[AvengerRam]

To come up with a prediction, I'm putting the games on the schedule into three categories: SHOULD WIN (S), TOSS-UP (T) and LONG SHOT (L).

I then base my prediction on the Rams winning 75% of S games, 50% of T games, and 25% of L games.

So here is my 2018 breakdown:

@Raiders - S
Cardinals - S
Chargers - T
Vikings - T
@Seahawks - S
@Broncos - S
@49ers - T
Packers - S
@Saints - T
Seahawks - S
Chiefs (Mexico City) - T
Lions - S
@Bears - S
Eagles - T
@Cardinals - S
49ers - S

So, that is 10 S games (7.5 expected wins), 6 T games (3.0 expected wins).

Total wins: 10.5 (I’m rounding up to 11)

I think that's about right. If you applied a margin of error of one game, that would be 10-12 wins, which is probably what most people are predicting for the Rams.

As you can see, I don't see any game on the schedule this year as a "long shot" (in past years, there have been several, but at this point I believe the Rams have at least a 50/50 chance of winning any game on its schedule).

An 11-5 record would likely be good enough to win the NFC West again, and could be enough for a bye (probably not the #1 seed, but potentially the #2 seed).

Agree? Disagree?

[Elvis]

Seems like a good topic for a sticky, and welcome aboard Avenger...

[ramsman34]

I see two losses: at Denver (effin Keenum) and at New Orleans.

[dieterbrock]

Welcome Avenger!

[Elmgrovegnome]

Fun way to do it.
I'd switch @9ers and Mexico City Vs Chiefs as "S" games.

My thoughts exactly.

[aeneas1]

yeah, i like that approach too!

when it comes to the 2018 season, you have to wonder if the rams will finally figure out how to win at home, at the coliseum... in their first year back, as crappy as it was, 3 of their 4 wins came when playing away from the coliseum - last year 8 of their 11 wins came when playing away from the coliseum... for those counting at home, 11 of the the rams 15 wins since returning to los angeles have played out away from the coliseum - or to put it another way, they've only won 4 games at the coliseum in the two years they've been back.

and as great as last season was, the rams were a modest 3-3 against teams that made the postseason, 2-3 against teams that posted double digit wins, and just 5-4 against winning teams.

anyway, here's a look at last year's results and the 2018 schedule, i've included the w/l records their opponents posted last year:

[Hacksaw]

yeah, i like that approach too!

when it comes to the 2018 season, you have to wonder if the rams will finally figure out how to win at home, at the coliseum... in their first year back, as crappy as it was, 3 of their 4 wins came when playing away from the coliseum - last year 8 of their 11 wins came when playing away from the coliseum... for those counting at home, 11 of the the rams 15 wins since returning to los angeles have played out away from the coliseum - or to put it another way, they've only won 4 games at the coliseum in the two years they've been back.

and as great as last season was, the rams were a modest 3-3 against teams that made the postseason, 2-3 against teams that posted double digit wins, and just 5-4 against winning teams.

Yikes. It's really that lopsided?
I'd have to imagine we win more at home this season.. That road record might not come a easily though. Still, imo, the tough road mentality is a reflection of McV's unified team philosophy the players have bought into. Good stuff.

[Elvis]

Those 4 Metro rides after the game were pretty great though...

[69RamFan]

There are only three teams in my eyes that are 50/50 games,,, home against the Vikes, and Philly, and the Saints @ the Dome. The other 13 games we should win with out a doubt.....

The other two games that I feel might be close, are possibly GB and the Chargers, but we will be playing at home and....

I just feel Phillips will throw at least 5 picks against our smother brothers and get sack at least 5 times or more... the reason why I say it might be close, because of the Chargers Defense.... but then again, I feel they will be on the field a ton and get tired.

Rodgers doesn't have Nelson anymore, no running game, he only has WR Cobb and newly acquired TE Jimmy Graham.... we should have that cover with our smother brothers.... the reason why I say it might be close, because its Rodgers.... but I feel he is going to have a tough time against our Defense...

But my prediction is at least 12 wins minimum,,, I'm saying they will win 13 games... and get a first round bye....

Oh by the way OP,,,, you did your math wrong,,,, you gave 10/S and 7/T,,, its only 16 games......

[Horny Mcbae]

Now that the free agent hysteria and media hype that’s been created around this team has died down a bit it’s time to get sensible and make some predictions.

The team got a lot better on the defensive end and that will keep us in games. We are more or less set at Defense as long as we can figure out our LB situation to a satisfactory level. This shoukd translate to more wins.

The offensive line staying healthy again for a full season. Man that’s such a roll of the dice. If they can we should add wins but the realist in me thinks it’s unlikely that we will be that fortunate again.

Some people are actually predicting Goff to have a bit of a decline from last season’s numbers now that defenses have had a full year to study Sean and his plan. It doesn’t seem out of the question that this could happen. On the flip side we did add better weapons (Cooks) for Goff and Kupp is one year older and one year more experienced.

Special teams is as lit as ever if Legatron is 100% which by all indications he will be.

There is always that one game every season which we should have won but lost. Let’s hope there isn’t 2 of those this season.

We simply have to improve our home record if we are to have a good season. Can’t expect to be road warriors every time. It’s just not sustainable.

My expectation is +1 wins from last season. I would be very happy with that actually.

I would be ok with a repeat of last seasons record too since our schedule got a lot tougher.

Can’t wait for pre-season games. I’m hyped!!!!!