Los Angeles Rams need to be cautious with dream team label for 2018

The Los Angeles Rams need to keep in mind that being labeled as a Dream Team could come with a ton of extra pressure.

Expectations heading into the 2018 offseason were already high for the Los Angeles Rams after the team ended up being one of the biggest surprises last year by winning the NFC West over the Seattle Seahawks.

However, those expectations hit a whole new level over the last couple of months when looking at all of the key additions made on both sides of the football, ranging from Ndamukong Suh to Brandin Cooks. Not to mention, the Rams hope the new cornerback duo in Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters turns out to be one of the best in the league.

It’s crazy to think how a team coming off a four-win season in 2016 would be viewed as one of the strongest Super Bowl contenders heading into August, but this shows just how great of a job Sean McVay has done as head coach.

Originally, it seemed like McVay would need one or two years before the new coach would be able to get the Rams at a competitive level, but they’re certainly not complaining over being in this position sooner than expected.

Throughout the offseason, numerous NFL Power Rankings have placed Los Angeles near the top of the list, and rightfully so when looking at all the talent McVay is fortunate enough to work with, although it would be great if a deal with Aaron Donald could finally get done.

In fact, Yahoo’s Frank Schwab recently discussed a preview for what to expect from Los Angeles (No. 2 in their initial 2018 NFL Power Rankings) during the upcoming season, and the “dream team” term was even mentioned in regards to McVay’s squad.

As most football fans remember, being labeled as a dream team doesn’t always go according to plan since the Philadelphia Eagles were given the term by Vince Young back in 2011, and they couldn’t even reach the playoffs. The main reason why the Eagles were given the label was a result of the team loading up with talent in the offseason while being in a win-now mode, similar to the Rams from the last couple of months.

This may seem like quite the honor at first since it shows just how much respect Los Angeles is receiving across the league, but also the additional pressure of living up to being a dream team is the last thing they want to deal with.

Talent wise, there’s every reason to believe the Rams will come through by being one of the top contenders in the NFC for a second year in a row. But also, let’s not forget this new pressure of being viewed as a serious contender heading into the regular season is new for most members on Los Angeles.

In other words, since the Rams were already facing the pressure of entering a new season as a strong contender, let’s hope the team is a little extra cautious over all of the dream team talk so they don’t turn into the 2011 Eagles, although that doesn’t seem likely to happen at all.