[PARAM]

I know as fans, many of us have concerns prior to training camp. I for one, have few. Why? The franchise and the culture that has been created over the last 7 years. We know the Rams are good to their coaches and players; sometimes to the detriment of the squad. We know they were immediately turned around in 2017, went to the Superbowl in 2018. If we look at the "bad" years (2019; 2022), clearly it was injuries that prevented them from a successful season. Hell, we were 1 missed FG vs Seattle from the playoffs in 2019.

Concerns? I have practically none. Health is my main concern but that can be said any year with any roster on any team.

Am I concerned that Stafford wants more guaranteed money? Nope. As I said, the Rams treat their players well.

How about Kupp being 100% healthy? Nope. Kupp at 85% is better than most and they have a very good WR corp. DRob is underrated and Atwell is always under appreciated. The rookie may infuse that corp some. But if Kupp is 100%, as Puka has intimated, we're good there.

Losing Aaron Donald? No. Sure, losing a 1st ballot HOFer never helps but he was always the guy OLs had to stop. Now who do they focus on? Young? Turner? Verse? Fiske? Jones? Ironically, losing AD may be an advantage on one hand, despite being a disadvantage on the other. In other words, a push of sorts.

Will Tre'Davious White be healthy? No worries there. We're deep in the secondary and considering that was a huge concern prior to free agency and the draft, if he is healthy we may be very good back there. I believe the DWill acquisition is under played. Curl and Kinchens, Lake and Durant and that bum Kendricks may provide much needed playmaking abilities.

How about Shula? Somehow I don't have the angst some fans may be feeling. He's been around a long time. He knows McVay...and what McVay wants.....probably more than anyone on the planet. It's possible the guy has honed his skills all these years and is in the right place at the right time. Whether it matters or not, he does have the pedigree.

We're all expecting a very good year and for good reason. Two good drafts in a row. A HOF QB. A beefed up OL. A lot of weapons on that side of the ball. On the other side a very young (read: fast) defense with what appears to be a number of playmakers. Anything short of the playoffs would be a disappointment and if we have good luck health-wise, that may just be the beginning.

McVay and Snead have restored the Los Angeles Rams to prominence. And we may be witness to the best run in this historic franchise's long history. Buckle up; this could be a lot of fun.

[snackdaddy]

Well, there are a lot of good things going on. Especially on the offensive side of the ball. Its an offense that is capable of putting up 30 points regularly.

The only question marks are youth and health. Health on the offensive side. Youth on the defensive side. The talent is there. How long will it take to for it come together? Anyone's guess. Could be right away. Could be later in the season. Last year's defense was middle of the pack. Which was a lot better than many projected.

I'm not worried about a first time defensive coordinator. Football is in Shula's blood. He grew up with it. His dad was an NFL head coach. His grandfather is a Hall of Fame coach. Growing up I imagine the discussion at the dinner table was the nuances of different formations, coverages, etc.

Then there is the McVay effect. Probably the smartest coach in the business who I'd bet could coordinate either side of the ball with success. I have a feeling the defense will be no worse than middle of the pack again. Maybe even better. With the offense that should mean enough wins to be a playoff team.

[Elvis]

The defense is a big question mark. AD is gone, Shula a first time coordinator, could go a lot of ways. But some of those ways are good.

We'll see...

[Elvis]

Losing Aaron Donald? No. Sure, losing a 1st ballot HOFer never helps but he was always the guy OLs had to stop. Now who do they focus on? Young? Turner? Verse? Fiske? Jones? Ironically, losing AD may be an advantage on one hand, despite being a disadvantage on the other. In other words, a push of sorts.

I think the realistic concern here is: What will a player like Kobie Turner be now that defenses don't have to game plan around AD?

It's a legit question and we'll see. We've added Verse and Fiske to the equation but offenses now get to do a lot of stuff they didn't used to against us because they don't have to account for AD...

[actionjack]

I think the realistic concern here is: What will a player like Kobie Turner be now that defenses don't have to game plan around AD?

It's a legit question and we'll see. Plus we've added Verse and Fiske to the equation but offenses now get to do a lot of stuff they didn't used to against us because they don't have to account for AD...

Yeah can Verse/Fiske and hopefully jump in play from Byron and Kobie to offset the impact that was AD. Not only in pass rush but in the run game as well. Big question.

[PARAM]

We were extremely young on defense last year and now that AD has retired we're younger still.....well not so fast.....we signed Tre White, JJ and Curl so maybe we're only a little younger. Either way, you never know how youth is going to work out. But you never know the size of the jump from year 1 to year 2. Or year 2 to year 3. And we have a number of them in those two catagories. So worry or don't worry. Not gonna help either way. How does the staff feel? That's what matters most.

[Dare]

I for one am not worried. Both Verse and Fiske are quality talent that project well in the NFL. This DL looks great. As I've been saying the Rams don't need to replace Donald they simply need to replace his production and threat level. IMO they have done that with Turner, Fiske and Verse along with further development of Young. The DL will have strength and quickness inside with Turner and Fiske. They will have speed and strength on both edges with Young and Verse. Behind them they will have Jones, Jackson, Hoecht and Hampton.

The secondary has good talent as well. White and Williams are win now type of bridge players. Lake has shown he's a quality DB able to play both safety and SCB. Curl is a quality safety and paired with either Lake or JJ safety looks solid. This is the year Durant needs to do more than flash. Either way CB will be a priority in next year's draft. Tomlinson needs to step up his game.

LB looks fine with Jones, Jackson, Hoecht and Hampton. I look for Hampton to push for Rozeboom's snaps.

Offensively the team looks downright awesome. They finally have a good QB2 in Garappolo. The IOL looks like it could be dominating. The question marks are at OT. Jackson must show his next step in development and Havenstein must show last year wasn't a fluke. Either way OT should be okay with Noteboom, McClendon and potentially Larson. Limmer and Leveston look to give them solid depth at OG and C. OT is potentially a priority in next year's draft.

The WR room is 5 deep with Kupp, Nacua, Robinson, Atwell and Whittington. RB looks deep with Williams, Corum and Scott. TE IMO isn't a concern with Parkinson and Allen. The offense is definitely built to win now.

I see way more pluses than question marks on this team. As always injuries will be the major potential issue.