3 positive takeaways from the LA Rams 2021 NFL schedule

Now that the LA Rams 2021 schedule has been released, we have begun our analysis. Dissecting the first real bit of LA Rams and NFL news has been a long time coming. While sure, the NFL Free Agency market is a bit like speed dating, and the corresponding NFL Draft is like going to your first prom, they are about individuals. Now, we finally get to bite into some news about the Rams team as a whole.

Of course, news comes in many shades. There is the dark news of challenges and obstacles. There is the gray murkiness of decisions that have yet to be made. But there is also the bright and shiny illumination of positive news. That glass-is-half-full perspective of seeing things in a more appealing and optimistic manner.

And why shouldn’t there be plenty of optimism? A year ago the LA Rams brought in a rookie defensive coordinator, a rookie running back, and were banking on turning around one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL without any major additions. If you didn’t notice, that all turned out pretty well. Of course, the fact of the Rams returning home early from the playoffs was not the goal, but the Rams were far more balanced on offense and the defense was tremendously surprising.

This year, the LA Rams have gone full in on a Super Bowl run. The addition of starting quarterback Matthew Stafford, eagerly sought by many NFL teams, adds some new dimensions to the offense that many believed have been lacking in the past. The Rams defense will likely suffer some backslide as the team, but the team can more than makeup for that with a much stronger showing on special teams. The LA Rams 2021 NFL draft strategy was complex, but clearly designed to round out the team’s roster to optimize offensive performance this year.

All of these factors line up to suggest that the Rams will likely be even more competitive in 2021 than 2020. How much more competitive? Well, an ESPN experts panel voted the LA Rams as the most likely team to compete in Super Bowl LVI. That’s optimistic. So how will the new 17-game schedule impact the Rams’ chances?  Here are three positive factors from the LA Rams schedule that could help this year.