Can LA Rams deliver on favored status to win NFC West title?

And right on queue,  the LA Rams acquisition of quarterback Matthew Stafford has elevated the perception for the team’s chances for this season.  Is the team truly better with changing the quarterback? That’s certainly a legitimate question and one that will be a topic of debate well into the 2021 NFL season.

I don’t subscribe to the ‘one-player makes a huge difference’ theory. Of course, the wrong quarterback on the field will push that to the limit. While an unprepared inexperienced backup quarterback forced into a starting role can have horrendous consequences, I don’t judge any offseason moves at quarterback to be miracle cures. Rather, I give it a more realistic change of direction. How far the LA Rams are able to go in that direction depends upon follow-up actions.

For example, the running game for an offense is more than adding a running back. Rushing depends upon the offensive line.  Throwing a deep ball is more than a strong-armed quarterback. It’s also about receivers who can create separation, get down the field quickly, and catch the football.

The reverse is true as well. The LA Rams could be sitting on a treasure trove of deep-route receivers. But until they have a strong-armed quarterback and an offensive line that can create and maintain a pocket longer, you would never know it.

LA Rams favored to win the NFC West, already?

Apparently, the experts believe that the pieces are coming together for the Rams this year. And that’s certainly enough to give hope to those who need that sort of reassurance. And yet, how can those odds be based on any foundation of the Rams roster.  You see, the Rams 2021 roster is not built. In fact, it’s not even in the assembly stages. These odds are a trap for now.

Odds to win the NFC West before free agency and the draft?  That feels…risky.

So what the team does to rebuild the roster this offseason matters a great deal. The LA Rams must face NFL Free Agency with the least amount of money available from any NFC West team. The LA Rams must also face the 2021 NFL Draft with the fewest number of draft picks from any NFC West team.

You can bet that these odds that now lean in favor of the Rams will do an about-face as soon as an NFC West rival signs a big-name player in free agency. And then there will be another shuffle when NFC West teams all emerge victorious from the 2021 NFL Draft.

A year ago, many predictions expected the LA Rams to finish last in the NFC West. Now? The LA Rams are predicted to finish first. It is no more true then than now. The LA Rams may win the NFC West, sure. But we need more evidence of the quality of the roster before jumping firmly onto that spot.