As of March 18, the Rams are less talented

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  • March 18, 2020 at 9:15 pm #112573
    wv
    Participant

    I assume we can all agree on that. The team that went 9-7, is now less talented, as of today.

    I keep thinking of Gurley, btw. So much was lost when his knee went south.

    w
    v

    March 18, 2020 at 9:44 pm #112578
    zn
    Moderator
    wv wrote:

    I assume we can all agree on that. The team that went 9-7, is now less talented, as of today.

    I keep thinking of Gurley, btw. So much was lost when his knee went south.

    w
    v

    Well I don’t know–that’s a tough call. And really depends.

    I won’t do a long version of this.

    Unit by unit.

    * secondary is amazingly deep and gets Johnson back
    * IMO depends on Matthews? lots of youngsters, hard to say
    * youngsters coming up, hard to say
    * OL could start out stronger than in 2019
    * WRs–depends on Cooks, ie. whether he stays and/or is better than last year, which is possible (he improved toward the end last year)
    * Goff…could have learned from last year, ought to be better w/stable running game & OL
    * RB…they could draft one making this unit stronger than last year
    * TE…if Higbee picks up where he left off, then TE could be stronger than it has been since I don’t know what year, but going way back
    * STs…GZ fell off, maybe his replacement will be steadier

    They might be less talented player by player on paper, yet more cohesive and more effective overall

    March 19, 2020 at 12:58 pm #112599
    zn
    Moderator

    LMU93

    I’m not saying this is a 13-3 year or an 8-8 year. WAY too early to speculate. Free agency started a day ago… What I think it is, though, is a year where coaching and their key performers matter more than ever. It’s a 53-man team and they have a lot of gaps to backfill to be sure. And some spots like Littleton’s and Fowler’s may be “downgraded” in the short term.

    But I do think people can also forget or dismiss what this team has- which is a lot… I still go back to 2019 and summarize it by saying they played the 1st or 2nd hardest schedule in the league with a bottom-tier OL and without the injury luck they had in 2017 and 2018.

    Priorities? To me it still starts with improving the OL. We can debate the virtues of retaining Blythe and Whiworth but they still could and should be a better (maybe not top 3 like 2017 and 2018, but better) OL in 2020 if they upgrade the LG spot, keep Blythe at C (where he’s clearly better), and get solid year two improvement from Evans and Edwards.

    IF the OL is better, Goff will be better. Period. And they have two upper echelon WRs and a TE that seemed to finally break out. Defensively, they need DL depth, some more edge help, etc. But they also have two of the top defensive players in the league and an excellent secondary overall.

    Just saying… a lot of teams wish they had what the Rams do as of March 19th….

    March 19, 2020 at 3:49 pm #112628
    waterfield
    Participant

    IMO unless and until they get a solid running attack they will be forced to depend on Goff. I suspect Gurley is gone by this Friday and that leaves Henderson and Brown. Defensively they have lost a lot in FA. It was a perfect storm created by the financial commitments to Gurley, AD, Goff and the issues with Gurley’s knee along with a poor OL. Hopefully, this all can be corrected by the start of this year-assuming there will be a start-otherwise it will take another season or two.

    March 19, 2020 at 4:10 pm #112632
    wv
    Participant
    zn wrote:

    LMU93

    But I do think people can also forget or dismiss what this team has- which is a lot…

    ====================

    I just dont agree with that. They were 9-7. And I think that record reflects exactly what they were. I wont quibble over what “a Lot” means, but they were not serious challengers for a Title. They were not a top eight team in the NFL.

    They had “a Lot” when Gurley was healthy. Now, they look like a borderline wildcard team.

    Whitworth is a very old man. Gurley is average now. Cooks will be gone. Three solid starters on D are gone. The Cap is tight. The OLine was a mess. What is it now?

    This does not look like a team with “a lot” of talent to me.

    w
    v

    March 19, 2020 at 6:32 pm #112665
    zn
    Moderator
    wv wrote:

    This does not look like a team with “a lot” of talent to me.

    They have an absolutely stacked secondary (deepest I have ever seen following the Rams), Donald, a very good receiving corps, best TE unit the Rams have ever had, and Goff (I still believe in him).

    They have question marks and/or young players at LB, DL, OL, and RB.

    I think the OL can and will cohere. Last year they started 6 different guys who combined had a total of 1 full game’s worth of NFL experience. Now they’re all experienced…and let’s see what they add to it.

    Whether or not they can be high-caliber longterm starters remains to be seen, but all of the following youngsters do have some visible promise: Williams, Long, Obo, Kiser, Howard, Patrick, Allen, Gaines, Sebastian-Day, Edwards, Evans, Noteboom, and Henderson.

    March 24, 2020 at 12:50 am #112877
    RamsMaineiac
    Keymaster

    They play the AFC East and NFC East this coming year. That will mask any minor steps backwards. That said the new logo should cost them at least two games.

    Goff/RB/OL are the biggest ? in my mind.

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