After 20 seasons mired in the Midwest, the Rams are back in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, they drag a decade-long playoff drought along with them. Coach Jeff Fisher made the move as well with a team seemingly on the cusp of being good. However, the Rams haven’t had a .500 or better season with him at the helm.
When the curtain rises on the Rams’ return season to Los Angeles, the franchise will do its best to make a big splash in a place that knows how to showcase grand opening acts. But the allure obscures that on the field, the Rams might still be, as a whole, mediocre.
Los Angeles Rams Regular Season Win Total Odds at BookMaker.eu
Rams Over 7.5 Wins +120
Rams Under 7.5 Wins -140
The Rams managed to go 7-9 last year despite ranking dead last in the league in total offense, even with the emergence of running back Todd Gurley. The Rams then traded up to take Cal quarterback Jared Goff with the first pick in the draft. It doesn’t mean the victories will follow.
With no option at quarterback, the Rams essentially mortgaged the future to get Goff, who is a work in progress and is going to spend the season making the type of mistakes rookie quarterbacks make. To apparently ease the pressure off his rookie, Fisher said there will be a battle between Case Keenum and Goff for the starting job. Really?
Teams generally don’t trade a slew of picks to select a quarterback with the first overall pick if they don’t plan on starting him from Day 1. But there are more issues on this team than the quarterback spot, but Goff should be a good one, some day.
2016 Los Angeles Rams Schedule
Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers +2.5
Week 2: vs. Seattle Seahawks -4
Week 3: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers -1
Week 4: at Arizona Cardinals -7
Week 5: vs. Buffalo Bills +1
Week 6: at Detroit Lions -1.5
Week 7: vs. New York Giants PK
Week 8: BYE
Week 9: vs. Carolina Panthers -3.5
Week 10: at New York Jets -4
Week 11: vs. Miami Dolphins +2
Week 12: at New Orleans Saints -1.5
Week 13: at New England Patriots -9
Week 14: vs. Atlanta Falcons +3
Week 15: at Seattle Seahawks -10
Week 16: vs. San Francisco 49ers +5.5
Week 17: vs. Arizona Cardinals
The Rams lose a home game due to their trip to London to play the Giants, but let’s be honest, the Rams will not have any real home games until their $3 billion stadium is ready to go in 2019. Working in perhaps the toughest division in football, the Rams have two contenders on the schedule twice in Seattle and Arizona, and non-divisional contenders in New England and Carolina. Surprisingly, the Rams went 4-2 in the division last season with one of those losses coming against the Niners.
QUICK PICK
The Rams traded a bushel of draft picks to move up from the No. 15 spot to No. 1 for Goff. The quarterback won’t have to singlehandedly carry the offense because of Todd Gurley, the reigning offensive rookie of the year, but he better develop into the franchise quarterback the Rams expect him to be.
Goff should help the offense improve on its horrible numbers from last season. The Rams finished last in passing yards, last in total yards and were three spots away from last in scoring with a putrid 17.6 per game.
The Rams are solid on defense, especially up front, but not dominant. They finished 13th in the league in points allowed with 20.6 and benefitted by playing the two teams – the Niners and Browns – that placed below them in offensive production three times. In an attempt to strengthen the unit, Fisher hired former Bears middle linebacker Mike Singletary to work with the defense.
The Rams went all-in on Goff to start their era back in Southern California. He is talented, smart, and has a big arm, but the Bear Raid offense at Cal doesn’t seem to translate well. There will be growing pains. Regardless of whether he becomes a worthy franchise quarterback, the Rams are still several players away.
NFL Odds: Los Angeles Rams Under 7.5 Wins
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