SEASON PREDICTION

I purposefully left the Rams as the last team I would write about because I was waiting for clarity on the Aaron Donald situation. And now at the time of writing this Donald has just signed back with the Rams on a 1 year 20-million-dollar deal. Ignoring the fact that the Rams seem to be playing with the salary cap turned off, this turns LA into the clear favorites of the NFC. Even before the acquisition of Donald, I had them as NFC favorites but now returning one of the best DTs of all time at age 35 they have solidified themselves as the top dog. 

The defensive additions don't stop at just Donald in fact they only get better which is the scary part. The most important acquisitions include the pair of CBs they acquired from the Chiefs in Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson. Last year the CB room was the main weakness of the defense, and that hole was exploited in the NFC championship game vs Seattle. Sam Darnold ripped the secondary to shreds and put up a staggering 346 yards to go along with 3 TDs. These gaps in the back half off the field cost the Rams a trip to the Super Bowl and likely another Lombardi. With this elite duo backing up the frontline, I expect the secondary blunders to disappear in an instant. Furthermore, they signed this decent pass rusher from Cleveland, who many casuals may not know but is popular in the advanced analytics department, he goes by the name Myles Garrett. All jokes aside the Rams traded Jared Verse for one of the greatest edge rushers the league has ever seen, and he is coming off breaking the single season sack record and collecting his 2nd DPOY. With Donald, and Garrett lining up on opposite sides of the ball, O-lines are going to be put through the wringer as they attempt to protect their QB. The scariest part of all is that the other players lining up the D-line are no slouches. Byron Young had 12 sacks last season, and Kobie Turner also contributed 7 sacks on his own. It may seem that this whole paragraph has been nothing but praise for the Rams, and that's because I see no weakness in any part of their unit. With the addition of Donald, this team is at best the most dominant defense in the league and at worst on par with the elite bunch of the Texans, and Broncos. 

Offensively I don't see many flaws either. The Rams are returning their MVP QB and their elite WR duo in hopes to light up the scoreboard for yet another year. In the backfield they have their homegrown talent in Kyren Williams who has put up 3 straight 1,000 yard seasons. Moreover they have a solid rotational back in Blake Corum who has trimmed into William's workload these past two years and will look to keep himself and Kyren fresh for the playoffs by splitting carries this season. Regarding the draft, I am disappointed that LA didn't use their 13th overall pick to select a WR or star TE to complete their high-powered offense in a final push for the Lombardi. However, I do understand the thought process of drafting a successor to Stafford, especially with his old age and back problems. Speaking of Stafford, I do expect a slight regression from last year but still fully anticipate him to operate at an elite level capable of leading a team to a Super Bowl.  

Alas the achillies heel to the team in shining armor may be the forgotten part of the sport which is the special team's unit. Since 2020, the Rams have had the worst special team unit in the entire league with -169.68 in expected points over that time period (my Packers 2nd to last makes sense). Furthermore, last year they had the 5th worst FG% as a team and fumbled a punt return in the 3rd quarter of the NFC championship game that played a huge part in the Rams elimination. Thankfully they have fired their special team coordinator, but the third facet of the game will be interesting to watch especially once they get deep into the playoffs and the margins become slimmer. 

All together I believe the Rams are the most complete team in the NFL despite their special teams' weakness. On the offense and defensive sides of the ball, they have superstars lined up across the board and have one of the best HCs in the NFL to lead the charge. I have them finishing with an NFL best 15-2 record and holding up the Lombardi in February.