As the summer comes to a close and the craving for football in every American sports fan grows, but at the same time we struggle to watch as many future UPS truck drivers and regional managers at your local insurance firms try to claw their way onto every NFL team's depth chart in these final preseason games. The hunger for real, regular season, NFL football is at an all time high. Just like any year in the NFL, there are plenty of things worth talking about, things that we as NFL fans sit anxiously and wait as these stories play out through the wild roller coaster that is the regular season. Stories such as the defending Super Bowl champions having quite possibly the worst situation in the league at the most important position as they become the first team ever to start a quarterback that has no career pass attempts and has played only one career snap immediately following a Super Bowl victory in some guy named Trevor Siemian. Or if the most polarizing player in the league can continue his reign over the rest of the league as MVP and if the return of his number one receiver will sustain his dominance, or if his numbers and efficiency will come back down to earth in Cam Newton.
And of course the Cowboys find their name in the headlines once again as the 36 year old veteran, Tony Romo, goes down for an extended period with a broken bone in his back. Which in turn leaves the Cowboys not only starting their 4th overall pick in the draft, Ezekiel Elliot, but also the 135th pick, Dak Prescott, two rookies, along with Dez Bryant and Jason Witten leading the, what is now unknown, Dallas Cowboys offense. And of course we can't forget everyones favorite player to hate, Tom Brady, finally serving his suspension to what seemed like the never ending "Deflategate" controversy. While all interesting headlines, there is one that seems to have never ending unknowns and excitement, the L.A. Rams.
This year marks the the fist time in about 20 years that there will be professional football played in Los Angeles. This Rams squad coming from St. Louis may be ready to win now after not having a season above .500 since 2003 and not making the playoffs since 2004. But do they have the talent and gameplay to accomplish that goal? Jeff Fisher thinks so, as any NFL head coach should. While being a highly regarded head coach around the league, Fisher's tenure with the Rams has been very underwhelming since he took over in 2011-12 season. He has yet to eclipse seven wins, and has run through many coordinators on both sides of the ball. There has been questions in the past few years of whether Fisher can eventually get over that hump and accomplish a winning record, with the ultimate goal being a playoff birth.
The organizations confidence in him has never wavered as there has recently been talks of him again signing another extension to try and accomplish some stability for this young team. While he was just a win away from the playoffs in the 2011 regular season with Sam Bradford leading the pack, he has not come close to that feat since. Sam Bradford started out being the darling of St. Louis when he was drafted first overall in the 2010 draft, the city thought they were on their way back to making consistent playoff births year in and year out. Bradford, by the end of his time in St. Louis, was hated by many due to being unable to stay healthy, while missing two straight regular seasons. Bradford presence on the Rams became unwanted and the search for a new franchise leader began, with the first candidate being Jared Goff.
The skinny kid from Cal is the Rams newest gem, picking him first overall in this summer's draft, while giving up many picks to get him. The talk before the draft was whether Goff or Carson Wentz out of North Dakota State, was the top quarterback prospect. Once the Rams traded up there was not much doubt that they were going to select Goff as the story came out only hours after the trade, that Goff would be their selection. At the time of the draft, many experts and plenty of fans were questioning whether Goff was worth the high price the Rams were willing to pay, but in today's NFL, you cannot put a price on the benefits of having a franchise quarterback, and the Rams feel like Goff can fill that role. At the beginning of training camp and throughout the preseason, Goff has struggled. As it is for any rookie QB, the battle of transitioning to the NFL is daunting. Adjusting to NFL speed and playbook may be the most difficult tasks for any rookie in the league. Goff, as seen in the HBO hit series "Hard Knocks," is having difficulty with the play calling as he has never huddled in his football career until his arrival to the Rams. The long, random, terminology of calling a play in the huddle has gotten the best of Goff thus far.
He will also have to overcome physical limitations, as he does not have overpowering arm strength and does not have an NFL ready body. He can make up for his physical limitations with good decision making in the pocket and is known for having a good work ethic and great touch on the ball. In his last year at Cal, Goff completed nearly 65% of his passes while having a stellar 43-13 touchdown to interception ratio. The Rams should have full confidence in this rookie despite his early struggles as we are watching the early stages of his NFL career. Just like anything in life, good things take time. And as we watch the dress rehearsal of Jared Goff as he runs through the very early stages of his first NFL season, there will most definitely be noticeable bumps in the road. But as the season progresses and he continues to learn how an NFL offense operates, we may see him in the QB one role by midseason to get him experience as an NFL starter playing in NFL speed and seeing real NFL defenses. This year we may see signs and flashes of what Goff could be, but for the most part it will be a learning experience for himself and L.A. And having someone to lean on in the backfield like number 30, takes tremendous pressure off as well.
Without a doubt, the most exciting part of the Rams is Todd Gurley. Drafting Gurley 10th overall in the 2015 draft was seen to be a high risk as he had torn his ACL only the season before at Georgia. And the Rams were in dire need of many positions with running back not being on the top of that list. The risk of the pick did not take long to pay off. Gurley solidified his role as one of the leagues best backs in only 13 games, rushing for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns. It is clear that Gurley will be the workhorse back of the future for this franchise. The talent of Gurley compares to the likes of first ballot hall of fame Adrian Peterson. The combination of sheer power to run straight through defenders and the ability to break off big chunks of yardage with his ability to set the edge combined with his breakaway speed makes him easily a top five running back in the league with room to improve. He is not only a favorite in the Rams community but in the fantasy football community, as he is set up to have multiple games with 30 plus touches this year. Gurley's dynamic talent in the backfield to pair with the young and developing talent of Jared Goff, provides a possibly bright future for this franchise. The luxury of having a safety net like Gurley to lean on for a young QB does not come around often. So can the Rams take the final leap into contention? Can Goff develop into something real or will he be a bust? Can Gurely continue his dominance as one of the leagues best? And finally can the Rams overcome the mediocrity of Jeff Fisher? L.A. had a very interesting team fall into their lap.
