The LA Rams are doing what they need to do to repeat

Re-peat, the chant went up as the victorious LA Rams paraded their recently acquired hardware through the crowded streets of downtown Los Angeles, re-peat. Sure, I thought, sun glinting off the Lombardi trophy momentarily snagging my senses, why not? It’s happened eight times in the history of the Lombardi Trophy.

Only seven different teams in the history of the NFL have managed to win back-to-back Super Bowls. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been the only team in NFL history to perform the feat twice. And only one of those, the New England Patriots, has managed it in the last twenty years. Each time an NFL team has won the NFL Championship, the road to repeating gets a bit steeper.

Or, to put it another way, this century. How do you improve on reaching the summit of your sport? Simple; you do it again. But can they?

LA Rams All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald certainly thinks so.

The future Hall of Famer has recently talked about how fired up he is to go after another Super Bowl win, claiming the defending champions have a really good shot at doing it all over again. After pondering walking away from the game, Donald’s change of heart has occurred thanks to an admission that he is addicted to the art of winning hardware.  It seems that after all of the dust has settled, coming back and playing for another ring is what it’s all about. That definitely appears to be the prevailing attitude throughout the team.

LA Rams GM Les Snead recently declared that he wanted to bring back as many of last year’s guys as possible because they had all achieved something special and apparently are already displaying the hunger and drive to go on and do something even more special.

Running it back

To have a chance at winning a second consecutive Lombardi trophy, there are a few things the team can do to aid their cause. On offense, the team needs to be bolder in fourth-down situations near the 50-yard line.  In short, the offense is loaded with weapons, so learn to, use those weapons and go for it at critical points in the game. This also applies to going for more two-point conversions when deemed necessary. These are now the defending Super Bowl Champion Los Angeles Rams.

The team needs to show a bit more and play with the swagger, bravery, and brashness that title deserves. Intimidate opponents, dominate them, flex that muscle and confidence a little more. Little details, perhaps, a slight attitude adjustment, but something that could prove crucial down the stretch. Fortune favors the brave, after all, not the timid.

How did those other teams, the Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, and New England Patriots, manage to achieve it? How will the Rams? Exactly how do you improve a team that just reached the pinnacle of their sport?

Tweaking the roster by signing on an All-Pro veteran ILB is a great place to start.

Rams News: Bobby Wagner is an upgrade

Adding a veteran inside linebacker like Bobby Wagner is a pretty good tweak to the Rams’ historic roster-building mode.  He will join the recent re-additions of WR/PR/KR Brandon Powell, punter Riley Dixon, and wide receiver Allen Robinson. Although the front office obviously remains interested in discovering if the right free agent or trade should present itself.

These LA Rams look set to use the draft as a means of ensuring they are well stacked at certain positions rather than actively hunting for ready-made starters. The Rams need depth, not opening kickoff standouts.  And it’s this position that should help foster a culture of competitiveness, keeping everybody sharp, on their toes, hungry, and determined to improve.

Added to that is continuity. QB Matthew Stafford will be in his second year at the position, and the team has returned just several of his weapons, including Super Bowl MVP and Triple Crown-winning wide receiver Cooper Kupp. The pair put up mind-melting numbers last year.

Kupp’s epic1,947 of single-season receiving yards finished second in NFL history to Calvin Johnson’s 1,964 yards single-season record set in 2012, while his 145 receptions were second only to Michael Thomas’ 149 reception single-season record set in 2019. Even more comfortable with one another now, their relationship and understanding continue to grow with time. With a season under their belt, they surely have a real chance at going even further next season, perhaps even breaking those two aforementioned records.

That must be a frightening prospect for the other 31 teams chasing the tail of current champs.

Hunger, drive, an addiction to winning, experience, returning starters, and a few additions, or ‘tweaks’, exactly where they were needed.

Re-peat? Absolutely.

Don’t make us say it again.