Why I am not worried

This might easier to write after the AZ masterpiece, but even with our cap woes and lack of picks I am not worried and here is why:

1. Guys like Rapp and Kupp are a major reason I am not worried we do not have a 1st rounder for awhile. Any team would be thrilled to get these guys in the first round and we got them in the 2nd and 3rd respectively. This also is not an uncommon story on our team. 2nd and 3rd draft picks are also better for the cap.

2. Goff is a QB we can work with. I am not saying Goff doesn't have room for improvement, he needs to learn how to be himself when there is pressure. However, it is clear he has the skill as long as he has the time to get into rhythm. This was clear this week against Arizona. This means with proper play-calling and game-planning and a decent line Goff should be fine for years to come.

3. Offensive Line: Whit has a $16+ million cap hit this year. That money is coming off the books. I think Whit has been a great warrior for this team, but I think he is finished. Evans and Edwards seem to be serviceable linemen at worst. The rest of this season will be huge for their development. Hav and Noteboom have skill, and Corbett seems to be working out as well. Blythe seems to have improved the center spot as well. I think between all the pieces we have, the money saved from Whit and the possible addition of FA and or draft we can put together a line that is decent enough with a good game plan to allow Goff to get into a rhythm. I am particularly interested in Hav and Note, Hav was pretty good last year, not sure what happened but I know lines work as a unit so it might have been that he does much better with certain elements on the line that went away. With that said, if we can figure that out and get him in the right spot I have no reason to believe he cannot be a decent lineman again. It was not a single game that he excelled, it was an entire season. Noteboom is a different story, we do not know if he can be good, but appears to have the tools and has flashed at times. Being that his natural position is LT I am curious to see him play there before making a final judgment.

4. WRs: Seems that most defenses are taking a page from the Pats and plan to take out key offensive weapons. The way to beat such a defense is to have a second or third or even fourth guy be able to blow up. Our team is set up for this better than perhaps anyone else. We have three and maybe four receivers that can carry the load and be a primary receiver. If the defense shuts down Woods, Kupp can catch 12 passes, and vice versa. Throw in Reynolds and we have some special tools to take on any defense if we can give Goff some time. Add Higbee and Everett to the mix and the weapons are top notch.

5. Offensive strategy: I think a lot of what we can do is strategize to get Goff in rhythm more. I believe this is what we saw against Arizona with more rolling out and more running. I also think the coaches might have coached up the line to hold if necessary. A penalty or two won't kill us, but a rushed Goff will. I believe this is why no one was angry at Edwards and why he had more after getting called once or twice. Normally you would see a young player become more tentative and let his QB get killed to avoid another penalty. Either way, this type of strategy can go a long way. Good news is we have seen this from our coaches, bad news is we also seen them outcoached. However, McVay is still young and learning a ton, he has a great mind and the ability is there.

6. Chemistry: Family feel is real, and this is a huge part of players loving being a Ram. That is not going away at all. We might not be the superbowl favorite attraction but we will be an attraction for FAs as long as we have McVay, and players like AD etc.

7. Defense: we have some amazing pieces locked up on the defense. AD is all world, Gaines and Day are coming along and Fowler is finding his groove. Matthews has been a revelation even though he has lost a step. Littleton is a stud. Our backfield is overflowing. Ramsey has allowed us to play man and press, he shuts down one side or player. Rapp is a natural and great player, JJ will come back and we will have one of the best backfields in football. Hill and Long are even playing well. This defense is young and great. Weddle has lost a step but that is easy to replace, Matthews is a little harder. We are a LB and DL away from being really solid.

8. Free Agents: Woods is such a great find. Matthews fits well and is outperforming his contract. Whit was an amazing signing. What is crazy is all three of these guys were not wanted by their old team and our staff saw something their team did not. Fowler has played better for us than he had in the past. This seems to be a theme with quite a track record. I count on us being able to find guys and sign them to contracts that they outperform.

All in all we have a ton to work with, a ton of young learners and even a young learning coach. Between development, coaching, drafting well with what we have, and signing value free agents we will be fine, actually more than fine. Gurley is still a question mark, but that will get answered here soon enough. Him and Cooks have a lot of money but they will either play or retire and so hopefully the money is not tied up for nothing. Long shot for the playoffs this year, but we win if we make it and we win if we don't as long as our young linemen and others get time to be legit starters next year.