Can LA Rams follow San Francisco 49ers path back to the Super Bowl?

The LA Rams fell to the San Francisco 49ers twice in 2019. But the 49ers’ rise to success was a point of players healing and joining key contributors in the off-season

The LA Rams emerge from a disappointing season in much the same way as the San Francisco 49ers emerged from disappointment the previous season. The 49ers suffered 13 players falling to injured reserve in 2018, including starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.  That gave the illusion that the 2018 version of the 49ers was worse than they truly were.  The 2019 version, for the most part, remained very healthy. That now works in the opposite direction – where they appear better than they may be with a normal carry weight of injuries.

The 2019 LA Rams endured 19 injuries to players which forced the team to play through the remainder of their season with backups.  If the 49ers were not as bad as their season, it then falls to logic to assert that the LA Rams should not be judged to be as bad as the 2019 season.  And therein lies the basis for preseason optimism for the Rams to find success in 2020.  Those 19 players are healing and recovering while the 49ers continue to compete, much like the 49ers had a season ago.

Right now, the LA Rams are faced with coaching staff openings, decisions to be made at free agency, and an important 2020 NFL Draft looming in the distance. While this may be one of the most important off-seasons for the modern day Rams under general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay, they are not without a template to follow.

The Rams 9-7 record in 2019 need only improve to 12-4 or 13-3 to ensure a bye week in the 2020 NFL Playoffs. While that may seem a large gap to cross, the Rams may be closer than you think.

Coaching changes may be appropriate

Early in 2019, the 49ers fired strength and conditioning coach Ray Wright.  The results of that reverberated in an significant improvement to the team’s overall health. Right now, the Rams director of strength and conditioning is Ted Rath.  Fixing the epidemic of injured players must be addressed quickly by himself and assistants Fernando Noriega and Dustin Woods.

This same group played key roles in sustaining a very healthy group through both the 2017 and 2018 seasons.  While the results of 2019 were so very different, it invites a complete review of how the team prepared players for an NFL season.  Has the team failed to track hydration, nutrition, sleep, exertion?  Has the team abandoned quality measures in a “refinement” to fast-track based on artificial timelines?  Has the group focused too much time and attention to the highly paid players, and left the new rookies and depth players to fend for themselves too often?

All these questions and more must be resolved as the team prepares for a new NFL season.  Added to that list, the Sports Medicine department headed by Reggie Scott must take a more proactive role in players development this season. Ensuring an injured player returns to the roster fully recovered is not the ultimate goal.  A better goal is to avoid player injury in the first place, and that can certainly be addressed more effectively this year.

Another area of the team which regressed was the special teams.  Of course, changing coaches will already be a sure thing as the Dallas Cowboys have poached both John Fassel and Matt Daniels to spearhead their special teams play in 2020.

Personnel changes

The 49ers cut their losses on non-productive veterans, while addressing the teams weak defensive backfield in free agency.  The 49ers then finished the roster with key pieces by drafting edge rusher Nick Bosa and WRs Deebo Samuel and Jalen Hurd.  Notice the duplication at receiver? Hurd fell to injury, but Samuel developed into the 49ers top wide receiver.

The Rams must be as equally adept this off-season.  While the team has fully slotted their roster, the team’s lack of production from the 2019 running back corps must be addressed.  Of course, the offensive line is a huge need, which should attract additions to the roster in both free agency and the NFL Draft.  But the Rams have ignored their run defense for too long, and that must be a top priority during this training camp.

The Rams may be able to bolster the run defense simply be promoting defensive tackle Greg Gaines, and starting both Taylor Rapp and John Johnson at the safety spots. But that is merely window dressing.  To get to the heart of the matter, the team must identify a key veteran or two in free agency who will stymie opponents’ run game.

All in all, the rival 49ers may be enjoying the success hoped for by the LA Rams organization this year. But in the process of jumping from worst to first, may have laid a trail of bread crumbs to the Super Bowl which the Rams can follow to the top in 2020.