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TonyHunter87
Case Keenum (a journeyman we've already cut) is our starting QB. ... We're returning the same starting offensive line and WR corps (save for a 2nd tier WR from the draft who's injured) from last year and Todd Gurley is STILL the team's only real source of offensive production.
Hmmmmm. Looking primarily at the offense, I don't see it the way you do.
Look. This isn't GSOT II. But, I would be very surprised if this offense didn't ratchet up 5 or 6 spots.
Start with what you present as a weakness: having the same OL.
I dunno about you, but what I saw in the PS was an OL gelling and establishing itself as a team strength. Those guys got after it, and most importantly, they opened holes for our RBs. Consistently. Steadily. Impressively. Our OL has been a mess for too many years for me to count. It isn't now. For the first time since the GSOT contracted, I have seen a Ram offensive unit IMPOSE ITS WILL on defenses. When I think of our PS, I think of that OL driving teams off the LOS and I just smile.
AND, we have demonstrated, quality depth at RB. We do not have to ride Gurley for 35 carries a game. We can keep him fresh and rotate and keep the running game moving.
Will we again run a lot this year? Yes. But that does not mean that nothing has changed. We have run a lot for years behind a chaotic, overmatched OL. The results have always been sketchy, erratic, unsustainable. Lots of no gains and then a big run when we got the scheme just right. This year, I think you're going to see a running game that can impose its will on defenses which will really struggle to contain it.
Is that enough? Well, it's enough for an offensive improvement of a couple of notches. But, as I say repeatedly, our biggest limiting factor is our inability to balance the attack with at least adequate downfield, medium length passing and to convert 3rd downs. And in that area, our PS was not encouraging.
However, I do see some signs of hope. I don't see our WRs as being utterly hopeless. While Keenum is a limited QB, he has demonstrated a modest but reliable level of skills. He will probably be fairly productive in regular season game plans playing off of the running game. I think Britt is a competent, middle of the pack WR. And, I see genuine promise of a culture change in the passing game in Higbee and Spruce. Add in Tavon's gadgets and occasional receiving and Lance's solid productivity, and I think we have enough to raise our passing productivity by, again, a few notches.
I actually see our offense as a mid table outfit this year. I think the PS showed us THAT level of likely achievement. In a major reversal, I have more concerns about our defense this year than our offense.
We do have a truly elite DL. It's depth, power, and lethal impact are matched by its relentlessness. You can do a LOT with a DL like that.
Now, I am like everyone else confused by our LBs and DBs. I don't get the vision, really.
HOWEVER, I did see something really reassuring as we got past PS W1. I saw the D front, including the LBs begin to assert themselves stuffing the running game. I have genuine doubts about 'Tree. But, I also saw him begin to scrape and fill at or across the LOS and stuff runs JL has never been able to stuff. I thought that, in PS games 2 & 3, our run defense was both excellent and consistent. That is extremely encouraging to me. Stuff the run, and you shift the pressure onto the offense.
I also saw us get a lot of pressure on the QB. Remember how last year (was it last year or '14?) it took like a month to get our first sack? With our DL talent, that was about Williams' scheme not giving our DL a chance to get there. Well, I was seeing enough coverage to give the DL some time AND to get off the field on 3rd down. I saw improvement there.
But then, it is PS and weird things happen in PS. DEN came out and refused to pass for like 2 series. It is hard to tell how much of our defense's effectiveness was quality scheme and execution and how much was facing opponents playing without a regular season playbook.
In the end, I would say what many have been saying. The most worrisome shadow over the Rams this year is probably our questionable DB package. I can't feel really confident that we'll have enough coverage to get off the field and let an improved but still limited offense get and build leads. I think we can score 25 points a game this year. But given our DBs, will that be enough?
I personally think the most important man in the organization this season will be Williams. He has got to run a defense that limits the damage of our DB personnel and maximizes the impact of our DL. He has got to coach a unit that can defend the Red Zone and get off the field on 3rd down to a normal percentage. To do that, he has to consistently find an effective balance between solid containment that enables the DL to flourish and using just enough exotic schemes and blitzes to make big plays. My experience tells me to worry. He'll call brilliant games and he'll botch others in which his need to be brilliant defuses our DL's impact and opens the gates.
Yet, if Williams runs a tough, taut, disciplined defensive shop, then I think our offense is improved enough to give us a couple extra games.
