The NFC Favorites No One Is Talking About

The NFC Favorites No One Is Talking About - FranchiseTagged

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The NFC Favorites No One Is Talking About​

The Los Angeles Rams are really good but no one is talking about them for some bizarre reason. It’s like everyone has seemed to have forgotten less than 2 years ago the Rams were competing in a Super Bowl. This team is of course very different from the team that beat the Chiefs 54-51 in one of the most exciting games in NFL history. That team was built on explosive offensive plays. Todd Gurley having an All-Pro caliber season opened up the play-action game for Goff and he looked like an MVP candidate. The system was perfect for him and he seemed to have justified his 1st overall selection 2 years prior. Sean McVay seemed to have figured out a way to get the best out of his young quarterback. This team is different, neither Gurley nor Goff who stood out in the first 2 years as a head coach are no longer here.

Defense Wins, But Not On Its Own.

This current Rams team is predicated on elite defense. The biggest change on defense for the Rams this year is the departure of coordinator Brandon Staley, who is now the head coach of the Chargers. But how many teams have ever been able to say they have a generational player on the defensive line and at cornerback? The Rams defense finished number 1 overall last year, number 1 in scoring defense, number 1 in passing defense, and number 3 in rushing defense. In other words, they were incredible on that side of the ball. They gave up 18.5 points a game on average. Although a few of their players on defense didn’t come back, most of their elite game changers are still there. New defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who was interim head coach in Atlanta last year, is more than capable of maintaining the Rams level on defense. They spent 5 of their 9 draft picks reinforcing that side of the ball. The Rams have no doubts that they will be a top 3 defense again in 2021, Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey will see to that no matter who is calling the plays.

Offensive Genius

In his first year as a head coach, Sean Mcvay made a name for himself on offense. Explosive plays were a hallmark of that season, finishing second only behind Kansas City in Mahomes’ MVP year. Creative play calling and simply out coaching everyone else earned him Coach of the Year honors. ‘Boy Genius’ they called him and rightly so, the youngest NFL head coach of the modern era was tearing the league apart. McVay kicked on in his second year and took his team to their first super bowl appearance 18 years.

Last season, however, the Rams finished overall 22nd on offense. A lot of that can be and most likely will be attributed the Jared Goff and his inability to make plays consistently when the team is struggling to control time of possession and they got behind. Goff is by no means a bad player, he is a middle-of-the-pack quarterback who under the right circumstances can make plays and help your team get far. But he is not going to be the player that makes pieces around him better and helps the lesser players excel by putting the team on his back. To be fair to Goff he broke his finger towards the end of the season and still managed to return in the playoffs for his team so his toughness cannot be called into question.

Welcome, Mathew Stafford

In 11 years, Stafford had a defense in the top 20 just 4 times. During his time with the Lions, he had a top 10 defense only 1 time. That year they finished 11-5 and went to the playoffs. Stafford is not only one of the toughest players in the whole league, he is up there with the most talented throwers of the ball in the league. He has never had a supporting cast this exciting, a run game this effective, and definitely never had a defense this elite.

The Rams have one of the best receiver duos in the league and last year’s rookie Cam Akers seems to have picked up where Todd Gurley left off a few years ago. McVay has so much more he can do with Stafford as his quarterback. Stafford can make every throw and improvise when plays break down. No disrespect to Goff but Stafford is a massive upgrade at the position for the Rams. This offseason move instantly makes them one of the favorites if not the outright favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

The Rams consistently have one of the best special teams in the league, they are certainly going to have a defense in the top 10 and you can guarantee their offense won’t rank that low again.

 

[leoram]

Rose colored glasses of a fan...it's something we can all wear from time to time. But to call the special teams "one of the best" isn't rosy, it's just blind. Any perspective that fails to consider both sides of an argument is inherently flawed. The Rams are far from perfect and are as vulnerable as any team if a handful of players are lost to injury. Heck, without AD, I doubt this defense is even in the top 25. The same could be said of Stafford on that side of the ball. Still, it's the offseason and the only football enjoyment available is the dream of what can be.

 

[Loyal]

Rose colored glasses of a fan...it's something we can all wear from time to time. But to call the special teams "one of the best" isn't rosy, it's just blind. Any perspective that fails to consider both sides of an argument is inherently flawed. The Rams are far from perfect and are as vulnerable as any team if a handful of players are lost to injury. Heck, without AD, I doubt this defense is even in the top 25. The same could be said of Stafford on that side of the ball. Still, it's the offseason and the only football enjoyment available is the dream of what can be.

So instead of 15 wins, maybe 14?

 

[FrantikRam]

Rose colored glasses of a fan...it's something we can all wear from time to time. But to call the special teams "one of the best" isn't rosy, it's just blind. Any perspective that fails to consider both sides of an argument is inherently flawed. The Rams are far from perfect and are as vulnerable as any team if a handful of players are lost to injury. Heck, without AD, I doubt this defense is even in the top 25. The same could be said of Stafford on that side of the ball. Still, it's the offseason and the only football enjoyment available is the dream of what can be.

I agree with your take on the special teams - although with Gay/Hekker and a new ST coordinator they will definitely be better (assuming last year was a fluke for Hekker).

But talking about how bad we would be without the best defensive player in the NFL is pretty tiring. Talking about what would happen if we lost Stafford is even more ridiculous. We're better positioned than almost every team in the NFL to lose our starting QB, but no team could survive it. When you pay AD and Ramsey $20 million each, if one or both go down of course you'll suffer. Any team would.

 

[dang]

On paper yes. On the field. In cVay we trust. The ceiling of this years offense should elevate it to a B+ instead of the C- we had last year.

 

[Liberator]

We're like the third most likely to win the superbowl per Vegas lol. I wouldn't worry about what "experts" say people talk with their money.

 

[Merlin]

There is no reason to think the Rams can't be the final team standing. You can nitpick any roster. I think Buffalo is going to be the AFC team this year but if you start nuking their roster they were 14th in points against last year and 24th in passing yards allowed. Sure they drafted some badly needed edge types and we know they draft well but point is you could pick them apart. Same with KC. Same with any other team.

This roster is loaded with dogs. Why not us.