[BobCarl]

The defense came out totally flat in a lot of games this year....

I think there was some cancer in the locker room that wasn't reported on by the press. The DC didn't keep the cancer under control, and McVay is beating himself up for not stepping in and motivating Coach Phillips and the cancer back to the right "me not we" focus.

I also think that because of some of the defensive schemes actually demoralized some of the players.

Players were asked to do things that didn't let them show off their best talents.

I could see some of the players asking ... if this is supposed be "We", then why am I not put into the best position to make the "we" better.

Perhaps the prevailing attitude ended up being "we excluding me".

Doesn't sit very well with players having aspirations of being in the Hall of Fame.

[PARAM]

I think there was some cancer in the locker room that wasn't reported on by the press. The DC didn't keep the cancer under control, and McVay is beating himself up for not stepping in and motivating Coach Phillips and the cancer back to the right "me not we" focus.

I also think that because of some of the defensive schemes actually demoralized some of the players.

Players were asked to do things that didn't let them show off their best talents.

I could see some of the players asking ... if this is supposed be "We", then why am I not put into the best position to make the "we" better.

Perhaps the prevailing attitude ended up being "we excluding me".

Doesn't sit very well with players having aspirations of being in the Hall of Fame.

You know the trade of Peters didn't strike me as strange but the trade of Talib did. He was one of the supposed "leaders" in 2018 but he played just 8 games and IMHO, after looking back, didn't play all that well. Another 5 this year, again, not all that well, then injured again, then traded. You don't do that with one of your leaders. Especially one of Wade's guys. So I don't know about any locker room problems but his trade just struck me as strange. Or maybe his trade created some problems with Peters? Water under the bridge now. Ramsey, Robey-Coleman and Hill with David Long waiting in the wings. Add to that JJ and Rapp and I think we might not have the as-yet "name" brands outside of Ramsey, but we might have a better secondary. I expect them to draft another corner and/or safety....or both.

[CanuckRightWinger]

IMO, Rams DB cadre looks sound for 2020, even without Robey-Coleman who I think will play elsewhere next season.
Given the overall Ram DB roster strength, and with JJIII coming back healthy, I expect McSnead to pick Defensive Front 7 and OL with our limited Draft Picks.....

I see our Offensive roster as solid at the WR, TE, QB and RB positions, but we'll need to beef up both Lines for 2020 IMHO. I see Whitworth being re-signed short term by Los Ramos for LT, and I hope Havenstein returns to his 2018 RT form.....the only OL Yute I see as a 2020 OL starter is OG David Edwards.

I know others predict just improving from within. McSnead tried that for the OL last season. I think they will learn from that miscalculation for 2020.

[snackdaddy]

They drafted Evans because they think he can be a good player. I think they got themselves a bit of a steal with Edwards. He seemed more game ready at the start than Evans. The thing is, these guys were mid round picks. To think they would just step in and not miss a beat was naive. Injuries forced their hand. In hindsight, some more experience woulda been better. But now these guys have some experience. I'm not so sure they're gonna go out and sign some veteran free agents. Wouldn't hurt to pick up at least one solid vet. But I don't expect much more.

[/zn/]

They drafted Evans because they think he can be a good player. I think they got themselves a bit of a steal with Edwards. He seemed more game ready at the start than Evans. The thing is, these guys were mid round picks. To think they would just step in and not miss a beat was naive. Injuries forced their hand. In hindsight, some more experience woulda been better. But now these guys have some experience. I'm not so sure they're gonna go out and sign some veteran free agents. Wouldn't hurt to pick up at least one solid vet. But I don't expect much more.

Edwards fell in the draft because he played hurt in 2018. Before the season, and so before he got hurt, based on his play in 2017, pre-season draft sites were regularly ranking him among the top 50 players in the league.

Injuries forced their hand in 2019--and as a result, the OL got better. Against all reasonable expectations.

[CanuckRightWinger]

The OL got better against all reasonable expectations?
Really?

Was it a reasonable expectation to have a 2018 SBLIII participant field an OL ranked 31st by PFF the very next season?.

I certainly didn't expect that....and I doubt Sean McVay expected that either!

Was it a reasonable expectation for us to play .500 football?
Because Los Ramos, post-Bye were 4-4 with that Yute OL.....and 5 of those games were against non-Playoff teams...da Bears, Steelers, Cowboys, Cards (twice).

Expectations, like opinions, would appear to vary widely person-to-person it would seem.

[Elvis]

[Rams1PlateSince1976]

Regarding Talib. I haven't heard anything about him being a 'cancer' in the locker room but have been told by a reliable source that he was an absolute knucklehead while in college and for at least some time after. (one of my clients was his attorney while he was in college and for a period after.)

[Elvis]

Here's JB with Brandon Staley:

[PARAM]

The OL got better against all reasonable expectations?
Really?

Was it a reasonable expectation to have a 2018 SBLIII participant field an OL ranked 31st by PFF the very next season?.

I certainly didn't expect that....and I doubt Sean McVay expected that either!

Was it a reasonable expectation for us to play .500 football?
Because Los Ramos, post-Bye were 4-4 with that Yute OL.....and 5 of those games were against non-Playoff teams...da Bears, Steelers, Cowboys, Cards (twice).

Expectations, like opinions, would appear to vary widely person-to-person it would seem.

But.....of those 4 losses, 3 were on the defense (Baltimore, Dallas and San Francisco) and not the OL. We would have had trouble keeping up with Baltimore and Dallas with last year's OL!!! They scored every time they had the ball on their first 4 or 5 drives. And against SF, the score was 31-31 with 2 minutes left and SF facing a 3rd and 16 from their 18 yard line. They converted. And then again with 3rd and 16 from their 31 yard line, they converted on a 45 yard play that set them up for the GW FG. I don't see how any of that is on the OL. In fact the OL blocked well enough on a 3 and a half minute drive to tie the game with under 3 minutes left. We can point to the under performance of the OL (and be 100% right) but they battled and had us in position to succeed, if only the defense makes 1 stop on two 3rd and 16 situations. It's unfair to blame the OL for that IMHO.

I know your opinion is the youngsters didn't improve but they did. I know your opinion is we expected more from the OL and they didn't deliver. But they did. They were young and in flux all season and they battled....... enough to have us tied with the NFC Superbowl reps in a game that would have put us in the postseason. But yet again the defense fell flat on their faces. Whitworth said, "nobody should have expected those guys to play like Saffold and Sullivan" and he was right. But nobody, including the offensive staff, said they expected that. They probably expected them to play well and develop but injuries set that schedule back. And still, the TEAM was in position to make the postseason with all that gone wrong on offense, but the defense couldn't hold up their end.

So, Wade got canned. And IMHO, that was the right move. McVay, our genius HC saw that the offense, despite all their woes, battled and put us in position to succeed in the end but Wade's defense let the entire team down. He didn't fire Kromer probably because he didn't blame Kromer for the injuries, the constant battle to field a semi-healthy O line or the "under performance" of the youngsters, perhaps because he didn't believe they under performed expectations. Oh, they may have under performed expectations of some fans but more than likely, not the expectations of the staff.