Rams Hopes are High for 2015 Season
The 2015 NFL season is upon us! Since football is my favorite sport, this time of year puts me in a euphoric mood. Kickoff starts this Thursday as the Pittsburgh Steelers face the New England Patriots. It’ll be interesting to see how many times the announcers utter the word “Deflategate.”
One of the greatest things about sports is the prospect of a new season. It gives teams a fresh start, a clean slate. Oftentimes when a team has a lousy
Rams logo courtesy of St. Louis Rams
year, the fans often say “Maybe next year.” For those of us who are St. Louis Rams fans, nothing could be more truthful. Last year the Rams finished dead last in the NFC West with a dismal 6-10 record. They were 21st (out of 32 teams) in offensive points scored, averaging 20 points/ game. The league leading Packers put up 10 more points per game. St. Louis was better on the defensive side. They finished 16th by allowing 22 points/ game. Seattle faired best at 16 points/ game. For me, the only bright spots last year as far as victories were the wins over the Broncos and the Seahawks. The Hawks went on to win the Super Bowl. Conversely, the Rams haven’t even made the playoffs in a decade!
This year the Rams have reason to be hopeful. First, they can only go up in the standings. Second, the team has made roster changes in several key areas: 1) at QB they replaced the young injury ridden Sam Bradford with the former Eagle Nick Foles. 2) with the acquisition of defensive tackle Nick Fairley, the Rams have added depth to the position, allowing for more player rotation, which will
Rams new QB Nick Foles Photo: issportsweb.com
add freshness to the already potent defense. 3) RB Todd Gurley, a rookie from Georgia, provides a much-needed combination of toughness, size, and breakaway speed that had draft analysts calling him the next Adrian Peterson. Third, Jeff Fisher is in his 4th year as the Rams head coach, and if anyone can turn the Rams around, I believe he can.
In his first two seasons, Fisher led the team to 14 wins which was quite an achievement considering the Rams won a total of 15 games in the previous five seasons. Despite last year’s miserable record, Fisher is hopeful: “I think we’re moving in the right direction, I think that all the work we put in this offseason is going to contribute to the success we’re going to have in the future. You don’t like 6-10 seasons. I think we’re building, I know we’re building. We’re going to learn from a lot of the things that happened. We’re developing some young players that can make plays.”
Sporting the youngest team in the NFL for the fourth season in a row, Fisher’s encouragement comes in part from a robust rookie class that made major strides in 2014. They accounted for 51 starts, which included 12 each from DT Aaron Donald and T
Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher Photo: AP
Greg Robinson, the team’s two first-round picks last year and 15 from CB E.J. Gaines, a sixth-round selection.
So let the new season begin. The Rams would get off to a nice start by upsetting the Seahawks in their opener next Sunday. Oh yeah…….and a playoff berth would certainly be nice. After that, anything is possible. “Maybe this year!”
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