The Rams have a good reason for shying away from saying that they are trending towards the playoffs: it's way too soon.
You don't make the playoffs in October. It's not even the halfway point in the season.
What I think the Rams can rightly call themselves (and they do) is a good team, a contending team. But they've not faced any real adversity yet. What if Whitworth were to go down, even for a month? What if Woods were to go down for awhile? What if Donald got injured? How about TruJ? Playoff teams can find a way to overcome these things.
It's WAY too big a jump to ask a team that has been so awful for so long to TRULY believe they are destined for the playoffs 7 games into a season. Hope? Much effort? High character? Trending up? Yes.
But the Rams have all new coaching, all new systems on both sides of the ball, a 2nd-year 23 year old QB, a rookie HC, and they play in a temporary stadium where so far there seems to be more visiting fans attending than the home fans.
Don't get me wrong; they've achieved much this season so far. I'm impressed. Goff has really progressed, and Gurley has become the back that I did not believe he could be. The Defense seems to have hit its stride. But nothing replaces experience when it comes to crunch time; nothing replaces having been there KNOWING from experience that you can do it, versus HOPING without evidence that you can do it.
But it's the teams that play best the second half of the season that get to the playoffs; not the teams that play the best the first half.
Beginning with the Giants game, the real season begins. Teams now have lots of tape on the Rams; they're not a mystery. The Rams are going to get a team's A game (if they have an A game to give).
I'm looking forward to it. But I still project 9 wins as the best they'll do. Even so, 9 wins just might get a WC spot. That would be quite an achievement for a team that has been a laughing stock for a decade.
