From Last Year to Now

[mr.stlouis]

I gotta start off with one of the most dysmal and ironic, nightmarish, scenarios I can recall in my 15 years of following the Rams. It still hurts to talk about even now.

This time last year we were all excited after the draft, as always. Rams had a really strong draft by drafting four new starting calibre players. The offensive line looked to be as stable as ever and all reports on Bradford looked to be positive. But through all the many reasons to be excited, a reoccurring theme persisted. "It all comes down to Bradford staying healthy." Nothing could be more true. Rams picked up Shaun Hill and we all agreed that we'd be fine if he had to start 3-4 games for Sam. Then Cleveland happened.

At that point we still knew we had a great team if we could still run the ball, play great defense, and have Hill be our Trent Dilfer. But he got hurt in the first game and in Steps Austin Davis (Holy freak, we aren't even out of week one. Dang...). So in steps Austin Davis of whom came in a did really, really, well. He sqweaked by TB, played way above himself against Dallas, BEAT SEA, and ultimately fizzled out once teams learned he craps the bed if you can get pressure on him. But that's not all, the OL fell to shambles after the KC game. It wasn't performing well to begin with and the loss of Quick in KC was also a huge blow. So Hill had some good moments as he finished the year, terrible ones too. And so on and so forth...

Ultimately the true highlights in the second half were picking up Barron, Gaines playing great, Mason taking over, and the defense finally finding their stride. Not a total loss like in past years. We did get Gurley, after all, and valuable experience for the young players.

The theme of the offseason was simple, yet kinda gloomy. The offense had so many holes!

-Three out of five starting linemen needed to upgraded/scrapped
-We needed a new starting QB (Via trade... Cutler was mentioned) or a rookie to sit behind Sam.
-Resign Britt, Kendricks, and Barks or sign/draft replacements.
-Obvious cuts of wells and Long

So yeah, way more of a mess than we projected at the beginning of the year. It was very clear our focus needed to be on the OL and leave the defense alone. So what does Fisher do in FA? Signs Fairly, Ayers, and Kendricks right out of the gate. So our D and TE's were looking good. HA! I love Fisher.

Then boom... Nick Foles trade. (Holy flip that never happens...) That allowed us to sign Britt, too. Time to address the OL right? *que crisis mode*. (It was the hot topic all the way up to the draft. That and Barksdale.) It's time to reach for a linemen in the draft. (NONE were top ten in my book).

"With 10th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams select TODD GURLEY, RB Georgia." Whoa! I know I was very, very, confused. But I do love it because we of the depth of the position.

The the selections of Havenstein and Brown made everybody feel better, though. Plus Sean Mannion was a great pick to back up Foles. So we have our offfensive identity. Haven't had one of those since Steven Jackson pounded the rock for us.

But there is still on gaping hole the Rams never addressed. The center position! I guess we all collectively gave up on Barrette Jones, didn't we? We sure didn't draft one. Still scary but I know I liked Jones coming out. No idea on Rhaney. If they can just not fumble the snap like Wells then we will be better.

The biggest thing I'm happy about from this time last year to now is not having to worry about Bradford's injury history dooming our season. I know Foles got hurt but that was a collarbone. That's not a shoulder, ankle, or knee injury. Just not having that could of doom over our heads is wonderful. But Sam is the better QB. Then the alternative in going with Mannion is WAYY better than Hill or Davis. A scout who went to Mariota's pro day and Mannion's the next had this to say. "If you were just dropped on planet Earth and knew nothing of the two, you'd see Mannion is the better QB." That's interesting! "Poor Man's Peyton" sounds way better than "carreer back ups" too. That's the difference in this and last year.

I fully expect double digit wins this year. In fact, I think we will be a top 5 team by week 6. The defense is scary good and the offense looks like it can average around 24 points a game. The defense looks like it will give up less than 20 points a game. And that, my friends, is a winning recipe.

It all starts with SEA!!! They know freaky things happen when they come to town. GO RAMS!!!

 

[paceram]

I gotta start off with one of the most dysmal and ironic, nightmarish, scenarios I can recall in my 15 years of following the Rams. It still hurts to talk about even now.

This time last year we were all excited after the draft, as always. Rams had a really strong draft by drafting four new starting calibre players. The offensive line looked to be as stable as ever and all reports on Bradford looked to be positive. But through all the many reasons to be excited, a reoccurring theme persisted. "It all comes down to Bradford staying healthy." Nothing could be more true. Rams picked up Shaun Hill and we all agreed that we'd be fine if he had to start 3-4 games for Sam. Then Cleveland happened.

At that point we still knew we had a great team if we could still run the ball, play great defense, and have Hill be our Trent Dilfer. But he got hurt in the first game and in Steps Austin Davis (Holy freak, we aren't even out of week one. Dang...). So in steps Austin Davis of whom came in a did really, really, well. He sqweaked by TB, played way above himself against Dallas, BEAT SEA, and ultimately fizzled out once teams learned he craps the bed if you can get pressure on him. But that's not all, the OL fell to shambles after the KC game. It wasn't performing well to begin with and the loss of Quick in KC was also a huge blow. So Hill had some good moments as he finished the year, terrible ones too. And so on and so forth...

Ultimately the true highlights in the second half were picking up Barron, Gaines playing great, Mason taking over, and the defense finally finding their stride. Not a total loss like in past years. We did get Gurley, after all, and valuable experience for the young players.

The theme of the offseason was simple, yet kinda gloomy. The offense had so many holes!

-Three out of five starting linemen needed to upgraded/scrapped
-We needed a new starting QB (Via trade... Cutler was mentioned) or a rookie to sit behind Sam.
-Resign Britt, Kendricks, and Barks or sign/draft replacements.
-Obvious cuts of wells and Long

So yeah, way more of a mess than we projected at the beginning of the year. It was very clear our focus needed to be on the OL and leave the defense alone. So what does Fisher do in FA? Signs Fairly, Ayers, and Kendricks right out of the gate. So our D and TE's were looking good. HA! I love Fisher.

Then boom... Nick Foles trade. (Holy flip that never happens...) That allowed us to sign Britt, too. Time to address the OL right? *que crisis mode*. (It was the hot topic all the way up to the draft. That and Barksdale.) It's time to reach for a linemen in the draft. (NONE were top ten in my book).

"With 10th pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, the St. Louis Rams select TODD GURLEY, RB Georgia." Whoa! I know I was very, very, confused. But I do love it because we of the depth of the position.

The the selections of Havenstein and Brown made everybody feel better, though. Plus Sean Mannion was a great pick to back up Foles. So we have our offfensive identity. Haven't had one of those since Steven Jackson pounded the rock for us.

But there is still on gaping hole the Rams never addressed. The center position! I guess we all collectively gave up on Barrette Jones, didn't we? We sure didn't draft one. Still scary but I know I liked Jones coming out. No idea on Rhaney. If they can just not fumble the snap like Wells then we will be better.

The biggest thing I'm happy about from this time last year to now is not having to worry about Bradford's injury history dooming our season. I know Foles got hurt but that was a collarbone. That's not a shoulder, ankle, or knee injury. Just not having that could of doom over our heads is wonderful. But Sam is the better QB. Then the alternative in going with Mannion is WAYY better than Hill or Davis. A scout who went to Mariota's pro day and Mannion's the next had this to say. "If you were just dropped on planet Earth and knew nothing of the two, you'd see Mannion is the better QB." That's interesting! "Poor Man's Peyton" sounds way better than "carreer back ups" too. That's the difference in this and last year.

I fully expect double digit wins this year. In fact, I think we will be a top 5 team by week 6. The defense is scary good and the offense looks like it can average around 24 points a game. The defense looks like it will give up less than 20 points a game. And that, my friends, is a winning recipe.

It all starts with SEA!!! They know freaky things happen when they come to town. GO RAMS!!!

Love your Optimism! And, I totally agree that the Rams will be much better this season AND will be MUCH more fun to watch! I think Foles & Fairley were both great offseason signings!

 

[Hacksaw]

Great post mr.stlouis. I feel your optimism. I'm still a bit concerned for our depth at corner and more so the O-line, which is still very green and an unknown to how they will mesh and perform. They will be the key to the teams success. I can't wait to see the Rams play games again. tic toc.......

 

[snackdaddy]

I'm approaching this season with cautious optimism. I was more optimistic at this time last year. But something about the way we lost those last three games left a bad taste. I wanted to finish strong so we have something to build on for the next season and we laid an egg all three games. And two of those games were winnable home games. Both teams going in were not playing well at the time. Heck, was that the only win the Cardinals got in their last 4 games?

That was not the look of an ascending team. This years team does not have the feel of a team ready to make a move to me. Maybe I was jaded by those losses. But I have more concerns about this year's team than last year's.

Will the defense be as good as advertised? Or will they be overrated again? What can we expect with so much inexperience on the offensive line? What can we expect from Nick Foles? Was he a product of the system? Or is he the future? When will Todd Gurley be ready to play? And finally, will they actually be ready to play from the outset?

If they start slow again you can forget meaningful games in December. Might was well start buying LA Rams merchandise because fans ain't coming to watch a lame duck team that can't win. I don't care where they play. I just wanna see wins. Hasn't happened much in a very long time.

 

[Ramhusker]

Bi-polar here on the subject. Being a Rams fan for more than 4 decades, it's not like I'm going to stop going all in now but it's tempered. Our potential weaknesses are well documented. The ability of this franchise to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is also well documented. Our potential is now growing old. It's really really time to get that monkey off our back. I can't help but get excited at what could be but I'm staying grounded for now as best I can as a self-defense mechanism. I don't want another scar on my fandom heart. Positive attitudes usually bring good results but being a Rams fan the past dozen years or so sure has tested that idea. At the moment, my homerism says PLAYOFFS but my feet are on the ground.

 

[mr.stlouis]

I'm approaching this season with cautious optimism. I was more optimistic at this time last year. But something about the way we lost those last three games left a bad taste. I wanted to finish strong so we have something to build on for the next season and we laid an egg all three games. And two of those games were winnable home games. Both teams going in were not playing well at the time. Heck, was that the only win the Cardinals got in their last 4 games?

That was not the look of an ascending team. This years team does not have the feel of a team ready to make a move to me. Maybe I was jaded by those losses. But I have more concerns about this year's team than last year's.

Will the defense be as good as advertised? Or will they be overrated again? What can we expect with so much inexperience on the offensive line? What can we expect from Nick Foles? Was he a product of the system? Or is he the future? When will Todd Gurley be ready to play? And finally, will they actually be ready to play from the outset?

If they start slow again you can forget meaningful games in December. Might was well start buying LA Rams merchandise because fans ain't coming to watch a lame duck team that can't win. I don't care where they play. I just wanna see wins. Hasn't happened much in a very long time.

Ya know, I think we can lose sight on what a good QB can do for an offensive. I mean we haven't seen a starting calibre QB take a snap for the Rams since week 7 of 2013. That is a heck of a long time for a team that was slated to have it covered.

And our defense did finish very strong. They couldn't stop OBJ, of course, but neither did anybody else. The offense never really started last year. Only some flashes here and there that ultimately was good enough for six wins. However, it could have been 9 or 10 wins easily had we been able to scrounge up a little more against the Eagles, Cowboys, Cards (in STL AND ARZ), and Chargers games. All those were incredibly winnable. Oh, and our offense scored more points for SEA than than they their offense scored for themselves in week 17. That was incredibly winnable. So judging from the offseason moves and the reasons we lost those games, my approach is "I'm so dang hammered on Kool-Aide that that old lader with the walker is looking like a 9.5 right now..."

So yeah, I feel pretty good.