Come hell or high water, I love the Rams willingness to push the boundaries

The measure of success for NFL teams by most fans is a simple but common denominator, the win versus loss record at the end of the season. And it's not that it's a flawed measure, but it really glosses over all of the highs and lows of the season into one numerical measure.

Of course, there are more complex ways of measuring success of an NFL team. Statistics are tracked, trended, and compared for individual players, NFL team units, and overall NFL teams to the point that if you can measure it, that stat is probably already being compiled and analyzed by all 32 NFL teams and a small army of statisticians.

NFL statistics are so popular now, that teams have created permanent data analytics departments and rely on the information that is aggregated, analyzed, compared and disseminated to aid in the evaluations of prospects in the NFL Draft, contract negotiations, the NFL Free Agency market, and a host of other smaller decisions that can have a tremendous effect on the outcome of the team and any given season.

But every team does all of this. So what is the edge that keeps the LA Rams ahead of the other 32 teams?

Rams risk management leads the entire NFL

There are some teams in the NFL that have a formula that they are sticking to. The San Francisco 49ers have developed a formula with a run oriented offense, a plug-n-play game management quarterback, and a stifling defense that they have deployed for years. Sometimes it works. Other times it does not. And the same can be said of 30 other NFL teams.

What I love about the LA Rams, even now, is the team's willingness to take on the risk of any uncertain action, knowing that the rewards of risky decisions can eventually lead to incredible rewards. And it's easy and cheap to take that perspective when the risks taken directly result in appearing in Super Bowl LIII and winning Super Bowl LVI. But what happens when the team does not hoist a Lombardi.

I still love what the LA Rams are doing. The Rams do not run this team out of fear, rather the team is constantly advancing, constantly seeking moves and strategies to make the Rams roster more competitive.

Even this recent round of regrouping is simply a shift of tactics. The LA Rams, now nearing the end of their current roster's life cycle, have dropped the ballast of veteran players to reform around new young NFL stars who will step up this year and next.

The LA Rams are not tanking. Rather, the Rams are moulting, shedding the restrictions of who they were to grow and expand into a larger form of who this team will become. If you focus on the destination, you will surely miss all the fun with the LA Rams 2023 NFL season. This is about the journey, the fun of growing together. We all claim to be part of the #Ramily, but the 2023 NFL season is the epitome of what that means.

These LA Rams are going old school. The team is getting physical, will hopefully insist on running the football, and most of all, have a renewed focus on developing their young players once more. Will the LA Rams make the playoffs? To be honest, that is not my standard of excellence for the LA Rams this season.

The Rams have around 40 rookies on the roster. Some will not make it. Many will. To me, knowing how much of their lives those rookies have dedicated to the NFL, is why I love what the Rams are doing this year.