Don't look now, but The Conductor is tuning up the band on Rams D again

At this time one year ago, the Rams defense was down to All-Pro defensive lineman Aaron Donald, and all others. Even if you were exceptionally optimistic, you may have mentioned veteran inside linebacker Ernest Jones in the defense discussion one year ago. But in terms of pass rush, run stuffing, creating turnovers, and a lot of other defensive categories that are not readily tracked in the box score, the team's defense was not expected to generate much help for the team.

But after the 2023 NFL season began, the no-name defense began to impress fans and analysts in ways that nobody had expected. After five games into the season, the young Rams team was 2-3 and was very competitive. The team would fall to a 3-6 record before their Week 10 BYE. But from that point on, the stars began to align.

Young rosters on an NFL team are seldom consistent. But well-coached young rosters are constantly improving, finding rapid improvements to correct mistakes, and playing with ruthless energy that opponents rarely match. That is not optimistic speculation, as it was proven over the Rams' 7-1 run to close out the 2023 season and catapult this team into the 2024 NFL Playoffs, a lofty height for a team that had restocked more than half of the roster.

Restocking truly proved not to be rebuilding after all, just as the team's front office had stated. Even as the team selected and added 14 rookies from the 2023 NFL Draft, plus undrafted long-snapper Alex Ward, the team remained laser-focused on the ultimate objective of winning games and competing in the post-season.

While the final record exceeded preseason expectations and projections, the team left enough on the table to cultivate hopes and aspirations of even better success in 2024. After all, the 3-6 start to the 2023 season was by no means viewed as anything better than a young team struggling to find a foothold. Injuries to key offensive weapons certainly tested the resolve and depth of this young roster. And multiple iterations of the team's starting offensive line were rifled through until the team found the best five starters to send onto the field.

The team hopes to have those problems behind them this season.