For the St. Louis Rams and for that matter, the Arizona Cardinals, plying your trade in the NFC West is a tough lot to draw, having to compete annually with those Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers casts a big shadow, but despite being in a division with the last two NFC Super Bowl teams, you best believe that the Rams are fast making themselves a relevant team once again.
Of course, the Rams whilst Kurt Warmer was at the control of Mike Martz offense dubbed universally as “The Greatest Show on Turf,” were on top of the football world for a while, winning one Super Bowl in one of the closest finishes in Super Bowl history (ironically against current coach Fisher).
There can be no denying though that the Rams in recent years have not been relevant in NFL terms, but this started to change when Les Snead was appointed GM and Jeff Fisher coach. What really fanned the flames was the QB class of the 2012 draft. Robert Griffin III may go down in history as perhaps the most pivotal player in recent Rams history, without ever pulling on the horned helmet. In their desperation to land a franchise QB the Washington Redskins, did sell the farm. The picks acquired by the Rams as part of the deal have pretty much enabled the Rams to draft half of the starting lineup.
Even after these trades were done, if you had predicted that going into rookie training camp in 2014 a Ram would have the highest selling jersey sales that would have been laughable. However, the selection in May of Michael Sam ensured that became a reality. You may remember a time when the NFL worried about the possibility of an openly gay player in the league, strange how that topic has gone quiet.
In part this is due to the fact is was the Rams who selected Sam, anybody playing DE would have a tough time making the team with Chris Long and Robert Quinn already on the team. As well as being drafted by St. Louis means Sam stays in the same state as his college team and the local fan base already know all about Sam. But the talk of an Oprah Winfrey series, etc., has seen the Rams becoming one of the talked about teams again.
There are other reasons for talking about the Rams again of course. One of the big ones was the owner’s purchase of a sizeable plot of land at Farmers Field, Los Angeles. Official word of course is that the Rams remain committed to St. Louis, but there is growing clamour for L.A. to once again host NFL games. A return of the Rams to that city if it was accompanied by a return to the traditional Blue and Yellow uniforms would be welcomed by some. Then of course there is the appointment of Greg Williams the longtime friend of Coach Fisher as DC, a few years now removed from the Bounty scandal and subsequent ban. An appointment that threatens to provide even more chances for Quinn to shine, bear in mind Quinn nearly won the Deacon Jones Award last year, add in the aggressive nature of a Williams defensive scheme, and Quinn will be rubbing his hands with glee.
Then there is the return of Sam Bradford at QB now going into a contract year on the back of the ACL injury. Bradford, as is regularly stated, was in the last class of rookies before the new pay structure came in, and has caused debate amongst Rams fans as well as the wider league as to if he is worth keeping hold of. There are therefore, several media reasons that the Rams are relevant again but there are some on the field too.
Alongside Quinn in terms of excitement is last year’s draft selection Tavon Austin, who showed in flashes last season why Mike Mayock and draft experts rated him so highly, the emergence of a running game as the season progressed, and Zac Stacey’s performance as a fifth round choice gave much encouragement, but there is talk of competition for that spot in the upcoming training camp.
The selection of Aaron Donald in this year’s draft surprised many people who thought the a Rams were nailed on to take Clinton-Dix or Calvin Prior, but scouting reports on Donald show he could be a steal even at number 13 overall. Add in the second year LB Alec Ogletree and the Rams are stacked in the front seven with some promising youngsters in the defensive backfield, being coached up by Williams This D is a turnover coming to the opposing gameplan.
Now the Rams are based in the NFC West, the toughest division in the game, in just about any other division you’d be confident that this was a playoff team, maybe some of the creative NFL geography that sees a team like Dallas in the East division would help, but the Rams are in the West and will be looking to improve on last year’s 8-8 record. If they do they must have a shot at a Wildcard at least.
I therefore confidently call this team, once more the Relevant Rams. The future is looking bright for this team. I am not saying they are going to Arizona in February, but there is every chance that even coming out of the NFC West and the competition that will require, you will be hearing about this Rams team. “Greatest Show on Turf,” maybe not with a Jeff Fisher run team, but the defensive side of the ball will make you take notice. The Rams are not here to make up the numbers in the West, they will be relevant!
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