[PARAM]

Let's be real.

We all want Superbowl Championships but is that a fair barometer for teams? It's hard to get there. You have to have a good record. It helps if you win your division. Then you have to run the gauntlet through the conference. And finally after all that hard work, you've got to be at your best in the biggest game of your life. There's a reason team rarely repeat.

Look at the last 10 years in the NFC. Every team has made the postseason at least twice. 11 teams 3 or more times. 8 four or more. 4 have done it 5 or more times. Only 3 have done it more than 5 times. So that's 13 teams at 50% or less.....just making the postseason. So can we really expect the Superbowl with regularity?

Only 3 NFC teams have been to multiple Superbowls in the last 10 years. Seattle, Philadelphia and THE RAMS. None have won it more than once. So really, how much do we really have to bitch about? 9 NFC teams haven't made it there. 11 teams have made it to the CCG one time or less. And the funny thing is the two teams who've made it to the CCG 4 times each, have only won one of those games. Ironically, when they faced off vs each other.

So let's give these guys a break. 4 postseasons in 6 years is 66% for McVay when the overwhelming majority of NFC teams (13 of 16) are 50% or under the last 10 years. This year it's going to be tough. So tough, some fans are already writing off the season as a non-playoff year. First, they expect too much. Then they don't expect enough. Only in America.

[JackPMiller]

Battling for a top 5 pick, would not be shocked, if we end up with the 1st pick overall.

[ramsman34]

MCV is going to do EVERYTHING he can to make sure his offense can score a lot of points. With the way the league is, you do that and you have a chance. All you need is an opportunistic defense and consistent STs that don’t make big gaffes and you can make the playoffs.

Top 5 pick? I just dont see it.

[Elvis]

Unless overwhelmed with injuries, i think any team should at least be able to contend for a playoff spot. I certainly feel that way about these Rams...

[PARAM]

I agree @Elvis and @ramsman34 !!

But my question wasn't "what do we expect from the Rams this year". It was "what do you expect" every year.

Myself, I don't expect the SB every year but I do expect the postseason every year. The one caveat is "when not affected by things out of their control." And I think we all know what that means.

There are those who say, "yeah it was injuries, but who's idea was it to depend on injury prone players". That's ridiculous. Everybody gets injured. Kupp was injured in 2018 (and missed the SB), 2020 (for a very important playoff game) and last year for half the season. Who's giving up on him? Nobody. It's a violent game and injuries are part of it. If we only depended on players who weren't injured a couple of times in their football lives, we'd have 45 rookies and 8 vets who rarely played.

But I digress. These guys are smart. They rely on solid players and sometimes they have been injured a time or two. I've often cited Saffold as the poster child for sticking with a talented guy who was "injury prone". Because you have to. I'm not talking about the guys who miss time because of a hangnail, a thigh bruise and an ear ache. Just because you're injured a time or three doesn't mean you're never gonna have a healthy stretch.

This team will now depend on a lot of young talent, some "injury prone" players and some talented vets. To most that doesn't look like a profitable proposition. But that gets back to my original premise. You can't expect the Superbowl every year. Hope, yes. You can't expect the postseason every year, either. What you can expect and perhaps the one thing you can be proudful of, is they will contend. And if they are healthy, they will contend.

Like you said Elvis, contend for a postseason spot. I will never, under any circumstances sell this regime and it's leaders short. That's not Pollyanna-ism. That's watching and learning over a 6 year period and not trying to point out everything that didn't go right will all go wrong again. The only 2 years we missed the postseason was when injuries were rampant. And in one of those seasons we had a winning record, something that hadn't occured since 2003 before this regime arrived. That ought to tell you what this regime is capable of accomplishing, even if it caused some to yell out their windows.

2023? I expect them to contend for a postseason spot and I wouldn't be shocked if they earned one. Now draft a few studs, a few good players and a few complimentary players. Oh and get the annual 2 or 3 solid UDFAs.

[ramsman34]

I expect the franchise to do everything they can, within the constraints of the rules and cap, to field a highly competitive team - year in and year out. And I accept the fact there will be bumps in the road along the way, like last season.

[PARAM]

I expect the franchise to do everything they can, within the constraints of the rules and cap, to field a highly competitive team - year in and year out. And I accept the fact there will be bumps in the road along the way, like last season.

And they have, 5 out of 6 years with the 6th being a clusterfruck of injuries starting in week 2 and reoccurring every week thereafter. Isn't that the way it is though? You look back and see a team who was 12-4, 13-3, 11-5, 10-6, 6-10, 11-5, 12-4 and you think, "WTF happened with that 6-10 season" and after a quick check you see 5 or 6 guys played 6 or 7 games that season. You don't say, "Wow, WTF did you guys do wrong that year???". You know. Take a look at the Packers from 2009 to 2021......what happened in 2013 and 2017? They made the postseason in 2013 at 8-7-1 because of playing in the ACC that year. Rodgers missed 7 games, Jermichael Finley missed 11, James Jones missed 2, Sam Shield 2, James Starks 3. In 2017 Rodgers missed 9, Adams 2, Martellus Bennett 9, Bulaga 11, Baktieri 4. 7-9, no playoffs because the ACC got better.

[Elvis]

I agree @Elvis and @ramsman34 !!

But my question wasn't "what do we expect from the Rams this year". It was "what do you expect" every year.

And i stick with my answer: Unless hit with some pretty extenuating circumstances, i expect to, at least, compete for the playoffs every year...

[rams74]

And i stick with my answer: Unless hit with some pretty extenuating circumstances, i expect to, at least, compete for the playoffs every year...

I agree with this.

With a caveat: It depends on who is the coach, and who is the quarterback.

With a good coach OR a good quarterback, I expect to be able to compete for the playoffs every year.

With a good coach AND a good quarterback, I expect to be in the playoffs every year.

And that's where we are since McVay got here. Doesn't always work out, but that's my expectation.

[PARAM]

So the only time they fooked up was when they depended on injury prone players. Like back in 2019, when Noteboom and Allen were previously injured in.......? Or 2022 when they rolled out Noteboom, Allen, Anchrum, Shelton, Edwards and a host of other oft injured players? Sure hope they don't do that again.