Quote
RockRam
The Internet and Fantasy Football have made winning and losing almost secondary to stats.
Yeah we won, but look at how many points we gave up.
Yeah we won, but Goff threw a red zone INT today.
Yeah we won, but Gurley fumbled once and only had 70 yards on the ground.
Yeah we won, but.....fill in the blank.

That's fantasy football and stats thinking. ...

This is a VERY good Rams team that can go all the way. Will they? Don't know.
But yes they have flaws.....just as every other NFL team.

Well, RR, we're clearly not on the same wavelength here.

The stats over wins syndrome that you describe is a real thing. I have written about it.

But I am not talking about stats. And I am not discounting wins.

What I am doing is looking at the team I know well and seeing them over the course of a month or more playing sputtering, often undisciplined football well below the level they have shown that they can achieve. The trend has gone on for enough weeks that it has to be addressed. They are not playing the kind of football I know they can play.

So, does that matter? Well, it depends on the level a team is at. If it's a middle of the pack team, hoping to beat .500 or make the playoffs, then stealing some wins can seem major achievements.

But a team showing ring-level potential looking to flourish in the post-season is different. We're 9-1 this year. Great--feels better than the Fisher years. But, what can we hope for in the post season? Can we legitimately hope for a ring? Remember how we flamed out last year in the 1st playoff round? Beating Fisher ball was great the first year. But if we flame out again in Year 2, ain't nobody around here gonna be happy.

So, the question is, these sputtering trends … are they real? Do they threaten our post-season? How much of our potential can we recover? These are legitimate questions that have nothing to do with Fantasy Football hype.

I started following the Rams as a youngster living south of Chicago on 1968. The Vikings broke my heart in '69. And again and again. Then it was the Whiners. The Steelers. Then, on the verge of a dynasty, it was the Pats. Last year, our wunderkind coach learned some tough lessons.

Once, in all of that time, I have seen my lads finish the race the right way. Every other time they faltered. And every one of those times, they faltered precisely because of fatal flaws that were visible in the season.

Looking at this team thus far, I see one of 3 teams showing genuine SB characteristics.

But I also see us sputtering and struggling to maintain SB level standards of performance. Theoretically, we have what it takes to beat NO. But they are playing a full level above us and beat us as the better team. Right now, I don't see a team that can get past NO.

So let's say we go 13-3 and win a playoff game. That's a good season. But will we be happy? I doubt it. And the best reason to be unhappy about that is that this team has shown that it can play better than that. When it doesn't, you're damn right a fan like me will point it out.