LA Rams 5th worst offseason ranking is undeserved

LA Rams offseason designated as NFL’s 5th worst offseason undeserved

It seems to be a concerted effort by national media to bash the LA Rams right now. From projecting the never-under-.500 team since hiring head coach Sean McVay to a dismal 6-10 record, to scoffing at the team’s resourceful draft of finding solid prospects to fit specific and critical needs.

A recent off-season ranking article appears, and is a detailed and complex narrative written by ESPN’s Bill Barnwell. The premise is a rather large-scale undertaking of defining how well NFL team’s performed in the 2020 offseason.  The overall article appears in four separate articles, each new edition reflecting the next higher tier in a four-step staircase to the top of the NFL.  Of course, any “ranking” at this point in the season is entirely speculative. How do you measure the value of a team’s draft class before any games are played?

Getting the facts straight

So we’ll save that debate for a future date.  We won’t question where the LA Rams are located in his rankings.  But we will aim at the factors used  – both the components included and the components excluded – to set that ranking. In short, the claims in the article are loosely organized, having more foundation in water-cooler dialogue than one would expect.

After all, perhaps the argument is made that the Rams running game was trash in 2019 and the Rams failed to address the running game as a key factor. That’s fine. But if examination reveals the Rams running game fell from first to sixth in the NFL, there’s a huge disconnect. And therein lies the problem with grabbing a semi-correct narrative and running with it.

Again, we’re not questioning the ranking per se, merely the factual foundation cited to form the poor ranking. The detractors for the LA Rams in his article fall under three categories: What went wrong, what they could have done differently, and what’s left to do. Let’s discuss where we disagree with the basis for his opinion.

What went wrong?

His first premise is a rather common but inaccurate mistake. He cited the LA Rams failure to address the poorly performing offensive line, but in the absence of any analysis, it is a circular argument.  He cites the Rams woes at the offensive line in 2019 and claims that the Rams only added Jamil Demby and seventh-round addition Tremayne Anchrum.  That covers two seasons and places the Rams’ efforts to improve the offensive line play in a very unflattering light. Now let’s set the record straight.

The LA Rams drafted three offensive linemen in 2018. They were Joseph Noteboom, Brian Allen, and Jamil Demby.  The Rams then drafted two more offensive linemen in 2019, adding Bobby Evans and David Edwards.  Mid-season, the Rams added Austin Corbett via a trade with the Cleveland Browns, and then signed Coleman Shelton off the Arizona Cardinals practice squad.

The more the merrier?

In 2019, the Rams did indeed add Anchrum, but also signed Arizona State center Cohl Cabral. Rather than two additions, the Rams have added nine offensive linemen. At that point, would one more rookie prospect truly make a difference?

Not with the Rams drafting no earlier than 52.  From that position, the Rams had a far better chance to land an elite running back who could start day one, rather than land another offensive lineman to develop in the virtual reality of 2020.  That also extends to wide receiver, where the Rams addition of Van Jefferson reinforced a position slated to risk losing two quality starters to free agency in 2021.

Financial faux pas

The next detractor cited for the Rams had nothing to do with the Rams and was once more based upon misinformation. He dives into two Rams’ former players, running back Todd Gurley and outside linebacker Clay Matthews public dispute over money they believe is due to them.  Since both players’ contracts provide for offset language, any sum of money due from the LA Rams remains yet to be determined. That information is readily available, as shown by Adam Schefter’s tweet:

Finance facts

Of course, why let facts stand in the way of a good bashing? After all, a bit of research into underlying facts can turn a right/wrong narrative quickly into a wrong/right story. He then dives into the team’s ownership requesting an additional $500 million loan from the NFL and more favorable terms of repayment, while completely ignoring the horrendous impact of construction costs and cash flow of the COVID-19 restrictions, which will likely shave the 2020 NFL revenue by as much as $5.5 billion per Forbes estimates.

Somehow, he ties all of these completely unrelated events into the uncertainty of the Rams’ ability to re-sign cornerback Jalen Ramsey in 2021. I’m not even clear how he makes that leap, but it pained me to read it. The reality is that the 2021 NFL Salary Cap may face a steep decline. Signing a contract in 2020 at today’s dollars would be a huge mistake if that occurs. Since the 2021 salary cap is so uncertain, citing no contract with Ramsey this offseason should elevate, not detract, from their 2020 ranking.

Little to-do about Littleton

The final factor of what went wrong was the LA Rams’ failure to address the tremendous void left by veteran inside linebacker Cory Littleton.  While that’s true in some regards, he falls into another pit of misdirecting facts by citing the exodus of former defensive coordinator Wade Phillips as the coach responsible for transforming undrafted players into NFL inside linebackers.  That completely ignores the quality of Rams’ linebacker coach Joe Barry, who has complete command and trust of the organization to develop players into the roles needed for success in 2020.

He goes on to cite the loss of long-time special teams coordinator John Fassel. He notes that Fassel will be replaced by “former Central Michigan coach John Bonamego”. Huh?  Bonamego is one of the NFL’s most renowned special teams specialists and is desperately needed to fix a rapidly declining Rams special teams group.

What about the LBs, didn’t one pump up HC Sean McVay?

Once again, the facts do not support the arguments in this article. The LA Rams did add two inside linebackers within the past year. First, they added inside linebacker Kenny Young in the Marcus Peters trade with the Baltimore Ravens in 2019.  While Young may not be familiar to fans just yet, he was a part-time starter for the Ravens and played very well in both run and pass defense. It was likely the Rams asked for Young specifically to compete for Littleton’s vacancy.

Barnwell continues to cherry-pick facts when he lists the transgressions by the LA Rams this offseason.  The LA Rams did add an interior linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft, a true energetic dynamo in Baylor’s linebacking corps, Clay Johnston.  While he was the 234th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, he was clearly the Rams’ effort to reinforce Littleton’s role this year.  Whether or not he succeeds in doing so, the Rams clearly replaced the roster spot with a rookie ILB.

What they could have done differently?

The final rebuttal to the ESPN offseason dismal ranking article is the repetitious citing of previously stated points.  He tries to rewrite history, claiming that the sudden uptick in Marcus Peters’ performance with the Baltimore Ravens would have happened with the LA Rams. Unfortunately, we know that the Rams defensive backfield improved dramatically when the team relied upon Jalen Ramsey, Troy Hill, and Nickell Robey-Coleman to defend passes in 2019.

That sprang from the disdain he professes once more to the LA Rams’ lack of attention to the offensive line in the 2020 NFL Draft. He states “With that in mind, they badly needed to use one of their second-round picks this year on helping their offensive line.” but fails to mention who, if any, offensive lineman were worthwhile selecting at either 52 or 57.  In fact, the only offensive lineman selected in round two who would have been on the board was Boise State’s Ezra Cleveland. Anticipating second-guessing on Rams’ draft picks, we even wrote a real-time article citing other players who were still on the board when the Rams picked at 52 and at 57.

Is Superstar RB worth less than developmental offensive lineman?

The final almost-too-painful-to-read statement was his claim that “Even if second-round pick Cam Akers turns into a superstar, the Rams should have waited to target a running back.” Huh? Is Ezekiel Elliott worth less than Ceasar Ruiz?  How can that statement be made with a straight face?  If the LA Rams determined that Akers was the embodiment of all their running back needs, why would they hesitate to select him when they did?

Unless an article states specifically who the Rams failed to select by selecting either Akers or Jefferson, that argument is worthless. The consensus of the 2020 NFL Draft was that the drafts elite status was only about four players, and the rest all dropped dramatically into a category of “talented but need development”.  Seven offensive linemen were selected in round one alone, and an eighth was selected before the Rams were able to pick.  Since the Rams had added not two, but nine offensive linemen since the 2018 NFL Draft. At what point is enough truly enough? Anyone can think what they think, and the ranking of the LA Rams offseason as the 28th in the NFL may be an accurate assessment.  But this ranking based on so many errors seems to be a matter of lining up perceptions to support an unflattering narrative, rather than assemble an objective narrative to support the actual facts.