and I'm not doing it again. I'm not. McVay talked this offseason about the "Super Bowl or bust" mindset (not those words, but basically how he wouldn't be happy unless we won).

We are not going to win the Super Bowl this year. The odds are against us to even make the playoffs - I believe that will happen, but if it doesn't, that's okay.

I am going to enjoy this season, whether we win 3 games or 14. I am going to enjoy watching what could be Donald's last season. I'm going to enjoy watching the development of the young players on our team - Durant, Young, Jones, Turner and the rest of the young secondary. Tutu, Van, Cam, Puca on offense and what could be Stafford's last season.

I will NOT spend what could be our greatest player in Rams history and one of only two Super Bowl winning QBs potentially last seasons with anything other than appreciation, knowing this could be it.

And above all else - if things do go sideways - I'm going to remember that we have cap space and our first, second and third round picks next season.

It just means more: Chiefs vs. Lions is game of the century for Detroit​

Chris Jones is a contract holdout in Kansas City. Fellow defensive lineman Charles Omenihu is suspended for the first six games of the season.

Then word broke Tuesday that tight end Travis Kelce hyperextended a knee and could miss Thursday’s opener against Detroit.

All of it makes a tantalizing opportunity for the Lions a little more possible — walk into Arrowhead Stadium to kick off the NFL season and secure the most significant win the franchise has had this century.

Yes, this century.

Hyperbolic? Absolutely. It's ridiculous to even type, except, go ahead and find a Lions triumph that carried more significance than one that extends last season’s late run of success while legitimizing hopes of a deep playoff run and giving a young team a huge boost of confidence.

It’s not that losing the game would doom Detroit this season. It’s that a prime-time victory against the reigning Super Bowl champions would be about as important as anything the Lions have done in decades.

Remember, this is Detroit. It hasn’t won a playoff game since Jan. 5, 1992 (38-6 over Dallas). Its last postseason victory prior to that came in 1957. Since 2000, the Lions have made just three wild-card appearances and in only one of those seasons — an 11-5 team in the 2014 season — was almost anything expected. They promptly lost to the Cowboys.

Maybe there was a victory or two along the way that meant as much as what a victory Thursday would mean, but it’s debatable.

That’s the status of this forlorn franchise. Barry Sanders walked away from football rather than keep playing for the Lions. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson made the same decision. Quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t quit the team, he just begged for a trade, got shipped to the Los Angeles Rams, and immediately won the Super Bowl.

The downtown stadium, Ford Field, opened in 2002 but has hosted just a single playoff game — Super Bowl XL between Pittsburgh and Seattle.

In the middle of last season, the Lions' record since 2000 was 123-235 (.344 winning percentage).

Then Dan Campbell’s crew began to rally, ripping off an 8-2 record to close the season. Detroit just missed out on the playoffs, but capped the season by beating the Packers in Green Bay and denying Aaron Rodgers a wild-card appearance.

That game was probably one of the five most significant victories of the century, even if it was technically meaningless.

If nothing else, it helped fuel the hype train that the Lions carry into this season. General manager Brad Holmes has stocked the team with young talent and the feel-good ending to the 2022 campaign didn’t hurt in free agency.

There is now quality up and down the roster. In a rarity, when the Lions cut players during training camp, other teams actually picked them up. Season tickets sold out for the first time in Ford Field history. When the NFL picked Detroit for the season opener, it was a statement of not just respect for what is possible but perhaps hope for what might come.

That’s the spotlight now on arguably the NFL’s most forgettable franchise.

“Guys are getting excited,” Campbell said of the approaching season. “Coaches too.”

This isn’t a game Detroit must win, or even should win. Even if Kelce is out, Patrick Mahomes is still there, not to mention the bulk of a 13-win Super Bowl championship team. Arrowhead will be as loud as ever, especially as a banner gets raised.

“I’ve played there, coached there, it’s just an unbelievable environment,” Campbell said. “To go on the road to a place like that, I told my guys, ‘Enjoy this, embrace this. This shouldn’t be stressful. Take it all in. Enjoy the sunlight, if you will.’

“I know [the game] is at night.”

Campbell laughed.

“When you're a true competitor, to go on the road in an environment like this, I think it brings the best out in you,” he continued. “… We’ve just got to stay steady, consistent. Don’t get too high, don’t get too low.”

That last part is the advice for the Lions' season. You can’t overcome 66 seasons of futility and embarrassment in a single game, even one with the entire country watching.

For Detroit, it’s about winning week after week, becoming a competent and then compelling team, challenging for a division title for the first time since the 1993 season and then somehow getting into January and actually advancing.

For most franchises, that’s an annual and reasonable goal.

For Detroit, such potential is so rare that it seems dangerous to embrace. It’s how a season opener could actually mean so much, because the organization has historically accomplished so little.

Thursday is coming though, a rare opportunity coming into focus.

A loss won’t break the Lions. A win, however, sure could propel them.

Lets hope we dont need a back up Sunday... we only have two QB's... And Stetson was one of them.

And it looks like Brett Rypien is going to back up Staff this Sunday.

First Kupp and now this.....

https://www.therams.com/news/cooper-kup ... ury-update

Actually, it does not sound good about Bennett... apparently he's considering surgery or a procedure on his shoulder of some type.

This is eerily sounding a lot like last year and we ain't even got to the first kickoff yet.....

~ArkyRamsFan~

As per @Mojo Ram ‘s great idea to make this a thread, what 7 teams do you see that have a better record than our Rams?

(And not because my son went to Michigan.)

Nobody wants to see Cooper Kupp out, but he must miss, let’s say, four games to get right…

At least it’s during a stretch when we expected to struggle anyway.

Maybe it will prompt us to rely more on and, in so doing, develop the running game.

Maybe it will help other WRs find a role.

Maybe it will help wean Matthew Stafford off his Kupp fixation.

Maybe it will allow Kupp to thrive during a hopefully meaningful stretch run.

Yeah, I’m going to die on these hills if I must!

Rams 24
Seahawks 20

Let’s steal some wins and turn the narrative around!

Who’s with me!?!?

With the brutal first half schedule, and Kupp possibly missing 4 games, and having the youngest team in the league…it’s not hard to see this team starting 1-5 or 2-6, and ultimately deciding to completely blow it up and start fresh. Stafford getting dealt before the 10/31 deadline feels like a very real possibility. Ben Solak mentioned this on his pod today and now that the Kupp news is official it doesn’t seem far fetched at all.

Only way this doesn’t happen is if some of the rookies pop and we start the season 4-2, 3-3, or something. But if we are 1-5, I cannot see them sending Stafford and Kupp out there every week on their way to a 5-12 finish. Especially if Stafford looks as good as all the training camp reports have suggested. If he is healthy, teams will want him and the Rams would be stupid not to get something for him.

Who do you think will lead the Rams in receiving yards if Kupp is out for an extended period of time? (May miss 4+ games on IR)

Didn't see it posted yet. Mods please delete if a dupe.

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Rams legend Eddie Meador dies at age 86​

Former Los Angeles Rams legend Eddie Meador passed away at the age of 86 on Monday, the team confirmed in a statement Tuesday. Meador spent all 12 years of his NFL career with the Rams, earning six Pro Bowl selections, one first-team All-Pro nod and a spot on the Hall of Fame’s All-1960s team.

Though he wasn’t inducted into the Hall of Fame, he was a semifinalist in the senior category in each of the last two years. He has a deserving resume, picking off 46 passes in his career.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of an NFL great, Eddie Meador, who was a standout leader for our organization and the Los Angeles community throughout his entire 12-year career,” the team said in a statement. “He was an instinctive and fearless competitor who captained some of the greatest defenses in NFL history. Eddie’s ability to galvanize teammates made him a heartbeat of the Rams and his humility made him approachable to everyone. The Meador family and friends are at the core of our thoughts, and his legacy will live on forever.”

Meador originally joined the Rams in 1959 as a seventh-round pick, going on to have a fantastic career in Los Angeles from 1959-1970 where he played 163 games and made 160 starts.


https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2023/09/05/rams-eddie-meador-death-age-history/


Aw, crud. That sucks. Eddie was a great safety, wish he would've been alive for his future HOF induction. He was smart, tough, had a nose for the ball, and a nice pair of hands. RIP Eddie.

These Rams will look like the Stafford led Lions at their peak? Worse or better?

And, we’re back!

Here is my first list for the 2023 season, and I’m starting with questions:

1. Who will be the starters on the OL?

2. Will Cam Akers’ stellar play from 2022 carry over to this year?

3. Will Matthew Stafford’s reported improved health be evident in his play?

4. Will Cooper Kupp play and, if so, will he look like his old self?

5. Will Cooper Kupp sit and, if so, how long will he be out?

6. Will the supporting WRs look formidable?

7. Will Aaron Donald look like a man with a chip on his shoulder, or just collecting chips?

8. Will draftees (and other young players) go from prospect status, to player status to, dare I say, to star status?

9. Will Sean McVay’s offensive strategy be more run-oriented, more diverse, or different from previous years in some other way?

10. Will Raheem Morris let his young defense play an aggressive style?

11. Will our special teams be special or, at least, competent?

12. Will the 49ers’ QB decisions continue to haunt them?

13. Will Geno Smith come back down to Earth?

14. Will the Cardinals be the worst team in football?

15. Will the Rams get crushed by their early schedule, or raise hope by stealing some wins?

16. Will the Rams be buyers, sellers, or spectators at the trade deadline?

17. Will the dreams of high draft picks and cap space in 2024 sustain fans if things go poorly?

18. Who invented liquid soap and why? (Bonus points if you identify the movie reference?)

19. Will the Rams still have something to play for at Thanksgiving time? How about Christmas? New Year’s?

20. Are you ready for all this?

LINK: https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-power-rankings-week-1-2023-nfl-season



Rank
30
2

Los Angeles Rams

Aaron Donald considered retirement following the Rams' Super Bowl LVI victory. After a trying 2022 season, he's back as the unquestionable leader of the Rams' defense as they try to climb back to respectability. It's a very young roster, which could result in early-season growing pains. Could Donald be moved to a contender if the Rams slip out of the race prior to 4 p.m. ET on All Hallows' Eve, a.k.a. the trade deadline? I wouldn't rule out a scenario similar to Von Miller exiting Denver to chase a Super Bowl with the Rams in 2021. Los Angeles is awash in dead cap money and would surely love to stockpile future assets. Trading Donald was once unthinkable, but now it feels like it will be a quite-reasonable possibility at some point.

Any one know if the NFL will still be broadcasting Rams home games in the LA market area? (I'm in the OC).

Just wondering since I lost my Sunday Ticket with Direct TV, although I never watched a Rams game on Sunday Ticket, always on local network TV.

I recall a couple of years ago the NFL lifted the "sellout" requirement to broadcast local games. Is that still the policy? I had to upgrade my DTV subscriptions in order to get the Red Zone, which I really like to watch while waiting for my beloved Rams.

Rams’ scary defensive prospects: secondary rated worst in the NFL​

Rams cornerbacks and safeties could not escape it.

In June, the website Pro Football Focus ranked NFL secondaries for the 2023 season.

The Rams were dead last, worst in the NFL.

Fans took notice.

“We’ve heard it, for sure,” safety Jordan Fuller said.

Second-year cornerback Derion Kendrick said he was “very aware” of the rankings and the perception that the secondary would be the defense’s weak link. Players made printouts of the rankings to put in their lockers, he said.

“Just to motivate us every day,” he said.

Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris apparently is not concerned.

“I didn’t grow up in a social media world where I have to live that life and have to respond,” Morris said at the start of training camp. “Some of my young guys do, so it bothers those guys somewhat some more, but this is a mental toughness game.”

After last season’s disastrous 5-12 finish, the Rams traded, released or passed on re-siging four experienced players in the secondary.

Jalen Ramsey, a three-time All-Pro cornerback and weekly nemesis for offensive coordinators, was traded to the Miami Dolphins. Cornerback Troy Hill was not re-signed and the Rams let safeties Nick Scott and Taylor Rapp sign with the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills, respectively.

The Rams began offseason workouts with second-year pros Kendrick and Cobie Durant as the top returning cornerbacks. Rookie Tre Tomlinson joined a group that included Shaun Jolly and a parade of undrafted free agents.

“That’s what I like about the defense. Everybody hungry. Everybody got something to prove.”

— Derion Kendrick, cornerback, on Rams’ young secondary

Fourth-year pro Fuller, second-year pros Russ Yeast and Quentin Lake and rookie Jason Taylor II were the safeties.

The Rams later signed cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon and safety John Johnson to veteran-minimum contracts. But the worst-in-the-league label will remain until proven otherwise.

“When you don’t know the people, obviously, you’re going to say they’re the worst secondary, they got the worst whatever,” Morris said. “But that’s part of the challenge is to go out there and let somebody rise to the occasion.”

The Rams need numerous unproven players to step up for a defense that includes only one star: future Hall of Fame lineman Aaron Donald.

Third-year linebacker Ernest Jones is the signal-caller for a defense that also no longer features veteran linebacker Bobby Wagner and edge rusher Leonard Floyd.

Kendrick expects youth to prevail.

“That’s what I like about the defense,” he said. “Everybody hungry. Everybody got something to prove.”

New defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant is in his second stint with the Rams, his first as defensive pass game coordinator.

Pleasant, a member of coach Sean McVay’s original 2017 staff, left after the 2020 season to become defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator for the Detroit Lions.

After the Lions started 1-6 last season, coach Dan Campbell fired Pleasant. The Green Bay Packers quickly hired him as a consultant for the offense. He spent the remainder of the season breaking down defenses for coach Matt LaFleur.

The Rams’ situation this season is similar to 2017, Pleasant said.

“Nobody expected us to do anything except the people that were here,” Pleasant said. “No matter what that talent of that roster was compared to this roster, you have to take the same approach. ... I want to be the team that nobody expects this year.

“I’m comfortable with that — and I think my guys are comfortable as well.”

Witherspoon, a seventh-year pro, signed in late June. He brings experience to the young, feisty cornerback group.

“The biggest thing I feel is just the hunger and the desire, and that’s something that’s infectious and something that’s easy to work alongside with,” he said, adding, “It can be a special group, but it’s going to take a unique set of traits to overcome some of the things that we might be lacking, which is experience, but it’s not impossible.”

The addition of Johnson, a Ram from 2017 to 2020 before he played the last two seasons for the Cleveland Browns, added experience and depth at safety. So, Fuller, a team captain, is confident the secondary will assert itself. He compared the worst-in-the-league ranking to other preseason projections that often are proved wrong.

“Every year there’s a whole bunch of talk about who’s going to win the Super Bowl, who’s going to be the best team in the league, who are the worst teams in the league,” he said. “But you don’t really know until you play.”

The Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks kick off their 2023 seasons with a divisional matchup on Sunday. Kickoff from Lumen Field is set for 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX). Below, we look at Rams vs. Seahawks odds from BetMGM Sportsbook Also see: SportsbookWire’s NFL picks and predictions.

The Rams are looking to bounce back from a dreadful 5-12 season that came on the heels of a Super Bowl victory. Los Angeles suffered through injuries and a never-ending shuffle along the offensive line, leading to the worst-ranked offense in the NFL. This season could be even tougher following the losses of several key players, including CB Jalen Ramsey and LB Bobby Wagner who left in the offseason.

The Seahawks will try to recapture the magic they found last year with QB Geno Smith, who won Comeback Player of the Year. He still has WR DK Metcalf and WR Tyler Lockett as his top weapons, while the defense brought back Wagner after his 1-year stint in Los Angeles.

Play to win $10K: USA TODAY NFL Survivor pool!

Rams at Seahawks odds​

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 10 a.m. ET.

• Moneyline (ML): Rams +200 (bet $100 to win $200) | Seahawks -250 (bet $250 to win $100)
• Against the spread (ATS): Rams +5.5 (-110) | Seahawks -5.5 (-110)
• Over/Under (O/U): 46 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Rams vs. Seahawks head-to-head​

The Seahawks swept the Rams last season after Los Angeles swept Seattle the year prior. The Rams are 6-4 straight against the Seahawks over their last 10 meetings dating to 2018.

Los Angeles is 8-2 ATS over that 10-game span and has covered the number in 5 straight meetings.

The Over has only cashed 4 times in the last 10 games, with the Under connecting in 3 of the last 4 meetings across the last 2 seasons.

Got this but the thread doesn’t exist????

Damn - this looked absolutely effortless.
It is reported at 99mph - but sure doesn't look like it would have been!

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Considering the average bloke can only clock around 40-50mph that is impressive.
(yeah, I know a football is a lot bigger - but that is good right there!)

First, I loved their draft, which could lead to nine players getting significant playing time. Next, I really like the trade for OLman Kevin Dotson; liked the under the radar pickups of FAs Duker Shelly and Brett Maher; and finally, UDFAs Mike McAllister, DeAndre Square, Ryan Smenda, and Quindell Johnson. Also don't let me forget John Johnson.

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Man... I HATE that we lost him.

WOOO! Let’s Do This!

NFL.com Game Preview

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Signed for our Rams.

Matthew Stafford's wife regrets saying Rams quarterback struggles to connect with younger players​

Kelly Stafford said it was 'probably the worst thing I've ever done'​

Kelly Stafford, the wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, regrets saying her husband is having trouble connecting with the younger players in his locker room.

Stafford spoke with Local 4 Detroit’s Christy McDonald on "A Conversation With," saying her comments about her husband were "probably the worst thing I’ve done when it comes to him."

"That was tough," she said. "I say all the time, probably not the best if your wife’s name is in the media, if it’s talking about sports. I felt pretty bad last week. I put my foot in my mouth pretty good last week."

Stafford still feels it’s a "relatable" topic but likely didn’t anticipate the national headlines she created.

"I spoke on a topic that I think, it’s relatable, to the fact that it’s hard to relate to someone who is ten years younger than you," she explained. "And I do think that’s entirely true. But I’m not in an NFL locker room. I’m not spending every day with these teammates."

It was on her podcast, "The Morning After With Kelly Stafford," where she revealed her husband, a Super Bowl-champion quarterback with the Rams, told her he struggled connecting with certain players in the locker room.

"In the old days, you'd come out of practice, you'd shower, people would be playing cards, people would be interacting," Kelly Stafford said based on what her husband has told her. "Who knows what they're doing, but they're doing something together. They’re playing Ping-Pong, they have a tournament going on. They're at least talking. He said now they get done with practice or get done with meetings during training camp, and they go straight to their phones.

"No one looks up from their phones. Matthew's like, 'I don't know ... am I the dad? Do I take the phones? What do I do here?' And he's like, ‘I want them to see me not as a coach.’"

Kelly Stafford also revealed the younger players refer to her husband as "sir" when they speak to him, and he doesn’t like it.

"He's like, 'No, we're on the same level here, we're both playing in this league. Let me get to know you.' He said it's so different and so hard to get to know these guys," she said.

Kelly also mentioned her husband had a book printed with each player’s name and face in hopes the quarterback can build a relationship with them — on the field at least.

"I think nowadays it's really hard to develop that because all these young kids, they don't care. Or it's not that they don't care, but they're so used to going straight to their phones instead of having some fun with some guys in the locker room. It's just different. It's kind of sad," Kelly Stafford said.

Stafford is 35 years old entering his 15th season as a quarterback in the NFL after initially being drafted first overall out of Georgia by the Detroit Lions in 2009. He delivered a 74-90-1 record over 12 seasons in Detroit before moving to the Rams, where he won the Super Bowl in his first season with the team in 2021.