What does ‘success’ mean for this LA Rams season?

If you haven’t thought about it yet, it’s critical to set your threshold for the LA Rams success before the final game is played. Here’s why:

If you followed the hot takes by national football media, the LA Rams were expected by many to be a 6-10 team, finish at the basement of the NFC West, miss the playoffs, and be drafting job descriptions for a new general manager and new head coach hiring by Monday, January 4th. Well thankfully, that will not be happening. And you could likely be happy with the Rams so far this season.

Of course, if you formed your expectations when the Rams were 4-1 and were leading the charge in the NFC West division, the Rams now playing at a 9-6 record with a clear chance to miss the NFL playoffs for their second consecutive season, you are likely quite disappointed with the team’s fortunes in the 2020 NFL season.

Rams are better than many expected

And there is the rub. At any point in the season, you have likely been quite pleased and quite disappointed by this team, perhaps in the same month. And that’s likely due to the need for immediate gratification. That overwhelming sense of winning now, and then at the end of the season trying to clear the slate and start all over from scratch.

The LA Rams were in a very difficult spot at the end of the 2019 season. The team had holes throughout the entire roster, struggled with the offensive line, the running game, and a host of projected defections from the defense. Remember when the Rams stared into 2020 through the lens of national media to see nothing to be optimistic about?