[snackdaddy]

If you're a Rams fan I like ya! If you're one of those Rams fans that is always negative I pity ya! If you're a Rams fan that's opinionated and willing to talk I'll debate ya! If you're a Rams fan that pushes opinions and feelings as facts and only yours are valid I'll spin it around on ya! But no matter what if you're a Rams fan I like ya!

Don't know if it sounds negative, but I haven't been all that positive about their chances in 2015. It just feels to me like they're almost conceding 2015 to have a better team in 2016 and beyond.

I mean, think about it. They drafted a back who may not be ready in the beginning and may need more time to adjust to playing after a serious injury. I hear guys are tentative for a few months because they don't feel confident they can run and cut like before.

They didn't add any stopgap vets for the line in case the rookies aren't ready early on. At LT we have a second year player who will probably be pretty good but he's not there yet. At center we're likely to have a guy who can probably count his starts on one hand. At right guard and tackle we'll probably have a couple guys who haven't played a down in the NFL starting for us.

The defense on the other hand could be something special. I can see the offense getting much better in 2016 along with an elite defense. Which coincidentally might be their first season back in LA. Now that would be something special. Make the playoffs in 2016. Go deeper in 2017. Win the superbowl in 2018 playing the season in their new stadium.

[OldSchool]

If you're a Rams fan I like ya! If you're one of those Rams fans that is always negative I pity ya! If you're a Rams fan that's opinionated and willing to talk I'll debate ya! If you're a Rams fan that pushes opinions and feelings as facts and only yours are valid I'll spin it around on ya! But no matter what if you're a Rams fan I like ya!

What if you're a Rams fan that says he/she will hate the Rams if they leave STL?

After they move that would make them not a Rams fan and just another blip on the radar.

[OldSchool]

If you're a Rams fan I like ya! If you're one of those Rams fans that is always negative I pity ya! If you're a Rams fan that's opinionated and willing to talk I'll debate ya! If you're a Rams fan that pushes opinions and feelings as facts and only yours are valid I'll spin it around on ya! But no matter what if you're a Rams fan I like ya!

Don't know if it sounds negative, but I haven't been all that positive about their chances in 2015. It just feels to me like they're almost conceding 2015 to have a better team in 2016 and beyond.

I mean, think about it. They drafted a back who may not be ready in the beginning and may need more time to adjust to playing after a serious injury. I hear guys are tentative for a few months because they don't feel confident they can run and cut like before.

They didn't add any stopgap vets for the line in case the rookies aren't ready early on. At LT we have a second year player who will probably be pretty good but he's not there yet. At center we're likely to have a guy who can probably count his starts on one hand. At right guard and tackle we'll probably have a couple guys who haven't played a down in the NFL starting for us.

The defense on the other hand could be something special. I can see the offense getting much better in 2016 along with an elite defense. Which coincidentally might be their first season back in LA. Now that would be something special. Make the playoffs in 2016. Go deeper in 2017. Win the superbowl in 2018 playing the season in their new stadium.

I understand what you're saying and tbh that doesn't qualify as always negative. There are Rams fans on other boards it doesn't matter what happens their reaction is negative. This one guy on another board tried to convince all of us after the back to back shutouts that it was a bad thing. That's the kind of guy I'm talking about.

As for your feelings on the draft I will respectfully disagree. Simply put you don't draft for the current year only. You draft for the future, you draft a guy for what he'll do 2 or 3 years ahead. It's true in all sports. That RB is something truly special and could be one of those once in a generation talents. I get your apprehension about the OLine, and truthfully I wished they'd spent more picks on it since the first Snead/Fisher draft. I will say though that last year alone there were 11 OLinemen rookies starting in the playoffs. There have even been 5 different rookies making the pro bowl the last 3 years in the NFL. There is reason to be nervous, but myself I'd rather have a young line with a lot to prove than us sign more 30+ year olds with injury histories to millions of dollars only to break down. And not have any decent talent behind those old broken down guys. It's definitely the Rams #1 question heading into the year and will likely be what defines our success or lack of it for the year.

[moklerman]

Anyone else leery of all the hype the defense is getting? Seems like any time a team starts getting touted as the next great thing, it winds up being the opposite. I hope the defense is as great as everyone predicts but wasn't that supposed to be the case last year too? I think I'll wait and see.

[den-the-coach]

Anyone else leery of all the hype the defense is getting? Seems like any time a team starts getting touted as the next great thing, it winds up being the opposite. I hope the defense is as great as everyone predicts but wasn't that supposed to be the case last year too? I think I'll wait and see.

Totally concur, however, they now are more familiar with Williams system and IMO have upgraded with Ayers & Fairley. Jenkins needs to be more consistent and limit the number of big plays, but the offense must to it's part and keep the defense off the field. I'm confident the defense will get off to a better start, but the offense will need to pull it's own weight especially in the first game at home against Seattle.

[moklerman]

Anyone else leery of all the hype the defense is getting? Seems like any time a team starts getting touted as the next great thing, it winds up being the opposite. I hope the defense is as great as everyone predicts but wasn't that supposed to be the case last year too? I think I'll wait and see.

Totally concur, however, they now are more familiar with Williams system and IMO have upgraded with Ayers & Fairley. Jenkins needs to be more consistent and limit the number of big plays, but the offense must to it's part and keep the defense off the field. I'm confident the defense will get off to a better start, but the offense will need to pull it's own weight especially in the first game at home against Seattle.

I agree that the pieces seem to be in place for this defense to do well but it annoyed me the other day when I saw an article that basically said the players were starting to believe their own hype.

Fisher's shown in the past that he can win in a tough division so it won't surprise me to see the Rams do well. I'm still not over the shock of getting rid of Bradford so it's been hard for me this offseason. I really want to warm back up to this team. I don't want that to sound like it's only about Bradford for me but somehow I felt betrayed. Doesn't help that his replacement is a guy that I wasn't much of a fan of.

Oh well, there's still time and I think it'll be different once I can actually see them play.

[Elvis]

We all know teams and individual units can fail to live up to expectations, fail to meet the hype. But i have to think a unit that's expected to be good is good a lot more often than one that isn't, so i'm taking this as a positive...

[moklerman]

We all know teams and individual units can fail to live up to expectations, fail to meet the hype. But i have to think a unit that's expected to be good is good a lot more often than one that isn't, so i'm taking this as a positive...

It'd be interesting to see the actual numbers. I guess the negative times might stand out more but I have the opposite impression. Of course, we have to be talking about the same thing.

What I'm talking about is when a player/unit that has previously not been great is being offered as the next big thing. Not a case like Marino being expected to have a good year passing again. Or predicting Peyton's going to put up good numbers or something like that.

The earliest I remember this sort of thing was in the late '80's when the Rams were supposedly the up-and-coming team and were going to overtake the 49ers in the '90's as the best team in the NFC. That worked out well, didn't it? Freakin' Georgia.

[den-the-coach]

Fisher's shown in the past that he can win in a tough division so it won't surprise me to see the Rams do well. I'm still not over the shock of getting rid of Bradford so it's been hard for me this offseason. I really want to warm back up to this team. I don't want that to sound like it's only about Bradford for me but somehow I felt betrayed. Doesn't help that his replacement is a guy that I wasn't much of a fan of.

Oh well, there's still time and I think it'll be different once I can actually see them play.

We're on opposite ends of the spectrum on Bradford, now I loved Sam, but I was tired of him getting injured. Now some will post you can't help that, but the hit against Cleveland was somewhat on him because he did not want to hit the ground. He was injured a ton in college and nothing changed.

I like Foles, IMO, there are things that he brings to the table that Bradford did not for example the ability to see the opportunity to take off and keep the chains moving plus I believe he's more of a natural leader where Sam did it quietly. Nothing wrong with being quiet, but for a QB IMO the team will embrace Foles style.

I get your trepidation, but if the Rams were going to trade Bradford, IMO, Foles was the best option plus they saved a ton of cap room this season.

As to the defense and believing their own hype they have to be careful they were cocky and over confident against the Giants and got their ass handed to them and Beckham totally embarrassed the secondary. IMO my fear is if the offense can't move the ball at all like against the Cardinals the defense is not good enough to withstand the offense not at the very minimum pulling their own weight.

My hope is I have more confidence in the new assignments and coaches on offense. Cignetti, Boras, Weinke & Garcia give me more hope than the last couple of years and I think you would even admit that Foles is an upgrade over HIll & Clements. Again the key is the offensive line and the health, IMO, Saffold is the linchpin and I would like him healthy over 16 games and if the others can stay healthy too I believe they will establish a continuity and get better with every game.

But again they have not played a game yet so like every avid Ram fan, I'm cautiously optimistic.

[max]

Fisher's shown in the past that he can win in a tough division so it won't surprise me to see the Rams do well. I'm still not over the shock of getting rid of Bradford so it's been hard for me this offseason. I really want to warm back up to this team. I don't want that to sound like it's only about Bradford for me but somehow I felt betrayed. Doesn't help that his replacement is a guy that I wasn't much of a fan of.

Oh well, there's still time and I think it'll be different once I can actually see them play.

We're on opposite ends of the spectrum on Bradford, now I loved Sam, but I was tired of him getting injured. Now some will post you can't help that, but the hit against Cleveland was somewhat on him because he did not want to hit the ground. He was injured a ton in college and nothing changed.

I like Foles, IMO, there are things that he brings to the table that Bradford did not for example the ability to see the opportunity to take off and keep the chains moving plus I believe he's more of a natural leader where Sam did it quietly. Nothing wrong with being quiet, but for a QB IMO the team will embrace Foles style.

I get your trepidation, but if the Rams were going to trade Bradford, IMO, Foles was the best option plus they saved a ton of cap room this season.

As to the defense and believing their own hype they have to be careful they were cocky and over confident against the Giants and got their ass handed to them and Beckham totally embarrassed the secondary. IMO my fear is if the offense can't move the ball at all like against the Cardinals the defense is not good enough to withstand the offense not at the very minimum pulling their own weight.

My hope is I have more confidence in the new assignments and coaches on offense. Cignetti, Boras, Weinke & Garcia give me more hope than the last couple of years and I think you would even admit that Foles is an upgrade over HIll & Clements. Again the key is the offensive line and the health, IMO, Saffold is the linchpin and I would like him healthy over 16 games and if the others can stay healthy too I believe they will establish a continuity and get better with every game.

But again they have not played a game yet so like every avid Ram fan, I'm cautiously optimistic.

Great post, den!

I'm right with ya on Bradford. I am fully on board with risking the loss of opportunity that he plays lights out from here on in. The downside was just too great.

I also agree with you on Saffold needing to stay healthy for 16 games. We need him to be the leader and glue of our dandy diaper OL. If we can keep the OL starters together and healthy we should be ok even with the vast inexperience. A good proxy for the OL is that if Saffold makes the Pro Bowl (which he is capable of doing), then the OL will surprise us all.

I think this is a telltale year for a few players, including Tavon, Ogletree, Brockers, and of course Foles. Those first 3 first rounders need to show that they were worthy of their draft status.