{"id":24090,"date":"2023-07-24T14:35:04","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T18:35:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/?p=24090"},"modified":"2023-07-24T14:35:06","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T18:35:06","slug":"taking-stock-los-angeles-rams-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/nfl\/taking-stock-los-angeles-rams-2\/","title":{"rendered":"TAKING STOCK: LOS ANGELES RAMS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BY ADAM GREENE<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Los Angeles Rams, to misquote the song, \u201cMy Way,\u201d regrets, they may have a few, but then again, too few too mention. Yes, the 2022 campaign was not what Los Angeles bargained for, but it was a combination of catastrophic injuries to star players, on a team designed to win because of those star players, and a ridiculous number of injuries on the offensive line, that ultimately made the team finish 5-12, the first losing season under head coach Sean McVay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All they got for it was a Super Bowl LVI Championship the year before. So, regardless of how anyone felt about the Rams roster building process and the satisfaction those same handwringers had as the team fell to third in the NFC West last season, know that every single of them, and truly every team, player, coach and executive in the NFL, would gladly trade a single losing season in exchange for hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, it was no fun for a Rams team that had every intention of running in back in 2022. Fate, and injuries to Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Aaron Donald, all but doomed that to failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a solid 2-1 start, the wheels came off and stayed off, as injuries to the offensive line mounted. Los Angeles started 14 different lines over the course of a season. They put 11 different line combinations on the field in the year\u2019s first 11 games and it didn\u2019t get much better afterwards. Thanks to that, and the injuries to their star players, LA opened the year 3-8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The addition of Allen Robinson to the wide receiver room didn\u2019t pan out as he and Stafford never got in sync. That was due, in large part, to Stafford missing all the offseason program after shoulder surgery after the Super Bowl. He was never fully healthy and, after a concussion and other injuries, he was shut down after Week 11 for good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the season overall was a disaster, there were some bright spots. Baker Mayfield, acquired late in the season after being cut by the Carolina Panthers, played well enough for the Rams to earn a shot at starting in Tampa Bay this upcoming season. He led LA to a win in his first action, a shocking and humiliating defeat of the Las Vegas Raiders, 17-16, on Dec. 8. Mayfield won played solidly, even in losing efforts, and led the team to a 51-14 blowout victory over the Denver Broncos. Los Angeles should have won their season finale over the Seattle Seahawks, but the game was so poorly officiated that it not only cost the Rams a victory, they would lose 19-16 in overtime, but it cost the Detroit Lions a playoff spot. The NFL literally had to publicly acknowledge<\/a> the poor officiating afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In spite of just playing in nine games, Stafford still led the team in passing, compiling a 3-6 record and completing 68.0 percent of his passes for 2,87 yards, 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Mayfield, in his five games, was good for a 2-3 record (officially 1-3, as he didn\u2019t take the first series of the Raiders game), completed 63.6 percent of his passes for 850 yards, four touchdowns and two picks. Cam Akers, who spent a solid portion of the year in the doghouse, bounced back to lead the team rushing with 786 yards and seven touchdowns. He caught 13 passes for 117 yards. Cooper Kupp, who seems to be the forgotten man in all the preseason wide receiver rankings, was still the best wideout in the NFL before he went down. In his nine games, he caught 75 passes for 812 yards and six touchdowns. In a full, non-injured season, that translates to 142 catches, 1,534 yards and 11 touchdowns. That would have put him first in receptions, third in yardage and tied for third in touchdowns at seasons end. Remember that when you make your fantasy football picks this summer and draft accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leonard Floyd, now with the Buffalo Bills, led the team with nine sacks to go with 59 tackles, 10 for a loss and one fumble recovery. Bobby Wagner, now back with the Seahawks, had 140 tackles, 10 for a loss, six sacks, five passes defended and two picks. Jalen Ramsey, now with the Miami Dolphins, had four interceptions, 88 tackles, four for a loss, 18 passes defended, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOS ANGELES RAMS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2022-23 Record:<\/strong> 5-12<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playoffs:<\/strong> N\/A<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 Super Bowl Odds:<\/strong> +6600<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 NFC Championship Odds:<\/strong> +1800<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 NFC West Odds:<\/strong> +750<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOW WHAT?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rams opened the offseason unloading contracts and some of it hurt, specifically cutting Bobby Wagner and trading away Jalen Ramsey. They also moved on from Allen Robinson as that experiment just didn\u2019t work out. LA is calling this season a \u201creset,\u201d not a rebuild and, because of that, they\u2019ve leaned into their main stars, Stafford, Kupp and Donald, and built around them with low priced free agents and the draft. While plenty in the NFL are ready to write the Rams off, I\u2019m not one of them. Some of us see that this is a team that will be a lot better than people think, and while a Super Bowl return is probably out of the question, a winning record and return to the playoffs most certainly isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going through their schedule<\/a>, the Rams have it rough from the start, facing the Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals in Weeks 1-3. It gets easier in Week 4 with a trip to the Indianapolis Colts, but they host the NFC Champion Eagles in Week 5. With their healthy core, the Rams could start anywhere from 4-1 to 2-3 against that schedule, but I\u2019m saying 3-2. After that, the easier (relatively) part of the schedule begins as Los Angeles faces only four playoff teams form 2022 season over their final 12 games. One of those is against the Seahawks, a team the Rams have pretty much owned for the last decade, regardless of the head coach. Still, when Sean McVay has Aaron Donald alone, facing Seattle, the team is 7-2. Stafford is 2-0 against the Seahawks with the Rams. LA, with all the health caveats you could put down, could finish anywhere from 9-8 to 13-4. Yes, I\u2019m serious. People are sleeping on the Rams this year. Don\u2019t believe your Madden ratings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE DRAFT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LA\u2019s era of \u201ceff them picks\u201d officially ended in April\u2019s NFL Draft. The rams added 14 players, all without a first-round selection, thanks to compensatory selections and trades. The haul was solid all the way through and earned them a B+ draft grade<\/a> from your humble narrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of any draft, as you read repeatedly in my draft coverage, is to take potential Day One starters in Rounds 1-3, even if those players aren\u2019t actually called on to start. Los Angeles will absolutely need these guys to step on the field ready to go as rookies and so they picked guys who they could count on, starting in round two with guard Steve Avila out of TCU. They selected edge rusher Byron Young from Tennessee and defensive tackle Kobie Turner in the third, and all three are already penciled in as starters. In the fourth, they took quarterback Stetson Bennet to add some health insurance for Stafford and really solidify the back up QB position for the Rams for the first time since McVay was hired. With a youth heavy roster, many of these guys will be counted on to play significant snaps, so don\u2019t be surprised to see wide receiver Puca Nacua, cornerback Tre\u2019Vius Hodges-Tomlinson and running back Zach Evans see plenty of action over the course of 17 regular season games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FREE AGENCY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rams kept their budget in free agency, mainly adding some key players for depth and special teams. They brought in wide receiver Demarcus Robinson from the Baltimore Ravens, cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon from the Pittsburgh Steelers and wide receiver Tyler Johnson from the Houston Texans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NFC WEST<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 49ers remain the best overall team in the conference and maybe, roster top to bottom, the best team in the league. What they lack is exactly what the Rams have, a star quarterback, regardless of what the Madden ratings people seem to think. Stafford is a difference make and, as long as he can stay on the field, will be that again for LA this upcoming season. While an NFC West championship might be tough, a Wild Card berth is certainly on the table as the Seahawks will struggle to maintain the second spot. The Arizona Cardinals seem to be content with being the fourth place team in the division and that\u2019s likely where they\u2019ll stay. As for the doomsayers on the Rams, there\u2019s no way, with a healthy Stafford, Kupp and Donald, there are seven teams in a very down NFC that are better than Los Angeles. This is a playoff team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter <\/em>@TheFirstMan<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connect with us our socials on <\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>Instagram<\/em><\/a> for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY ADAM GREENE For the Los Angeles Rams, to misquote the song, \u201cMy Way,\u201d regrets, they may have a few,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":23980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[146],"class_list":["post-24090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-nfl"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24090"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24091,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24090\/revisions\/24091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betonline.ag\/news-room\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}