I have always felt that you don't need a team to be top 10 in all three areas- offense, defense and special teams- to be a true contender. But you also cannot be
bottom 10 in anything.... The fact that they are one of the 2-3 worst ST units in the league is concerning. A missed XP vs. Seattle seems trivial but it's not. The KOR they allowed out to midfield- what if that had gone all the way?
And vs. Miami that special teams TD they allowed was as damaging as anything. How might that game have played out- as awful as the offense was in that 2nd quarter- if they'd gone into halftime down 21-10 vs. 28-10?
Overall, to me the Rams are a top 10 team (9th or 10th) which is about where I thought they would be before the season started. It's simply that they have not arrived here the way most of us thought (top 3 defense, middle of the road offense). But here they are. And as bad a taste as the Miami loss left in our mouths the more the season goes on the the more it's clear that Miami is actually a pretty good team (and very good defense). So maybe going coast-to-coast on a short week in high heat was not going to ever be the slam dunk we all that it would be before that game?
Tampa is a big opportunity for the Rams. Can they do what teams need to do on the road vs. good (top 5) teams? To me that means running the ball well, winning on 3rd downs (on both sides of the ball), winning the turnover battle and playing sound special teams that gives them favorable field position. It's a big opportunity for McVay to help the offense gain better footing and set themselves up for a good late stretch run.
