St. Louis Rams 2011 Offseason Thread

[InvincibleCakeEater]

Assuming that young guys are only going to get better is foolish.

What should we assume? That 22-24 year old athletes will get worse? Did you even watch the Rams more than twice this year? They have a nice foundation, and the worst division in football. They are the NFC West favorites next year, and if they draft well (like they did this past year) they should compete with the elites by 2012. I'm not claiming that they were a good team in 2010, but they are clearly a team on the rise.

I thought I made it pretty clear. A young core is a good thing, but only assuming they will get better is foolish. Sophomore slumps happen all the time. Yes, they're probably the NFC West favorites next year, but that means jack. A 7-9 team just won the division. This year they were a couple breaks from winning 10 games, but on the flipside they were a couple breaks from winning 5 games. They're a bad team who might be the least bad in a really bad division, nothing more. 2 Years from now they have a real shot, but I would bet a [expletive] ton of money that they have fewer wins next year than this year.

[longhornbaseball]

2 Years from now they have a real shot, but I would bet a [expletive] ton of money that they have fewer wins next year than this year.

Do you have a pokerstars account? Lets make this happen.

[Richie Allen]

What would be a safe bet?

The only safe bet concerning the Rams would be that you couldn't possibly know how many games they'll win in 2011 and to speculate beyond that is just foolish (or retarded, as you like to put it). One of the points I was trying to get across, beyond simply looking at records, was the GB Packers were the youngest team in football and coming off of a 13-3 year and a play away from reaching the Super Bowl four years ago. Everyone thought they'd be the team to beat for a number of years to come but they finished 6-10 the next season. I just think for a team like the Rams there are way too many variables that are unknown at this point to safely bet where they'll be in the next two years. If you're encouraged by their young core I'm happy for you. I just know, from watching this sport every year since 1970, that it's not going to be the least bit surprising to anyone if they don't go 8-8 or 9-7 next year and then follow that up with double digit wins. It just rarely seems to work out that predictably.

[InvincibleCakeEater]

2 Years from now they have a real shot, but I would bet a [expletive] ton of money that they have fewer wins next year than this year.

Do you have a pokerstars account? Lets make this happen.

You really think they're going to win 7+ with next years schedule? As it stands now they were a second place team in the worst division in football (possibly the worst division in NFL history). I won't put any money on my prediction until I see how the draft and free agency plays out, but I can't see how even the most optimistic fan could think they could win more than 6 games with their current team against next years schedule.

I'm not some football homer either. I'm a Chiefs fan who thinks they were the 3rd most talented team in the division.

Bradford had as good of a season as you could possibly expect. The defense was much better than expected. The division ended up being worse than anyone could have imagined and yet... they were 2nd in the division behind a 7-9 team.

The Rams will be hard to put a win number on because they very well could sweep the division and lose every other game. I don't think some of you guys understand how bad the NFC West really is and how much better it made the Rams look than they actually are. They made strides, but they are still pretty bad. They just lost the division to the Seahawks for [expletive] sake. The 2010 NFC West could very well be the worst division in the history of the NFL.

[longhornbaseball]

Again, I'm not claiming they were a good team this year, but with the amount of young talent and a much improved receiving corps, the logical expectation is for them to get better, not worse. I'm not sure how you could look at their roster and think they will be worse.

And, yes I would be willing to bet they win 7+. I see 9 games where I think they will be the favorite and 6 games where they will be the underdog. Feel free to make the bet at any time.

[InvincibleCakeEater]

Out of curiosity, what are the 9 games you think they will be favored in? Every division game, regardless of home/road and Bengals/Browns? Even that leaves 1 more game you think they'll be favored.

I'm not saying they are going to get worse. I'm saying that they are likely to win fewer games because they are playing a much harder schedule.

[Popeye_Card]

The Rams are in a pretty good position going into next season because they have a good foundation in positions you need in the NFL to succeed--QB, MLB, and safety.

As longhorn has mentioned, they have pretty solid talent across the board elsewhere. To the point where, personally, I would be taking the BPA (non-QB) in the first round, and I'd actually lean towards making that pick a RB so that you're not finished if Jackson goes down. The other positions where the Rams are a bit weak are either spots where injured guys should be back, or are easy spots to pick up a solid contributor for cheap on the FA market. Except possibly DB, which I'm very wary of drafting in the 1st round.

[longhornbaseball]

Out of curiosity, what are the 9 games you think they will be favored in? Every division game, regardless of home/road and Bengals/Browns? Even that leaves 1 more game you think they'll be favored.

Washington is the suck.

I'm not saying they are going to get worse. I'm saying that they are likely to win fewer games because they are playing a much harder schedule.

That is reasonable.

To the point where, personally, I would be taking the BPA (non-QB) in the first round, and I'd actually lean towards making that pick a RB so that you're not finished if Jackson goes down.

I agree. I think they should take the best running back or wide receiver available.

[Popeye_Card]

I'm unsure about a WR pick though, because you have considerable talent coming off injury (Avery, Clayton) and another guy that should be progressing (Alexander). My thought is that LB's don't usually go in the top 10, and you can get a pretty great playmaker for an OLB in the mid-1st.

I guess my overall thought is see what falls to you because the teams ahead of you are mostly picking for need, and a lot of those needs are QB's. WR should be strong enough that you can get by and possibly thrive in 2011, and grab a playmaker next draft if you think you still need one.

[robbotis]

2011 Rams Wish List:

5. Sign Cornerback(s) that can cover someone.
4. Draft OLB w/ 2nd pick
3. Get a backup RB
2. Draft a WR w/ 1st pick
1. Fire Shurmur, get someone w/ a CLUE as the Offensive Coordinator

I don't know how that guy has a job. Put 9 guys w/in 5 yards of the line of scrimmage and the Rams will do nothing. I know the Rams don't have great WR, but the playcalling makes them even worse. They need to run patterns more than 5 yards deep. It's ridiculous.