. We've heard it all. McVay retirement talk was circulating all year, injury rate was abnormal, they started off the year getting blown out by the Bills at home in front of everyone with "Run it Back" on their mind. It just was bad. This team is vastly different than that team.
13. Ernest Jones is going to take the next step. The Bobby Wagner loss while significant can be remedied with Ernest Jones' ascension this year.
14. The scheme they run on the defensive side will minimize the damage. Big issue is that people are acting like this defense is going to play bump and run all game just straight man defense with Kendrick and Rochell. Not at all what they are going to do. Still going to play that soft-shell zone coverage, still "Bend don't break" mind you, the offense should be much better, last year's offense killed the defense and Raheem and company hung in there and kept them in games they shouldn't have otherwise been in.
15. Sean McVay admitted he started developing a renewed enjoyment for the game towards the end of last year. Guys like Skowronek, Van, Atwell, Hoecht, Durant stepped up. They became leaders. Those guys are ahead of schedule because they got a lot of playing time last year Hoecht especially.
16. They went out and got high character, leadership driven and high floor guys who can play right away. The culture is back like it never left. Having guys like Avila, Byron Young, Kobie Turner, Tre Hodges-Tomlinson and Bennett is going to go a long way.
17. A mold has been broken. The Rams changed their archetype up a little in this draft. I believe they are going in a different direction with what they do with their team. People are also assuming McVay who has coached multiple top 5 offenses has been figured out and doesn't have a counter punch remaining.
18. The coaching staff was devoured post Super Bowl losing big names Ejiro Evero and Kevin O'Connell, the Rams played into February and missed on some coaches because of it. They went back to Liam Coen who I don't believe was the OC KOC was and losing Evero was a significant loss for the defense. This year however, I believe with their "broken mold" they went out and reinvented their coaching staff adding new minds like LaFleur, Wendell, Caley and bringing in an oldy but a goody in Aubrey Pleasant.
19. I'm not saying they win the Super Bowl FYI. I'm saying the talk they are going to be absolutely horrendous is ridiculous. Everyone is penciling in the Eagles for a Super Bowl return but didn't do that when the Rams lost in the Super Bowl to the Patriots, the narrative was "Super Bowl hangover" its just a reminder things happen.
20. Teams that look great on the Rams schedule now are due for some regression and we see it every year. Injuries happen, new schemes, coaches and even players don't work out the way they looked like they would on paper and of course teams like the Rams in 2017 take the world by storm. Is that this team? I don't know. What I do know is that this team isn't going to be worse than last year with a healthy Super Bowl winning QB in Matthew Stafford, the best WR in Cooper Kupp, the most dominant player in Aaron Donald, talented role players and an excellent coaching staff.
21. I didn't love the off-season and that is no secret. However, after an A+ draft from the Rams it was confirmed to me this team ain't f--ing laying down whether you want Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or "insert QB no-one is talking about that will emerge and end up in the top QB conversation by the end of the year" ... Rams are going to be better than you think. Unless you believe this team is going to win a Super Bowl this season because that's just a tad premature.
Bet against McVay at your own peril.
#HelmetHornsMatter
“Well, the color is good, I like the metallic blue,” Youngblood recently said while laughing, via NFL Journal. “The horn is terrible. It looks like a ‘C.’ When I first saw it on the logo I honestly thought it was a Charger logo.
“Now when I see it on the helmet, it just isn’t a ram horn. There is no distinct curl like a mature ram horn. I don’t know how the Rams could get that wrong. That is your symbol and it has been for what? Seventy years or more? Longer than I have been alive? It’s just not us, it’s not the Rams.”---Mr. Ram Jack Youngblood
| Subject | Author | Views | Posted |
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