Optimism?

The original question was, if given 9 wins right now, would we settle for it? It’s not that I wouldn’t be happy with 9 wins given the strength of their division and schedule and maybe hoping for more than that is unrealistic all things considered. It’s just that I think there is a possibility they could do better.

Afterall, the 9’ers and Seahawks could suffer major injuries…maybe even along the magnitude we are used to seeing all too frequently. In that case, the Rams should certainly be able to do better than 9 victories.

Either way I wouldn’t want to set limits on what they can achieve. In July of 99, how many folks would have settled for 9 victories if it had been offered?

InvaderRam wrote:

i agree with wv. the offensive and defensive lines will be the bread and butter for this team. much like the secondary is for seattle. i think that alone is enough to get them to 8 wins.

how much of an impact can gregg williams make? especially on the secondary.

how much of an improvement can the wide receivers make?

can bradford stay healthy the whole season?

answers to those three questions will determine how much better than 0.500 the rams can get.

I think your new fierce-crazed-avatar
looks like its been around Greg Williams all summer.
I’m guessing that avatar is worth at least one more win.

w
v

I am always optimistic till the bullets are flying (then I become more of just a hopeful realist). It all just seems natural to me. Just the way I see stuff.

But it’s qualified. For one thing I don’t do predictions…over the years, even I have learned that the most powerful thing in the world of predictions is the unpredictable …and that (surprise!) you learn about the unpredictable after the fact. “There’s always the unexpected isn’t there.”

Rams fans optimism to me just means you can see reasonable grounds for expecting the team to be good or better than it was.

So what do I think those grounds are this time?

* Coaches. Unlike many I like Schott. That’s a whole separate discussion in itself. Waufle and Boudreau are beyond compare. Fisher will field a fiesty group. Wms. really does improve defenses.

* Secondary. They were painfully young and probably misused. Wms will get the best out of them. Or I see him as capable of that, anyway.

* Front 7. This is a new era in Rams football, where the DL (and to an extent LBs) take the lead in determining games. Greatest Sacks on Turf.

* OL. If everyone is healthy, the OL has the potential to be absolutely first-rate. It has the depth to be good enough anyway, even with major injuries (though as I keep saying, past a certain point OL injuries just take a toll.) Really, I think the worst case scenario (barring catastrophic multiple injuries, something sadly enough a Rams fan can’t rule out….)

* TEs, WRs. Some good things there (Kendricks, Austin, maybe Bailey) but this is more a case where the coaches have to manufacture it out of scattered raw parts. So, it’s up to the coaches to weekly invent new ways to get something out of these guys, depending on the opponent. Obviously it would be better if they had a consistent, productive “The Guy” type guy to work with.

* QB. Based on my own quirky way of doing this, I think Bradford has already made it as a tier 2 qb. I base that on his production under Fisher when the Rams had both a reasonably healthy OL and a running threat. IMO if he doesn’t continue at that level, he has regressed.

* RBs. Not sure if they have a 16 game stud, but, they have lottsa guys who can run the ball. (I don’t know about Stacy for 16 games.)

* special teams. Best in the league.

Now what do I PREDICT based on that? I don;t know. When was the last time a young team emerged in a “best division in football” it shared with 2 consecutive conference champs? I am sure it has happened, but those are stern odds. Given that, there ARE reasonable grounds for optimism, but it’s also a young team with quite a few units in transition.

BUT. If a few of the things I think are good hold up, they should be better immediately.

I do NOT have a “3 year thing” though. I think Fisher has more than 3 years…he looks to me to be Stan’s Guy for the long haul.

Am I trying to have it both ways? Hopefully, yes. The realist in me sees how tough the situation is, and I am patient with that. The optimist in me sees plenty of places where they will be anywhere from good enough to exceptional.

I do think a team that can massacre three division winners with Clemens at qb (like they did last year)is on the rise.

,,,

Last year, this team had a lot of strengths, and a few weaknesses which really hurt them. Among those strengths were some very young players that should improve this year. That turns our strengths into Dominating strengths. If Williams can turn our weaknesses into competent units, this team should improve dramatically.

I see us being a 12-13 win type team that wins 10 due to strength of schedule. It is what I expect actually.

I think with Bradford healthy last year, the Rams beat Seattle at home, and beat Tennessee the following week. Giving them 9 wins. They would have won two more games with a healthy Bradford, imo.

So projecting 10 wins doesn’t seem like a huge leap. I am not even calculating a drop-off on the part of the 9ers or Hawks. Either of which may happen, but is not necessary for the Rams to improve.

I often roll my eyes at guys who say, “The team will be better this season because they have a year more experience and maturity.” Some version of that. Trouble with that reasoning is that you will find fans of all 32 teams making the exact same claim about their favorite team.

Only this time, in the Rams’ case, I think it’s true due to their young core players. The team overall really is maturing together since it’s such a young team. I really worry only about Jake Long and Wells having age drop-offs in production. I think it is reasonable to expect the same or better production out of everybody else.

I expect the defense to be tough, and the Rams’ running game to be good to very good. They will probably look like JF’s best Titans teams.