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Despite getting 99.9% of NFL/Rams news on the internet, I'm still a sucker for the magazines. Pre internet habits are hard to break, I guess. Picked up Lindy's NFL Preview and Athlon NFL Preview today.


To quote Athlon....

"Rams general manager Les Snead declined to call 2023 a rebuilding year, despite dumping several key players via trade or release....including Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Floyd and Allen Robinson (me: funny they don't include Bobby Wagner)....and accumulating 74.2 million in dead money. Paying starters to leave strongly indicates the once-mighty Rams are rebuilding but Snead can get away with calling 2023 a "remodel" because QB Matt Stafford, WR Cooper Kupp and DT Aaron Donald are still on the roster while head coach Sean McVay remains on the sidelines. Not many rebuilding teams have that type of core group with one of the best head coaches in the NFL".

To quote Lindy's.....

"3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR.....
1) Time for the young guys: The Rams drafted a league high 14 players and signed 26 UDFAs. But they lost 20 players to free agency as they work to get their cap more manageable.
2) Can McVay bounce back? He's only 37 years old but McVay didn't appear to take much joy out of last year's disappointing season. (Me: No shit???) After having so much success his first 6 seasons, it'll be interesting to see if McVay can get things turned around and how long this remodeling process will take. (Me: Different magazine/called it 'remodeling' )
3) Defense will lean on Ernest Jones: The Rams will lean on Jones to help fill the defensive void. Jones said he learned how to be a pro daily from Bobby Wagner last season and is ready to take on more of a leadership role on the defense"

"key additions" as Mike LaFleur, Hunter Long and Brett Rypien!!!
"Key loss" Jalen Ramsey
"K0ey losses" Aboushi, Brewer, Malcolm Brown, Dixon, Edwards, Floyd, Gaines, Gay, Gervase, Haley, Harris, Hill, Howard, Long, Mayfield, Nsekhe, Orzech, Perkins, Pinkney, Powell, Rapp, A. Robinson, A'Shawn Robinson, Scott, Skura, Wagner, Wolford.

I guess "key losses" would be EVERYBODY, though to their credit they had Floyd, Gaines, Hill, Rapp, A'Shawn, Scott and Wagner in bold type. Accurately, Allen Robinson wasn't. But seriously, Perkins? Pinkney? Brewer? I would have also had Powell in bold.

Anyway, as you might expect from publications covering the entire NFL, they're not going to have pinpoint accuracy but.....in Athlon's "Final Analysis" they wrote:

"The Rams have a top heavy roster with Stafford, Kupp and Donald at the forefront, and with so much inexperience across the roster, it could be another long year for McVay. The Rams don't appear to be a playoff contender but they added depth to the OL, and that could be enough to keep this squad competitive after Thanksgiving.

But the offense isn't this team's biggest problem. The unknown defensive players behind Donald likely will dictate whether the Rams are competing for the #1 pick or fighting for a wild card spot. But with McVay on the sidelines, don't be surprised if the Rams have a better-than-expected season as a new era begins in Los Angeles"

Lindy's "Intangibles":

"While the Rams will roll out a much younger roster in 2023, they have one of the most experienced coaching staffs to help guide those players for bigger roles this year. Coaches like Raheem Morris, Eric Henderson, Chris Shula, Eric Yarber, Zac Robinson and Ron Gould should provide mentorship, structure and strong coaching fundamentals for McVay's green roster, helping them grow and develop quickly over the duration of the season"

[/zn/]

from Gus Beau's NFL Review:

The Rams did not do very well in 2022 and in fact their major stars, Stafford and Donald, had very poor seasons, for reasons that are completely unclear. In both cases their stats were about half of their production from previous years. The Rams off-season was puzzling because they passed up on the chance to replace Stafford with Mayfield and Donald with Ramsey. In addition, the Rams offensive line played poorly, in spite of numerous inuries. The Rams did however draft a lot of rookies, and that means they're poised to end up anywhere from 0-17 to 17-0. Depending. One potential stumbling block: Rams head coach Kyle Shanahan has yet to beat the 49ers in any game. So there's that.

[69superbowl1]

If that in fact is Mr. Gus Beau's NFL review, word for word, then Mr. Beau should consider rehab. Immediately. He is not a keen observer, and may be a danger to himself and others.

[Hacksaw]

Right? Or his editor is way overpaid.

[PARAM]

I think the entire general narrative / report on the Rams immediate future is off......

"OMG!!! They got rid of Jalen Ramsey after the 2022 season"
-----They drafted 2 CBs, 4 total DBs previous to the season and another CB and S in the following draft. Will he be missed? Sure. Will it be a complete void? Doubtful-----

"They released Leonard Floyd, their #1 OLB"
-----Think back to when we obtained Floyd, 'the failed first round pick of the Bears'. Were we as excited and optimistic then as we are concerned and disappointed now???------

"The DL took a hit losing A'Shawn and Gaines"
-----Though A'Shawn was a beast vs the run and Gaines was a high motor fan favorite, if you aren't a Ram fan you might call one oft-injured and the other a JAG.....and you would be more right than wrong----

Rapp? His entire tenure was spent as the target of fans ire. Hell, most probably think the happiest memory of Rapp was when Ramsey punched him!!!

Scott? See Gaines
Hill?
Long? See Gaines sans the love.

Wagner? HOFer for sure. Can we recover from his loss? Yeah.

Collectively, it sounds daunting. 9 defensive losses! Maybe it will be, collectively. Or maybe they've planned for this eventuality? It's not like they didn't see it coming.

[/zn/]

If that in fact is Mr. Gus Beau's NFL review, word for word, then Mr. Beau should consider rehab. Immediately. He is not a keen observer, and may be a danger to himself and others.

Gus Beau = bogus. That was a joke. It's making fun of weak analysis from national coverage types who don't know the Rams very well. For example this "write up" misses the fact that Stafford and Donald were injured.

[TomSlick]

The fun part of a young squad is that sometimes they can really surprise to the upside. IIRC, the niners first Super Bowl team, Bill Walsh HC, had a lot of youngins. Our proven coaching staff may direct that youth energy into some impressive results, assuming there is some talent in our bumper crop of newbies.

[actionjack]

I think the entire general narrative / report on the Rams immediate future is off......

"OMG!!! They got rid of Jalen Ramsey after the 2022 season"
-----They drafted 2 CBs, 4 total DBs previous to the season and another CB and S in the following draft. Will he be missed? Sure. Will it be a complete void? Doubtful-----

"They released Leonard Floyd, their #1 OLB"
-----Think back to when we obtained Floyd, 'the failed first round pick of the Bears'. Were we as excited and optimistic then as we are concerned and disappointed now???------

"The DL took a hit losing A'Shawn and Gaines"
-----Though A'Shawn was a beast vs the run and Gaines was a high motor fan favorite, if you aren't a Ram fan you might call one oft-injured and the other a JAG.....and you would be more right than wrong----

Rapp? His entire tenure was spent as the target of fans ire. Hell, most probably think the happiest memory of Rapp was when Ramsey punched him!!!

Scott? See Gaines
Hill?
Long? See Gaines sans the love.

Wagner? HOFer for sure. Can we recover from his loss? Yeah.

Collectively, it sounds daunting. 9 defensive losses! Maybe it will be, collectively. Or maybe they've planned for this eventuality? It's not like they didn't see it coming.

How is the narrative off?

The Rams lost 2/3 starters on the DL, IMO Ashawn was very good and Gaines was solid against the pass/run, a good starter.

They lost only true starter at Edge/OLB. Now no starters, bunch of young unproven guys that should not be starting yet.

The Rams lost 2/3 starters and some depth at CB

The Rams lost 1/2 starting safeties and some depth, leaning on a safety who has had injury issues.

The Rams lost 1/2 starters at LB, with only one good starter, the rest border line practice squad guys.

The biggest issue will be the very weak pass rush combined with an extremely young secondary. The Rams pass defense will be get tested early and often.

[PARAM]

How is the narrative off?

The Rams lost 2/3 starters on the DL, IMO Ashawn was very good and Gaines was solid against the pass/run, a good starter.

They lost only true starter at Edge/OLB. Now no starters, bunch of young unproven guys that should not be starting yet.

The Rams lost 2/3 starters and some depth at CB

The Rams lost 1/2 starting safeties and some depth, leaning on a safety who has had injury issues.

The Rams lost 1/2 starters at LB, with only one good starter, the rest border line practice squad guys.

The biggest issue will be the very weak pass rush combined with an extremely young secondary. The Rams pass defense will be get tested early and often.

The "account" of the losses is dead on accurate. It's the degree of the losses I question.

A'Shawn was terrific when he was available. In 3 years (50 games) how many was he available? 35 games / 24 starts. Lack of availability is only bad if we're not fans of the player? Gaines was a JAG, if we're being honest. He played well along side AD. Is that something new?

They lost their only "true starter" at Edge. Again, they've been plug and play productive next to AD. Fowler did nothing before he arrived and nothing since he left but was productive while here. They replaced him with Floyd who did nothing before arriving.....a bust by some accounts......and was productive with AD requiring 2-3 OL......though it's unknown how productive he'll be in Buffalo. Byron Young is our highest drafted Edge player under McVay. And he didn't come with injury concerns like TLew. I like his chances.

In the secondary we lost Ramsey. Huge. But please don't talk up Hill and Long. Starters is the only thing you can say about them. Unless of course you believe had they stayed, they would have beat out the youngsters. I seriously wonder.

Safety? Scott was presssed into duty. Rapp was never the player he was envisioned to be. Losing Scott > losing Rapp. And still neither were as good as Fuller.

LB? What impact did Wagner have on the field? In the locker room, sure. And how important is LB in this system? We went 12-5 with Troy Reeder playing the middle!!

I agree.....no pass rush + young secondary = trouble. So maybe we get pressure? Or maybe the young guys who gained valuable experience last year produce? Maybe we get both?

We'll see.

[actionjack]

The "account" of the losses is dead on accurate. It's the degree of the losses I question.

A'Shawn was terrific when he was available. In 3 years (50 games) how many was he available? 35 games / 24 starts. Lack of availability is only bad if we're not fans of the player? Gaines was a JAG, if we're being honest. He played well along side AD. Is that something new?

They lost their only "true starter" at Edge. Again, they've been plug and play productive next to AD. Fowler did nothing before he arrived and nothing since he left but was productive while here. They replaced him with Floyd who did nothing before arriving.....a bust by some accounts......and was productive with AD requiring 2-3 OL......though it's unknown how productive he'll be in Buffalo. Byron Young is our highest drafted Edge player under McVay. And he didn't come with injury concerns like TLew. I like his chances.

In the secondary we lost Ramsey. Huge. But please don't talk up Hill and Long. Starters is the only thing you can say about them. Unless of course you believe had they stayed, they would have beat out the youngsters. I seriously wonder.

Safety? Scott was presssed into duty. Rapp was never the player he was envisioned to be. Losing Scott > losing Rapp. And still neither were as good as Fuller.

LB? What impact did Wagner have on the field? In the locker room, sure. And how important is LB in this system? We went 12-5 with Troy Reeder playing the middle!!

I agree.....no pass rush + young secondary = trouble. So maybe we get pressure? Or maybe the young guys who gained valuable experience last year produce? Maybe we get both?

We'll see.

I clearly value the players the Rams lost more than you do, especially Flo, AShawn and Gaines. The Rams were very good at drafting later round guys, coaching them up, marinating and making there way into a starter. This is new for Rams leaning on 1st and 2nd year players so much. It's not like Young was a 1st round draft pick where you expect to start, but he have to start based on lack of any remotely proven players at the position.

Like you said will see. The good thing for me is a prepared for a uneven season especially on defense, if they somehow perform middle of the pack I will be happy.