The Los Angeles Rams made it all the way to Super Bowl LIII but fell short to the New England Patriots and will start from scratch like everyone else in 2019.
The Los Angeles Rams were one of the most explosive and entertaining teams in the NFL last season but you would not know that if you only watched Super Bowl LIII. The Rams were a shell of themselves, scoring just three points in the game, leaving a sour taste in every Ram fans’ mouth.
That sour taste might lead to some mixed perceptions heading into the 2019 season. Some fans remain optimistic that the team can repeat from 2018, win the NFC and get over that Super Bowl hump. Some still have that sour taste in their mouth, which leads to a more negative outlook on the team.
The team certainly is different. There are some new faces, some faces that signed elsewhere and some storylines *cough Todd Gurley‘s knee* that will seriously impact the team. Thus, it might be hard to evaluate if the team is better or worse than it was a year ago.
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And quite frankly, with what the Rams have, they can only get worse. They are not going to get any better in 2019.
This is not to say that the Rams won’t post the same record and won’t win the NFC West. The Rams are still very capable of getting to the Super Bowl and winning it. However, this year will be more challenging than last with many more hurdles to overcome.
The biggest obviously being Gurley’s knee and how the Rams respond to giving him a lesser workload. The Rams were the best team in the league in utilizing play action last year and it was no surprise that the offense fell flat in the Super Bowl when that really wasn’t an option.
Fans are excited about third-round pick, Darrell Henderson. However, I would remain cautious with the hype as Henderson as not proved anything yet on an NFL field.
Los Angeles also lost a defensive line chip in Ndamukong Suh, although the defensive line won’t be a problem with Aaron Donald still securing things down. However, the team might be more vulnerable to the run with Suh out and Donald being focused on.
The offensive line took a hit as well as John Sullivan and Rodger Saffold are no longer on the team. The O-line is only getting older as well and if one piece falls, there is a worry that the entire pile comes crashing down.
Goff is not good when facing pressure and this is an offensive line that is going to allow more pressure than a year ago. The line can definitely prove its doubters wrong, but it is a lot less of a surefire thing than it was a year ago.
Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib need to be better than they were a year ago and new signings Eric Weddle and Clay Matthews will make a difference, albeit a small one. While they are big names, both are entering the latter stages of their careers and expecting greatness out of them simply isn’t fair.
The Los Angeles Rams are still a playoff team. There are simply more holes on this roster and more questions to be answered than a year ago.
So don’t expect the Los Angeles Rams to go 14-2 or better and march their way to a Super Bowl ring. It is going to be more of a grind this year, which will make the final end result (if they win) much sweeter.