Jump to content

LA Rams: A case study


Rhg1084

Recommended Posts

This team fascinates me how they went about building themselves into a competitior from the Jeff Fisher days, to their Super Bowl window completely being slammed shut in a period of two years. This team was the perfect team last year with the high flying offense led by their boy wonder head coach. The defense was outstanding as they had the best player in football on the line. However because of their misuse of asset allocation and the fact they went all in this year, it looks like they could be heading towards a downward spiral the next couple years. They have no 1st rd picks the next 2 years and have huge salaries all over the place. Thats without even paying Ramsey yet. Seeing this team implode should be a cautionary tale to other GMs in the league to maybe not go so top heavy with their roster. It doesn’t help when you pay your QB a gazillion dollars and he’s not even good 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The rest of the NFL caught up to them or the Patriots showed the world how to stop them in the Super Bowl or a little of both. Also as we Jet fans know well but haven’t seen  if you want a consistent winner you have to draft well and keep replenishing the offensive line.  I don’t think you can just trade away your top draft picks for very good players that teams trade away because the players want the big money. It’s a recipe for disaster. 

  • Upvote 3
  • Sympathy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, RonaldJet said:

Both Goff and Wentz came into situations with elite Olines and running games early in their career. I think it’s been an adjustment for both of them. 

It would be great to see Sammy go the other way, starting out with a tough supporting cast his first couple years and learning how to play tough football behind a bad OLine....then getting upgrades that will unleash his potential.

  • Upvote 1
  • Post of the Week 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, RonaldJet said:

Both Goff and Wentz came into situations with elite Olines and running games early in their career. I think it’s been an adjustment for both of them. 

i don't think many realized how much the rams relied on a good run game.  i think many thought they were just another pass happy team.  they lost the superbowl the minute gurley wasn't effective as a runner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, jetstream23 said:

2018:  Who will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, the Bears and their #1 Defense or the Rams and their #1 offense?

2019:  How will the Bears and Rams replace their QBs after trading away 1st round picks and now realizing they're not truly playoff competitive teams?

i can see the bears having issues with trubitsky.  from what i can see goof is a pretty darn good passer.  imo he'll recover and the rams will figure it out.  it didn't help that they were playing against a qb who there's no real good answer for at the minute.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah the Rams are screwed.

Huge money invested in their top guys. Donald, Goff, Gurley all got paid, Ramsey is going to get paid, they gave crazy money to their backup Tight End lmao. They’ve mortgaged their top picks – They’ll have to do some incredible drafting to work around it. Not impossible but it looks bleak. The least that c*nt Kroenke deserves though.

It is crazy what an offensive line does for a QB. Transformed with/without competent play. Doesn’t matter who. Something many on this forum are yet to understand.
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, KRL said:

Amazing how McVay lost his "genius" status in one year

Such a reactionary league, the guy is still a brilliant offensive mind.

 

The rams real problems can be summed up in 2 points. 

1. They are going to be in cap hell in the next few years or will have to trade off pieces.  Gurley will most likely have to be moved or cut this offseason, and they will probably be taking a bath on that situation either way.   Donalds and goffs salaries are huge deals, they are married to these players, and now with ramsey coming up on his deal they'll almost have to give him a huge contract as well.  Cant trade what they traded for him and not pay him.  

2.  Where they spent their money, Paying Gurley and Goff as much as they have is fine, but the offense is predicated (much like shanahan in SF) on running the football.  They had multiple FA's on the line this year and chose to retain almost none of them, instead spending money on the Defensive side of the ball.  With ramsey having to get paid this year too, they'll have to weaken other areas of the team in order to add some depth along the line if they want to be successful again.  Goff has 0 time to throw this year, and he has been awful against the blitz so that is a bad combination, and they cant consistently run the ball.  If you have a less mobile qb who is poor against the blitz, and an offense predicated on play action you need a really good offensive line to be successfull.  Last year they did ,this year they do not. 

 

These two points highlight why the rams are screwed a little.  They went all in on this year making it back to the super bowl, when the team this year isnt nearly as good as the team last year.  So now with weaker personnel, and more huge deal they have to give out, its going to take some seriously creative maneuvering by Snead in order to keep this window open.  

It almost reminds me of the way Tanny went all in on those teams for rex instead of continuing to build a team the correct way.  The lesson to be learned is even though you may feel like you have to "GO FOR IT" when youre close to a superbowl, you have to do it in a way that wont damage you for future years.  The pats have done this the best, yet teams still shoot themselves in the foot trying to capitalize on a modicum of success during one season. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

Their OL has fallen apart and they can't run the plays therefore Sam crisply as they did.  It also has destroyed their run game.  They were near the top of the NFL running the ball, now near the bottom.  OL effects everything.

 

This is so important and cannot be stated enough. Especially with the amount of college OL players coming out that either have styles that don’t translate to the NFL or just aren’t skilled enough and are overdrafted because OL is such a premium position group. 

  • Upvote 1
  • Sympathy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, Jet Nut said:

Their OL has fallen apart and they can't run the plays therefore Sam crisply as they did.  It also has destroyed their run game.  They were near the top of the NFL running the ball, now near the bottom.  OL effects everything.

 

Child, please!

Image result for mike maccagnan shaking head"

  • Sympathy 1
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1a. Offensive line injuries / regression

1b. Gurley hurt / whatever they're hiding

 

 

 

 

2. Goff not being able to carry a team. 

 

That's essentially it. Everything was predicated on the offensive line and Gurley. Goff looked good because of them. Once 1a and b regressed, their whole team regressed. If Goff was the goods, they could have weathered it, but he isn't and never was. It's the same damned reason that the Pats, Steelers, Saints, Packers, Manning-era Colts etc. can weather pretty much every storm. They have a QB who is the goods and can mask pretty much most positional regression.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, at least their strategy got them an NFC Championship.  Albeit with the referees handing them the win over the Saints.

What exactly were they supposed to do?  Move on from Goff and Gurley rather than sign them to extensions?

And Aaron Donald was still worth every penny.  

Elite pass-rushing DT's, game-changing RB's and franchise QB's are hard to come by.  It's hard to blame them for locking up that trio.  And its not like they weren't trying to draft O-Line.  They used 3rd round picks on OT's each of the last 2 seasons.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Hey, at least their strategy got them an NFC Championship.  Albeit with the referees handing them the win over the Saints.

What exactly were they supposed to do?  Move on from Goff and Gurley rather than sign them to extensions?

And Aaron Donald was still worth every penny.  

Elite pass-rushing DT's, game-changing RB's and franchise QB's are hard to come by.  It's hard to blame them for locking up that trio.  

I agree with your point, however maybe they could’ve waited another year on the Goff deal. They gave it to him early. And the Ramsey trade was their breaking point. Giving up two 1sts for him and still having to dish our a mammoth contract to him is what will haunt them for the next few years 

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Rhg1084 said:

I agree with your point, however maybe they could’ve waited another year on the Goff deal. They gave it to him early. And the Ramsey trade was their breaking point. Giving up two 1sts for him and still having to dish our a mammoth contract to him is what will haunt them for the next few years 

 

Jalen Ramsey was 100 % a mistake.  I'll definitely give you that.  You don't mortgage the future on a guy like that.  

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember last season it was widely reported that McVay was in Goff’s ear calling out the D as the would deliberately line up within the timeframe that the coach’s could communicate to the QB. If that’s actually true it tells me Goff does not understand reading defenses. I think DC’s may have caught up to that and have deliberately lined up in false fronts that look different than what they’re actually running. It certainly looks like Goff is clueless to what he’s seeing.


Sent from my iPhone using JetNation.com mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Goff isn’t someone who can elevate an average group of skill position guys, he’s a QB who can execute a good system that has good players around him. 

If the Jets want to avoid what happened to the Rams they need to pour every draft resource into the OL and defense.  Having depth on both lines to withstand injuries is the easiest way to ensure you are competitive and then you rely on your QB to take the team to the next level. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...