Los Angeles Rams! How The West Will Be Won?

Yeah it was a big mistake in my opinion. Rams could use help defensively, their oline is far from perfect, and they have no standout receivers.

 

Odds are pretty good they'll trade someone.

 

http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/07/27/los-angeles-rams-nick-foles-release

 

It's time for the Goff!

Actually I'm not all that excited about Goff. It's not good when you give up nearly all your picks for a QB and you're not even sure if he's the guy who should start Week One. Not a good look.

The Rams' success will come down to their defense which should be above average and of course Todd Gurley who is a monster.

 

Yep...grind it out on offense with running and keep the D off the field. Tried and true formula that never fails even in this age of spread offenses and all manner of gimmicks.

 

The key is having a RB that can keep up with that workload, a decent offensive line, and a defense that can get you the ball back. I think the Rams have all that. Goff just seems average, but can't be a lot worse than what they've had.

The Rams will just continue to be a middling team though with not enough game changers. As awesome as Gurley is, he can't do it all himself. They need a more dynamic WR core.

 

I see you... How's the wide-outs? If the passing game isn't up to snuff, load the box for Gurley. This keeps up, he'll end up being another Stephen Jackson. Great for a duration until the beating took its toll reducing him to a shell of his former self.

 

Oh I loved Stephen Jackson. Such a downhill runner and at that size? Watch out! One of my favorites in the last few years.

The wideouts are pretty unspectacular. Tavon Austin isn't a great route runner, very small, but extremely fast. He's dynamic, but they have had a hard time finding ways to get him involved with their awful qb play. Kenny Britt and Brian Quick are the statesmen there, but they're borderline 3rd WRs on a good team. The new bloods are Pharoh Cooper and Michael Thomas. Cooper is athletic, but a little undersized. Thomas was a 6th Round pick, but he's actually a good looking prospect. He's 6'1" and about 195, he runs good routes, and has some decent athleticism. In a shallow WR core he can actually be a really solid pick. Cooper didn't test well at all at the combine, but on the field he seemed to pop athletically. It's still debatable what he'll end up being. I'm not too enthused.

Overall it's maybe the worst WR core in the league just because there's no one that's going to pop off and get you a TD when you need one. Thomas is their best receiver and he's likely a couple years away from being the best he can be which is almost positively not a #1 receiver.

 

Cooper reminds me of Boldin... Not the prototypical sleek, smooth running wide-out. Thomas was a big deal at OU wasn't he? This is where the Rams like any other will have to build through free agency. We [Raiders] sought out a cat like Crabtree as a complement for Cooper.

 

There's two Mike Thomases in the draft this year. The one from OU went to New Orleans and should do really well down there with Brees.

The other one came out of a small school in Southern Miss. His measurables aren't terrific, but he has a penchant for making big plays.

 

I went to the Family Day at the Coliseum yesterday and some notes:

1. Tavon is freaking tiny and while he's fast and explosive, he's not physical at all. I don't see him amounting to much.
2. Gurley is smooth as ice.
3. Keenum has more polish, but Goff is absolutely more talented. Much more.
4. The defense will be alright. The secondary is quick and athletic.
5. Pharoh Cooper did nothing to stand out.
6. I loved what I saw from Duke Williams, Michael Thomas, and Tyler Higbee. Those three are going to be our best offensive weapons over the next few years unless we make big additions in FA.

 

Having fun watching Hard Knocks of this young team.

Makes me wish they did this and followed a team like the way they do all year. Would really help me finally be able to call a certain team "My Team" if I got to know them a little bit better.

As much football as I watch I can't stand not having a team to follow and love. I'll never have any sports team that I love like the Lakers, but it would be nice to have a team I followed as closely in the NFL.

 

I really liked the Rams when they had Eric D. #29. Loved to see the big man run. Then they had Everett who was your prototypical stud QB in terms of size, arm strength and IQ. The O-Line was awesome...the defense very good. Next thing you know..."Let him run the 47 Gap!" happened. The Jim Rome incident... Poof...they're in St. Louis.

Good to see they are back in SoCal which has been starving for a pro football team ever since Carroll left U$C...

 

I was at that first pre-season game and the atmosphere was pretty great. I had a blast. The stadium is ancient now, but nobody really cares.

Los Angeles is going to be great for the Rams at least these first couple years. If they don't take the next step soon though (say win 9+ games), then they're going to see a little regression on those tickets.

 

So Goff sucks. He's even worse than I expected which is sort of hard to do.

There's also no offensive weapons on the perimeter which is what we all sort of figured. That sucks.

Sigh.

 

Goff has the tools... He did have a rough start to his college career but persevered and worked his way through it. Goff is no dummy like a Ryan Leaf so he'll be fine granted the NFL is a big step. Like all rookie QB's he needs a season to learn. Only a few cans step in right away and have an impact. Then again, Goff will probably start by mid-season.

 

Oh he won't gcc. Not unless Mannion and Keenum get hurt and in which case the Rams' season is really in trouble. He's bad. His reads are slow, his throws are bad, he hasn't had good pocket awareness.

He might end up being good in a year or two, but for the #1 overall pick? Wildly disappointing.