Ramfan128":kypeb9qz said:
knownone":kypeb9qz said:
I don't think the division is that good. The 49ers and Cards should fall somewhere between 4-8 wins barring miracle work from their largely unproven QBs. The Rams caught more breaks than any team this decade last season, does it happen again? I doubt it. The division will ultimately come down to whether Seattle can replace Baldwin and Clark's production, and whether the Rams can keep up their relatively historic offensive pace. Unlike last season, the Rams don't have a massive edge in overall talent, so my money is on the Seahawks.
What breaks did the Rams catch last year?
Also, we do have a sizable talent advantage over Seattle. The saving grace for y'all is that you're better at the most important position.
8 of your first 11 games were in the state of California. You dodged a trip to Mexico against the best team in the league because of 'field conditions' only to play in your home stadium with equally bad field conditions. You won 4 games in the regular season that essentially came down to 50/50 calls or plays on the final drive(s). None of this is an indictment on the Rams success. It's just that 5 points is literally all that separated the Seahawks and Rams for the division last year.
You don't have a sizable talent advantage over Seattle. Your defense is essentially Brockers, Donald, Peters, and a bunch of guys who are either past their prime or haven't done anything in the league. We don't have the name recognition but our defense has a lot of depth. We have more question marks which is why I'd give you guys the advantage. I would like to point out that our defense hasn't finished worse than 13th in points allowed since 2011; we finished 11th last season. Mcvay with a significant talent advantage finished 20th last season.
On offense, I'd take Russell over Goff. I'd rather have Lockett than any Rams receiver, but the Rams have the 3 best receivers after Lockett (IMO). The gap between Carson and Gurley is close but when you factor in Gurley's knee issues, Carson could be the better of the 2. Offensive line is tough to judge. Whitworth is going to be 38 and outside of Havenstein you've got a lot of unproven starters. Seattle will be going into season with 3 current or former pro-bowl lineman who are still in their prime. Again, I'd give a slight edge to you on offense, but we are a receiver away from being a top 5-10 offense and we have a few potential breakout candidates at the position (Moore, Metcalf, Ect..).