In many ways, the Rams made moves in the off-season that mirror the path that worked for previous super bowl winners. Did young head coach Sean McVay do enough to finally win the big game?
The Team:
The Rams were on their way to rebuilding the team after a long stretch of mediocrity when moving the franchise from St. Louis back to their original home of Los Angeles. With the addition of Sean McVay in 2017 (youngest head coach in modern history) the organization clearly stated they had winning aspirations; they realized those a year later with a 2018 Super Bowl appearance, losing to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in disappointing fashion. Since then, the Rams had a tough 9-7 year in 2019 and then muscled their way to a 10-6 wildcard berth in 2020 behind one of the best defenses in the league. They handled Seattle in the wild card round easily, but their offensive injury woes became especially apparent against Green Bay in the divisional round, as they got stomped out of the playoffs by the high-flying Packers.
Because of the stretch of mediocrity, the Rams were able to select very high in the draft for several years. The Todd Gurley first round pick was an obvious blunder, but the Aaron Donald selection was arguably the cornerstone of why this team is successful at all. The Jared Goff first-overall pick seems a little ridiculous in retrospect, but I would argue that it actually worked out brilliantly: They got an NFC Championship out of him, and then they got some value for him in the trade for a possibly future Hall-of-Fame QB. They quietly assembled an elite receiving corp featuring Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and Van Jefferson, in addition to adding speedy veteran DeSean Jackson and the emergence of Tutu Atwell as a gadget player as well. In 2020 their attempts to build a beefy run game paid off with Darrell Henderson and ultimately Cam Akers exploding on the scene and leading the team to the playoffs despite a carousel of injured QBs lining up in front of them.
I think the most impressive thing about the LA Rams is that they managed to have the success they have had over the last three seasons despite having below-average QB play. This is possible because of the defense they created, a high level of coaching ability, and an offensive framework that can adapt to any situation. Much like Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, McVay seems to be able to pull a QB/WR/RB off the street and have him putting up starting numbers. That process works during the regular season, but historically is not sustainable in the playoffs where all weaknesses become magnified greatly. We see that in the colossal Super Bowl collapse where the sub-par QB play was exploited by New England; in a 9-7 season where they missed the playoffs narrowly after bad loses at the end of the season; and last year, where despite the defense carrying them, eventually the inability to pass the ball efficiently caught up with them.
The Moves:
We have established that a key part of the Ram's success is their defense, finishing in the top 5 in most defensive categories including leading the league in passing yards allowed and overall points allowed. The core of the defense is the defensive line with Aaron Donald, who can create pressure on a quarterback from an interior line position, and that makes for mismatches with an offensive line. They also boast one of the best secondaries in the NFL, with players like Jalen Ramsey, Jordan Fuller, and Taylor Rapp locking down coverage while the pass rush does its thing. The Rams also re-signed linebacker Leonard Floyd to a four year deal, keeping a veteran presence for the youthful LB core featuring Justin Hollins and Kenny Young.
The biggest move obviously was the massive trade the Rams made in the offseason, sending Jared Goff and a bevy of picks to Detroit in return for aging but still elite quarterback Matt Stafford. Stafford has shown absolute brilliance with his arm throughout his career, but generally it was lost playing on talentless Lions teams throughout the last decade. The acquisition was one of the largest blockbuster moves in NFL history, and it mirrored something several NFL teams have done recently in order to win a Super Bowl.
In the 2011 offseason, the Broncos won the Peyton Manning sweepstakes and brought the future Hall-of-Famer to Denver, where they had already established one of the best defenses in the NFL behind young pass rusher Von Miller. The Broncos had the makings of a solid offense as well, but the QB play offered by Tim Tebow certainly had a ceiling that finally showed itself against the Patriots in the 2011 postseason. Manning was brought in, and history was made. Adding a pro-bowl caliber quarterback to a playoff ready team was enough to make the broncos one of the most dominant teams of that era, going to two Super Bowls and winning one. More recently this method was used by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they had the makings of a playoff roster, but injecting stars like linebacker Shaq Barrett, running back Leonard Fournette, linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul, receiver Antonio Brown, drafting LB Devin White, and of course Brady gave the team the ultimate lift to the Lombardi.
Stafford is not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, though he is a much healthier QB at this point than when Manning ultimately won his championship with Denver. He is also still in his prime, as we seeing pocket-passing QBs play at a high level much later in their careers than decades prior. The Rams have shown they can win with basic competence at the QB position, so adding the talent of Stafford behind a solid line can only exponentially increase the potential they saw last year. The loss of running back Cam Akers is a setback, but backup Darrell Henderson was heavily used last year and they traded for Sony Michel from New England to help spell the new starter. In the absence of a bell-cow, ground and pound running back, Stafford has the arm skill and decision-making to utilize the plethora of passing weapons the Rams have to offer, and also the use of TE Tyler Higbee, RB Henderson, and the shifty Tutu Atwell in the short-passing game will alleviate the loss of Akers.
In essence, the strategy that worked for the Broncos and Buccaneers in recent years has a great chance of working once again for LA, as their team has the foundation to be a playoff team even without Stafford. Woods and Kupp each caught 90+ balls for over 900 yards each, so imagine what kind of stats they can put up with an upgrade at QB and an offense forced to throw more after losing their power rusher. Add to that arguably the best defense in the league, so even if the offense doesn't meet its lofty goals, it doesn't have to for the team to win 12 games. Once they arrive in the playoffs however, if Stafford can be the spark that puts them over the top, we could realistically see the Los Angeles Rams hoisting the Lombardi in February.