Re: 9 Questions about the Rams 8 days before Week 1

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Florida_Ram
1. Will it take Stafford 3 or 4 games before he has command of McVay's offense and shows why they traded for him? 2017 was Goff's first year with McKay. The offense scored 46, 27, 41, and 35 points their first 4 games. I'm thinking if Goff can do that as a second year player then perhaps Stafford could do something similar.

2. Are the Rams as thin with their depth/backups as the NFL media and talking heads believe? It depends on the position, and I doubt the Rams are any worse off that most other teams.

3. Will the the losses of Safety John Johnson, CB Troy Hill, DL Morgan Fox, DT Michael Brockers and OLB Samson Ebukam have a negative impact the 2021 defense? The odds that the Rams would repeat as the #1 defense were somewhere between slim and none even if everyone came back. The defense will be top 10 or top 5, but the offense and special teams will be better. And frankly, the Rams might miss Staley more than those players when all is said and done.

4. Is center Brian Allen going to be as good as McVay and his offensive staff believes he is? I asked my Magic 8 Ball. It said 'Yes definitely.' Can't argue with that ...

5. Is Rams new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris capable of keeping the Rams defense ranked in the top 5? I'm seeing top 5 or pretty close to it. Certainly good enough to carry their weight with the offense and ST expected to jump up the rankings.

6. Was Tutu Atwell really the best available player on the Rams draft board? If he was, will he prove it during the coarse of the 2021 season? I doubt he was the best player available. But thinking that he'll be the speed receiver that McVay seems to need next year and beyond he might be the guy that makes the most impact of anyone available.

7. Will the Rams offensive line group be close to as good as it was in 2020? Methinks so.

8. Will the loss of Cam Akers not be as much of a blow in 2021 because of Henderson, Sony Michel and Funk's skill set? That's where I am that right now. But I'll get back to you in December ...

9. After Higbee, are there any other Rams TE's talented enough to start and make in impact 2021. Not that I have seen. Here's hoping that Higbee stays healthy and the the opposing Ds ignore Mundt and Hopkins when they're out there. (And I'm leaving Harris out of the TE discussion. If he's a TE - at this point, anyway - I'll eat my hat. He may have some splash plays, but not as a traditional TE as we all know the position.)