Rams may soon be the NFC West team to beat

Rams may soon be the NFC West team to beat

Steve Rivera

https://www.yahoo.com/news/rams-may-soon-nfc-west-230447201.html

Despite the recent news that Jared Goff might not be ready for “Prime Time”, the team as a whole might be, soon. In Los Angeles, timing may prove that great things are on tap for the Rams.

And sooner rather than later.

Football is a funny thing, and as teams will rise, eventually they tend to decline. Say what you want about New England, as they may be the exception to the rule, but teams on top one year, don’t always repeat the next. Like it or not, free agency has given us parity, and therein lies the greatest equalizer.

Except in New England.

That said, if you look at the NFC West, there’s room at the top. While Seattle has been the dominant team, nothing from the 2015 season tells me they are a perennial mortal lock.

As for the Cardinals…, well, as goes Carson Palmer, so do their fortunes in the desert.

And San Francisco?

As smoldering dumpster fires go, that is one that could flare at any moment, and does anyone really see Chip Kelly turning a team around that’s on the same trajectory as his own?

Which brings me to the Los Angeles Rams.

Sure, Jeff Fisher hasn’t found anything resembling a winning record yet as head coach. And no one would ever tell you that something as trivial as a change of longitude and latitude could or will alter their fortunes.

But despite the bumblings of the Rams brain trust, proof may lie in the depth chart currently being crafted in L.A.

If the latter part of 2015 is an indicator, Case Keenum can at least manage a game. If Tyler Higbee was a ‘gift’ in the fourth round, then he might be just that to the Rams offense.

Todd Gurley, who is being hyped as a potential NFL rushing king, might end up being the most valuable player for the Rams. Right now, it’s fair to say that the fortunes of this team begin and end with him.

And then last, but certainly not least, is the first overall pick in this year’s draft, Jared Goff.

If Russell Wilson is still the class of the division, and Carson Palmer, as his age may indicate, is on the downside of his career, then Jared Goff may be the future of this team, and the division in more ways than one.

As for Kaepernick, well, at best that’s a jump ball. Can he recapture his swagger from the Harbaugh days, or is he a one trick pony?

If timing is everything, then the Rams may be on the brink of great things in the NFC West.

Sometimes, it really only is a matter of time.

And in Los Angeles, maybe it’s just that for the Rams; time.