[Elvis]

Missed this from a couple weeks ago:

https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2018/4/4/ ... -offseason

The Rams Are Taking a Win-Now Experiment to Its Limit

And a closer look at the team’s cap situation reveals it may not be jeopardizing its long-term strategy to do so

By Danny Kelly Apr 4, 2018, 3:06pm EDT



Me, when the Rams traded for Patriots receiver Brandin Cooks, the latest in a string of big-name acquisitions by the team: Man, the Rams are going to be so good and fun and exciting next year.

Also me, a few seconds later: This might be a complete disaster.

If it wasn’t already abundantly clear, the Rams are going all in this season to win the Super Bowl. GM Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay have pushed all their chips forward, employing a ramped-up, über-audacious form of the roster-building strategy we’ve seen a few teams have success with over the past few years—spending aggressively to maximize the small championship window a good quarterback on a cheap rookie contract can create. The Seahawks did it in 2013, when Russell Wilson’s $500,000 salary gave the team the chance to sign Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, two keys to their eventual Super Bowl run. And the Eagles did it last year, utilizing the surplus in cap space Carson Wentz’s rookie deal created to ink receivers Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith, running back LeGarrette Blount, nickel corner Patrick Robinson, and pass rusher Chris Long and, later, to trade for defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan and running back Jay Ajayi. Oh, and it wouldn’t have been feasible to pay $7 million-plus in guaranteed money to Nick Foles, who became the Super Bowl MVP, had Wentz been making, say, $23 million-plus.

Jared Goff is set to count just $7.6 million against the cap next season, chump change compared to L.A.’s divisional rival signal-callers—Russell Wilson will count $23.7 million against the Seahawks’ cap, and the newly-extended Jimmy Garoppolo will eat up an astounding $37 million of San Francisco’s cap. Goff’s contract represents a huge advantage over other potential contenders, too, with Matt Stafford ($26.5 million), Kirk Cousins ($25 million), Drew Brees ($24 million), Ben Roethlisberger ($23.2 million), Tom Brady ($22 million), Philip Rivers ($22 million), Matt Ryan ($21.6 million), Cam Newton ($21.5 million), and Aaron Rodgers ($20.5 million) all set to cost roughly triple Goff’s hit. That discount at the quarterback position is a big reason the Rams came into the offseason with over $45 million in cap space (10th most in the league), giving them the flexibility to use the franchise tag on safety Lamarcus Joyner at $11.2 million, take on Aqib Talib’s $11 million contract, go out and sign Ndamukong Suh to a one-year, $14 million deal, and acquire Cooks’s $8.5 million deal in 2018.

That infusion of top-tier talent makes a Rams team that won 11 games and the NFC West last year look like one of the clear favorites in the conference in 2018. But L.A.’s hardly the first team to load up on big names—we all remember the 2011 Eagles “Dream Team” that, well, failed to live up to expectations—so let’s just get this out of the way and list all the reasons L.A.’s experiment could go horribly awry; or why it’s time, Rams fans, in the immortal words of Samuel L. Jackson, to hold on to your butts.

First off, just about every one of the Rams’ new additions carries some risk. Newly acquired cornerback Marcus Peters was kicked off his college team in 2014 after multiple run-ins with the Husky coaching staff, and the Chiefs’ decision to move on from the young, elite player after only two years certainly doesn’t ease any maturity concerns. The mercurial playmaker had a series of blowups last year in Kansas City, bickering with fans, with coaches, and with referees, eventually earning a one-game suspension from Andy Reid after he threw a penalty flag into the stands. Opposite him, Talib has been the source of a few distractions throughout his career, too. He drew a disciplinary warning from the league after shooting himself in the leg prior to the 2016 season, and was ejected from a Broncos-Raiders matchup last November when he ripped Michael Crabtree’s chain off his neck … for a second time. Meanwhile, Suh’s earned a reputation for dirty hits after the whistle—and will be playing at the nose tackle spot, a different role than he’s used to. Plus, unless the team signs Aaron Donald to a long-term extension before the season starts, Suh’s eight-figure salary could create some friction with the defending defensive player of the year (though Donald was reportedly in favor of the signing). Donald unsuccessfully held out to try to get a new contract last fall, after all, and is still looking for a big-money deal and the security that provides.

As for Cooks, his elite production and talent are both undeniable, but if he ends up playing the Sammy Watkins role in the Rams offense—i.e., a field-stretching threat that was often utilized as a decoy to clear space underneath for Robert Woods and Cooper Kupp—the potential for discord is there. The Saints dealt the former first-rounder to the Patriots last March after he became disgruntled with his role in the offense; one report stated that “Cooks [had] felt a growing frustration with his usage—mostly the idea that he is used too often as a clear-out receiver instead of as a primary option.” Gulp. Add in a completely-expectable step down at the quarterback position going from two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Drew Brees and Tom Brady to Goff, and there’s always the chance that Cooks will be unhappy with his target share and/or role and cause issues internally.

All these factors are compounded by the fact the Rams are a prime regression candidate in what’s looking like an increasingly stacked NFC field. L.A. was incredibly lucky with injuries last year, finishing with fewer adjusted games lost than any other team in the past seven seasons, per Football Outsiders. That isn’t likely to continue. And even with Cooks onboard, it wouldn’t be surprising if they struggle to maintain the offensive efficiency they showed last year.



But the upside of all these moves is that the major boost in overall talent gives the Rams the chance to take that regression to the mean and toss it on its head. They’ve put together what could be the best secondary in the league. They’ve built what might be the most dominant duo of defensive tackles ever by pairing Suh with Donald. And by adding Cooks, a premier field-stretching deep threat, they’ve given last year’s top scoring offense the potential to get even better. There’s risk, sure, but the sky’s the limit for how good the Rams can be in 2018.

Long term, the loss of draft picks could create roster-depth issues a few years down the line—and the Rams’ first pick in this year’s draft is a third-rounder, no. 87 overall. But the concerns over the team’s upcoming deluge of big paydays is overwrought. Joyner, Cooks, Donald, Suh, Peters, Talib, Goff, and Todd Gurley will all be due for new contracts over the next two years, but with a projected $80 million and change of cap space for the 2019 season, the Rams have an incredible amount of flexibility to decide whom to keep (or let leave) after this season. L.A. has very few big-money commitments going out past next year, with left tackle Andrew Whitworth and defensive tackle Michael Brockers the only two players due to count north of $10 million against the cap in 2019. Plus, Goff’s the only player with more than $2 million in dead money—meaning the team can cut just about anyone it wants if it needs to shuffle the books around significantly. That means the Rams can extend Donald, Cooks (which is reportedly the plan), and a few other key members of the nucleus—and still have plenty of room to spare for Goff and Gurley down the line.

Most importantly, though, is that outside of New England, so-called Super Bowl windows are short-lived. In a league that’s constructed to push teams back to 8-8 through the salary cap, schedule format, and draft order, it’s incredibly difficult for any club to get all its stars aligned in the form of a good quarterback, talented offensive stars, and a top-tier defense. That’s what makes that four- or five-year period when a team has a quarterback on a rookie contract such a crucial time to act. Once that window’s gone, man, it’s not coming back anytime soon.

At the end of the day, I love what the Rams are doing. There’s no resting on laurels. There’s no feeling that what the team did last year was good enough. Instead of the long-established draft-and-develop strategy for championship team-building, the Rams have thrown caution to the wind and brought in a bevy of outside talent, with the hopes that McVay and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips can manage the influx of big personalities. They’re paying a premium up front for proven talent and production—skipping past the learning curve the draft-and-development tack brings—and giving themselves what they think is their best shot at a Lombardi Trophy before Goff gets paid the big bucks and the entire cap dynamic gets turned upside down.

For all the reasons listed above, things could end up going haywire in a hurry. But looking back on this in a few years, if all these bold offseason moves don’t end up helping L.A. win a Super Bowl, at least Rams fans will know Goff’s prime championship years weren’t wasted for a lack of trying, for a lack of creativity, or for a lack of daring.

[snackdaddy]

I like it. Its all about titles. That should be the goal of every team. If you have a chance to go all in for a title you should go for it. Sitting back, always worrying about the future ain't gonna get you to the promised land. You'll always be that team a few players away. Go for that title even if you have to sacrifice a few resources a couple years later.

I'd rather be a team that wins it all, drops back a couple years, the reloads for another one. Then again, I'd also love to be in the AFC East where the Patriots are pretty much in automatically every year.

[Kid Charlamagne]

It’s pretty amazing that no one in the afc east has threatened the patriots even by accident for a long time.
Compare that to the nfc west, every team in the division has had a period of success. And now the Rams seem to be in the drivers seat.

[Elvis]

https://www.vcstar.com/story/sports/nfl ... 548309002/

Rams use trades, signings instead of draft to improve team

Joe Curley
joe.curley@vcstar.com, 805-437-0276
Published 4:40 p.m. PT April 24, 2018

At least one NFL team made the biggest decisions of its 2018 draft in the weeks and months leading up to Thursday night, when the No. 1 overall pick will finally slip on a hat and jersey in Dallas.

The Los Angeles Rams spent their first two picks of this week’s draft on big-play receivers.

They dealt the second rounder, officially No. 56 overall, to Buffalo last August for Sammy Watkins.

When Watkins signed a $48 million contract with Kansas City last month, the Rams replaced him by dealing their first-round pick, No. 23 overall, to New England for speedster Brandin Cooks.

Three weeks after making that move, the Rams, who — barring a trade — won’t pick until No. 87 overall in Friday night’s third round, have no regrets for paying such a steep price as the draft approaches.

“When it came to Brandin Cooks? No,” head coach Sean McVay said Tuesday from the team’s football headquarters at Cal Lutheran. “When you take all things into consideration, what we were able to acquire for what we were giving up, we felt really strong about it.”

McVay feels the Rams have made a big splash by acquiring a receiver who has piled up three straight 1,000-yard seasons and has reeled in 27 touchdowns in four NFL seasons.

“If you told me we would get a player like that at (pick) 23, I’d be throwing a pool party and I don’t even have a pool,” McVay said.

Even if, like Watkins, he was acquired entering the final season of his rookie contract.

“To be able to say at 23, you can get a proven receiver that fits a scheme, fills a role for us,” general manager Les Snead said, “we thought was very important.”

The Rams also dealt a fourth-round pick to Kansas City for cornerback Marcus Peters, which also included next year’s second-round pick.

Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff explained in February at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference that the Rams' aggressive strategy, featuring a willingness to swap potential rookies for developed players, is an adjustment to the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Signed in 2011, the new CBA reduced offseason practices, limited contact and ended traditional training camp “two-a-days.”

Demoff believes the changes make developing young players that much more difficult.

“In the new CBA, you get such limited time with players,” Demoff said, per the Boston Globe. “Going really young, I think, was easier when you had more time in the offseason, more time in training camp. We had a player last year who missed all of the offseason because he didn’t graduate until late, and he had 10 practices until the preseason opener.

“It’s great to have picks, but even if you hit on them, how they develop is so much harder now. You don’t necessarily have three years to develop these guys.”

It’s a lesson the Rams learned during their recent rebuilding struggles under Jeff Fisher, when the Rams suffered through a series of losing seasons featuring a roster that, year in and year out, was one of the youngest in the league.

Last year’s revival, which included the NFC West title, came after the Rams used free agency to add veterans to the offensive line (Andrew Whitworth and John Sullivan), the receiving corps (Watkins and Robert Woods) and outside linebacker (Connor Barwin).

The Rams have continued the trend this offseason, using a series of trades to add Cooks and cornerbacks Peters and Aqib Talib while signing defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in free agency.

Asked about the changes Tuesday, Snead called the situation “an interesting quagmire.”

“We’ve got to adapt and evolve,” Snead said. “Yes, it is true. You have less time to develop. But it’s also true that the college game is different than the NFL game, so you’ve got to figure out that space in between.

“The better teams will do that. It also means sometimes you draft a player and he doesn’t play right away. And that’s OK. There’s a rhyme and reason to every move. You don’t want to put that player out there until he’s truly ready.”

The Rams are currently in the first phase of their offseason training program, which includes classroom-style meetings, as well as strength and conditioning.

“There’s a premium on making sure you maximize every moment,” McVay said. “Every minute is accounted for in the meetings.

“Everybody is operating under the same collective bargaining agreement. We’ve got to do a great job identifying what our players do best and developing them in a nature that fits within the framework.”

Opting in

As expected, the Rams picked up the fifth-year contract options for running back Todd Gurley and Peters on Tuesday, the team announced.

Both players are now under contract for the 2019 season.

Gurley is the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

“I feel very fortunate to have had a year working with Todd,” McVay said. “I continue to come away impressed with just the consistency at which he approaches each day. Obviously, the talent is there … what a smart, special player he is.”

Peters leads the NFL in interceptions since both players were drafted in 2015.

“When you look at what Marcus has put on tape over the course of his career, (he’s an) extremely productive player,” McVay said. “And then in the week and a half now that we’ve been around Marcus, I couldn’t be more impressed with just his attention to detail in the meetings. … You can see this is a guy who loves football.”

[aeneas1]

It’s pretty amazing that no one in the afc east has threatened the patriots even by accident for a long time.
Compare that to the nfc west, every team in the division has had a period of success. And now the Rams seem to be in the drivers seat.

what's really amazing is that no one has threatened the patriots for a very long time, inside or outside of their division, or the postseason cream of the crop.... since 2001 the pats are:

80-24 (.769) within their division
129-39 (.768) outside of their division
22-7 (.759) against the afc in the postseason

it has been unfriggin' believable.

[Hacksaw]

"But looking back on this in a few years, if all these bold offseason moves don’t end up helping L.A. win a Super Bowl, at least Rams fans will know Goff’s prime championship years weren’t wasted for a lack of trying, for a lack of creativity, or for a lack of daring."

OK I'll go with this.