My perspective may be a different.
Rams went all in and it paid off with a Super Bowl. Only their 2nd Super Bowl win in franchise history.
Rams have had a playoff roster for last 5 years and I believe they had a playoff roster this year but the Offensive line disaster doomed the team. Sometimes you just get screwed by injuries and in our case there is no amount of depth possible on the offensive line to overcome this rash of injuries.
So I get the hindsight on drafting but the best drafting teams have similar hit/miss rates. Rams have hit on so many players and have hit on UDFA. Rams keep coming up with comp picks, one of the highest rates over the last 5 years which is an indication of success of drafting, UDFA & player development.
The Rams have acquired great coaches and do a great job of player development. Look at the coaches that have gotten promoted out of the Rams organization We have excelled in the aspect and somehow we keep finding more great coaches. Did we fail this year to staff great coaches or is the offensive line disaster making everyone associated with this Ram season look bad?
Rams went all in this year and things just didn't work out. If the Rams just had the normal amount of injuries to the offensive line would we have been competitive? I think that would we would have been competing for a playoff spot again almost assuredly.
Salary Cap Realities: Great players cost a lot and take up lots of cap space. The Rams have been robbing future years of cap space and will have tons of dead money in the years ahead as players like Donald retire and the remainder of the prorated signing bonuses become become due. The cap causes teams to make difficult choices and when you are top heavy with stars it forces you to acquire and develop lots of low cost players for your team. Each year the Rams model gets tougher to execute as you must eventually pay the piper. But this year the cap didn't cost us it was the disaster on the offensive line. Maybe they can kick the can down the road next year too but after that the piper will want to be paid.
Coaching: When you have a great car that can take you anywhere but it has 4 flat tires it doesn't matter how great the driver is you ain't going anywhere. You are screwed and no matter what you do you still end up screwed. When all your depth is exhausted and you at signing people off practice squads to fill out your starting offensive line you are royally screwed. Great coaching isn't going to fix that.
Dealing with Disappointment: Realize that window was open this year and things just went to crap. That's the violent nature of football and sometimes injuries are so bad you are just screwed regardless of how well you planned and how great your coaching is. But be optimistic for the future. Next year is most likely another open window year, maybe the last one too. There is hope for the future. The Rams depth got lots of playing time and will have gotten better. This includes the defensive backfield where we played lots of youth due to injuries. Our coaching staff which has had great success had to deal with adversity at levels they are not used to. The coaches are great leaders and the organization is always self evaluating and learning. It will make our coaches and specifically our Head Coach better in the long run. We a 2nd round draft pick and with comp picks should have a good number of picks to fill our the roster. Significant FA loses may be limited to Higbee and Edwards and Hill who has always been looked at as a 1 year rental. But next year is a year for hope. For this year hopefully we will see some adjustments made by the coaches that help the Rams become competitive and we can develop some future depth this year with all the guys that have gotten a chance to play that otherwise would be on the bench.
Final Thoughts: This year sucks and it is even hard to watch the games. It sucks for the organization and it sucks for the fans. However, just because things really suck doesn't mean the Rams organization sucks, it doesn't mean the coaches all suck or Les Snead and our scouts suck. No in fact they don't suck but they are a great organization that must deal with adversity, much of which is outside their control and this will make them stronger and better in the long run. As a Christian I am reminded of the verse that says all things work together for good for those who serve the Lord. Last year we were on the mountain top and now we are in the valley. Growth, maturity and great learning can happen when you are in the valley if you keep the faith. My hope rises for next year and unlike in the past where the Rams organization was in shambles I am thankful that McSnead & the rest of the Rams organization is in place to lead us into the future.
