3 things NFL experts are getting wrong about LA Rams in 2023
By Bret Stuter
Offensive line is no better than 2022
The LA Rams starting five offensive linemen last season may or may not have panned out over the course of the 17-game season. But we will never know how they might have been because the offensive line never stopped reeling from a constant and never-ending stream of injuries. That was not just an injury a month, but rather the pace was a new injury per week.
NFL teams have two areas where the cohesion of the entire group is as important or is more important than the talent of individuals. It's that ability to work together, to communicate, to sense what each teammate can and will do during the challenges of individual plays that make the entire group effective or not. Two areas need to have an incredible chemistry: offensive line and secondary play.
Big hopes from Big Whit
The LA Rams offensive line was severely handicapped last season, a cascading domino effect of swapping out injured starters and sliding in backups who, while as prepared as possible, arrived with limited NFL or Rams playing experience. And with each week, a new injury developed, and the Rams were tasked with promoting the healthiest and most play-ready substitute. But that is not where the bar is set for the Rams' offense for 2023.
That's the perspective of former LA Rams offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, who shot down the pessimism over the Rams offensive line at about the 16:30 mark in the embedded video below:
Whitworth described the LA Rams as a team in 2023 with their 'backs against the wall,' this season, and I think he's right. He relates that the team is going to be incredibly young, and very recharged. Andrew Whitworth loves Steve Avila: "I love the pick of that kid out of TCU." Whitworth has a great take on the LA Rams. The Rams may be a young team, but this is a team that has had a run of success. Whitworth is very confident that the Rams' offensive line will be better. I share his confidence.
The Rams offensive line will be much better this season. How much better? I think that an NFL Top-10 ranking is not out of the question. And that is something that many NFL experts will never see coming.