The blue in the margins makes it easier for me to read.

I really dont think things are as bleak as some people here seem to think. The young players that played last year have a lot of potential and stand to improve. FO is shoring up the run D. The offence had an off year, but the Oline was improving along with some playcalling changes. Also, the cooks trade and contract was a big piece of the success of the offence.
I think last season we expected to much based off of the superbowl run. This year I think some of us are doom and gloom based off of a predictable under performing season last year. C-H-I-L-L. The rams will be a force this year. I predict they will win at least one playoff game. GO RAMS

XXXIVwin said:

BTW...

Even if the assessment is correct that the Rams are choosing to “take the pain” in 2020, the homer in me still thinks they have a solid playoff chance and (cough, maybe) a chance at a SB run.

Like that “Moneyball” movie... sometimes smart teams can be successful with limited funds.

Rams still have a great core on offense, plenty of star power on D, a new innovative D Coordinator, and a reinvigorated wunderkind in McVay.

Go Rams! Homers rule!

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Les and the Rams passed on restructuring Goff's roster bonus money to add more cap space. That demonstrates that they are thinking of the future beyond 2020. Taking the hit of firing Gurley although cap related was as much due to injury and possible attitude concerns. Drafting Henderson last year was a smart insurance move for 2020 and beyond. Outside of Gurley the Rams offense remains intact. The Rams still have plenty of offensive weapons. Questions remain concerning the offensive line however, they have more game experience and should be improved. The inability to spend (overspend) on the Rams free agents allows the Rams to bring in cheaper defenders that bring different strengths to the defense with improved run-stopping ability. These new players and the young recently drafted/undrafted players in the front seven have a great chance to meld with an improved secondary. The defense could very well surprise everyone with the help of a younger innovative defensive coordinator. This year may not be as painful as many predict.

LA_Rams_#29 said:

Although Marqui, and then this year Rapp made some plays for us in that hybrid safety spot, I actually think we're better off using a guy that's more of a real linebacker, like a Travin Howard in a spot like that. When Howard started being used more on passing downs last year he made plays. I'm just big on having more bigger guys on the field than a bunch of secondary players. Teams seem to have been capitalizing on that against us for a few years...lots of plays with seeing big lineman down the field blockers our smaller defenders on big run plays.

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I don't disagree about your opinion, it's just Staley says he is looking for players that are versatile. For example, he wants a CB to be able to play in the slot and on the outside, and maybe that's why they let Coleman walk. Regarding Safety, I see them using a player that can play back on usual downs and then play closer to the line of scrimmage, covering TE's and RB's in a Nickle or Dime package.
A player that I think fits this role well is K'von Wallace from Clemson. He is a Safety that makes many plays near the LOS. He has coverage skills and when he is near the LOS, he is great at getting off of blocks to make tackles.

OntarioRam said:

Lots of people pointing to the KC game where Gurley went down hard near the sideline. I noticed that play too and remember thinking "please be okay". He did finish the game and continued to suit up thereafter, but as we all know, that does not mean a player is healthy.

Gurley also appeared to get dinged vs. Philly down the stretch.

It would be interesting to know at what moment his knee problems started - if there even is an acute cause vs. wear and tear.

I don't agree that Gurley passing a physical with the Falcons would render the injury hypothesis baseless. You can be healthy enough to be medically cleared to play, yet damaged enough to not function as well as you did in the past. Countless players have suffered injuries and never been quite the same after, whether that is a lack of strength or burst or whatever the case might be, yet still able to pass physicals without issue.

When Gurley retires, if we still don't have the answers, I'd be fascinated to read a book on what all went wrong and why, if he ever publishes one. I'd love to hear Gurley's take on it all. Could be a good opportunity to make some money, so I am cautiously optimistic that we will get our answer one day, assuming that Todd hasn't signed any confidentiality agreements on the subject.

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Speaking of physicals, I've wondered for a long time and especially right now; why would you not do a physical on a guy you're preparing to pay about a gazillion $...I can't imagine that the cba wouldn't allow it...

Please take a few minutes to check this out. This will help to keep you in touch with others in your community. There may be some folks out there that can use a little help. Or if you need a little help, someplace to reach out.

A.J. Hicks said:

I've felt since the trade of Peters that they saw Young as a potential replacement for Littleton.

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Well, there is something they liked about Kenny Young because they demanded he be part of the deal, but that might have been Phillips now Brandon Staley is the new Sheriff in town so Young will get a look along with Travin Howard and Micah Kiser plus a possible draft choice.

rams1fan said:

The fact rams signed whit and Blythe shows me the backups are not ready. Especially considering our cap situation.

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So you're implying their eval skills are adequate, after what they trotted out there last year? I've lost a bit of faith in that myself.

10 things with Johnny Mundt

Each week during the season, we interview a different Rams player to find out about their lives on the field as well as off of it. Team Reporter, Sarina Morales, asks the questions fans want to know, in a fun and conversational interview. This week, tight end, Johnny Mundt spoke to Sarina about playing for the Rams this coming season, vinyl records and how being Batman would make morning coffee runs better.

1: Here for 2020

Sarina: Congrats. Looks like you are here to stay for the 2020 season. How does that feel?

Johnny: It feels great. Having another year in this system gives me a lot of confidence. I feel grateful for the opportunity to compete another season here in LA.

2: Say it ain't so, Tommy!

Sarina: What has been the biggest shock to you so far around free agency?

Johnny: The Tom Brady headlines have been fun to follow.

3: Whatcha doing?

Sarina:How have you spent this off-season? And perhaps more recently, the past week?

Johnny: Cooking/Eating with Mariah (Johnny's wife), binge watching TV, video games, occasional guitar.

4: Higbee Doe

Sarina: Tyler Higbee is…

Johnny: An enigma.

5: Vinyl records

Sarina: You got married last year! I remember you telling me for a present, you bought your wife a vinyl record of your first dance at your wedding. What was the song?

Johnny:Yeah! Well, she bought me a really cool record player for my birthday back in November. So, one of the first records I went out and got was Coming Home by Leon Bridges. Our first dance was to the first song on the record. We both have always liked his lyrics and classic sound, so when we had to pick a song together it felt like the perfect choice.

6: So excited about SoFi Stadium

Sarina: What are you most excited for when thinking about the new season at SoFi Stadium?

Johnny: I believe there is going to be a new sense of energy in the stadium come game day. I am really looking forward to that.

7: That is nuts

Sarina: You come from a walnut farming family. That is super unique. What is a unique fact about walnuts? 

Johnny: Walnuts are considered superfoods! They are rich in Omega-3s and fatty acids. They are great for mind and heart health.

8: Bear Valley

Sarina: I know in your free time, you enjoy mountain biking. Where is the wildest place you've gone mountain biking?

Johnny: I grew up skiing and mountain biking at a place called Bear Valley, which is south of Tahoe. That is where I find the best views and the occasional wildlife along the trail.

9: Batman and coffee

Sarina: Batman or Robin, which one would you be?

Johnny: Batman. The bat-mobile would make my morning coffee runs a little bit more exciting.

10: Does hot sauce go bad?

Sarina: How old is the most expired item in your fridge?

Johnny: I actually worry about that kind of stuff, so ours is pretty clean…but we have a family-sized bottle of hot sauce that is looking a little too aged.

So you're saying it's a done deal...Dump Tommy Terrific for Dandy Andy!

Any body that wants it, send me a DM with your email address.

shovelpass said:

Nice breakdown. Overall I thought the run D played well. We had 3 bad games against BAL, SF, and DAL, but those were all top 5 rushing teams. I actually just got done watching the BAL game, don't know why I'd do that to myself. One thing I did notice was that the Rams pretty much played only Littleton at ILB. I checked out the snap counts and Reeder played only 1 snap. I don't get why they would go so light against the leagues top rushing team(206YPG). They also tried using the 6-1 front to no avail, the consistently got torched on the edge and simple run up the middle resulted in a 8 yard gain. I agree on freelancing too, Donald lives in the backfield which can be a double edged sword and in 2018 we also had Suh who was looking to do the same. Hopefully under Staley the defense is a little more disciplined.

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That game was an outlier of sorts yeah. I feel like they prepared for speed and contain and the Ravens' power in the run game overwhelmed them. Definitely the runner-up worst defensive performance just behind Tampa.

The Bucs film was the hardest to watch for me. Part of it was Winston having a freakishly focused game but meh.

Still, that is why it helps to look at those overall numbers. They show that the run game is going to be a primary focus to return our offense to that elite range and that both Goff & the run defense were better than given credit for.

Happy to see it come back for another year. It was pretty entertaining for spring football and was helping bridge the gap while the NFL was finished.

Nothing is perfectly clear, but I'll help interpret. My $0.02 as someone paid to read and interpret State legislation. Essential means you are still required to work if you are in one of the 16 CISA categories.

However, the entire public is being advised to stay and work at home in his executive order. The Governor's intent is if you work in those 16 fields you are essential. But if you can isolate and work at home within those 16 fields, then do so.

The good thing is, we are pretty set at the skill positions that are more expensive and require higher draft picks to fill. Most of our needs can be filled with inexpensive FAs and mid round picks, except maybe a LT to groom for next year. We should have many trade down opportunities to add mid round picks to fill our needs.

So far, Arthur Blank is outpacing all the other owners:
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Guess who's coming in last??

LOL the Chargers -- $250k

Haha no kidding I love reading those!

I would like some help from those of you who follow this more closely than I do. I know the Coaching staff had some interviews with some RB candidates before we knew about Todd getting released. I didn’t pay much attention, as I thought it was a smokescreen since we drafted Henderson last year. Now I’m not so sure. Do any of you know who we have spent some time looking at, and do you have any thoughts on those guys? Are there any intriguing Vets out there that are feee agents?

thirteen28 said:

Not even close to bare. On D, any time you have two players of the caliber of AD and Ramsey to build around, you are nowhere close to bare.

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Disagree. You double (or even triple) team Donald and simply throw to the side of the field Ramsey isn't on. Since all of our depth are now starters, we have no depth, so there's always going to be someone open. We run a 3-4 and don't have coverage linebackers anymore. We're going to finish bottom 10 on D.

We're not close to bare. Bare is what we had when Fisher took over for Spags, when we had more holes than a Borg-sized block of Swiss cheese.

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In 2012, we had a pre-garbage Bradford, Steven Jackson, a young Safford, a young Robert Quinn, the exact same special teamers we have now, etc. That 2012 team was no worse than the 2020 team. If we had Borg-sized holes then....

Yea I watched it.

They called it the Jamison Winston Free Agency audition or something.

Allen and Noteboom we’re terrible.

Goff bum rushed twice by free rushers unblocked leading to interceptions.

Goff doesn’t see Lavonte David dropping in coverage leading to another pick.

Goff leads the Rams back with a 500 Yard game.

Rams driving down 8 looking to complete an amazing comeback. Two free rushers up the middle destroy Goff and Barrett gets the ball out, game over.

Todd Bowles has an excellent 3 man blitz deployed all day and it caused 4 turnovers. Our young Oline and young coach couldn’t find a way to block it up or adjust.

OTAs were already delayed, everything else is up in the air.
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I hope not.

This needs to be McVays defense with Staley's input. And I was a huge fan of Fowler, CL and NRC - but after watching them get destroyed by the Seahawks, Cowboys and Bucs, I have no problem with him saying bye to those guys.

Have to believe they are close to the cap now. Need to find a kicker, unless they plan to draft one. Will need dollars to sign draft picks, maybe that is why they are releasing Gurley post June 1.