A slow start in 2023 NFL season will not derail LA Rams

We are just days away from the LA Rams 2023 NFL season, and there are many reasons to hope for the best in Week 1. Should Rams fans hope for the best? Yes. But Rams fans should prepare for the worst. After all, this is a new season for a very young LA Rams roster. No matter what we believe, we simply know very little yet.

This young Rams roster has not had much to feel good about just yet, and the LA Rams ended up losing all three preseason games, and in all honesty, as more and more players were removed from the competition to insulate them from injury for the 2023 season, the worse the Rams team performed.

Some believe that the Rams may have been playing possum, and the arrival of the full strength Rams roster will give this team a desperately needed boost to compete in Week 1, and perhaps even sneak out of Seattle with an upset victory. While hope is fine, do not let that be the standard to set expectations.

Young Rams roster will need time to gel

The Rams did not play starters at all in preseason. While the Rams coaching staff is confident that joint practices delivers enough competition to knock off the offseason rust, I'm not convinced that scripted plays in a controlled scrimmage game generates enough lifelike simulation to get everyone up to speed.

For that matter, has the LA Rams starting offense been established. How many plays have the offensive line benefitted from this preseason to allow them to coordinate, communicate and create the necessary chemistry to succeed this season?

As soon as the 2023 LA Rams schedule was released, I assembled a far too early game-by-game prediction for the Rams this season. At the time, I predicted that the Rams season would end with a 5-12 record. While that may be a bit conservative for some fans' liking, I would rather be conservative than aggressive this season.

Here is what I had to say about Week 1:

"The Rams' offense will need to put up a ton of points to stay in this one, and for the first half of the game, that is what happens. But this is a young Rams team that is apt to make a mistake or two, and those mistakes let this one get out of hand"

- Bret Stuter re: Week 1

How do I see this one? Well, I don't want to ruin this one. Suffice it to say that I allowed plenty of opportunity for the Rams to pleasantly surprise me

As long as the Rams hold to a two-year plan, this Week 1 game against the Seattle Seahawks could and should be the worst game played by the Rams all season. Don't hate the message, as we will dissect what the Rams will need to do to pull off the upset win.

But until you hear otherwise from me, allow the young players on this Rams roster to make their mistakes. That will allow those same players to learn from those mistakes in future games. It's going to get better this season, I'm simply not convinced that the Rams open the season as well as this team finishes it, is all.