First Down
The Rams are paying top-10 money to the following positions. All stats are from overthecap.com (OTC)
- Defensive Tackle (Aaron Donald)
- Running Back (Todd Gurley)
- Quarterback (Jared Goff)
- WR (Brandin Cooks)
- Right Guard (Rob Havenstein)
- Punter (Johnny Hekker)
- Long Snapper (Jake McQuaide)
This excludes Jalen Ramsey, who’s going to demand north of $15 million per year. According to OTC, the Rams rank 24th in available salary cap space for 2020 at close to $22 million. If the resign Ramsey, which they will, since they gave up two first round picks to grab him.
Oh yeah, Dante Fowler will also be a free agent this offseason.
Speaking of the draft, here are the picks the Rams currently own for the next few years.
2020: 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 7
2021: 2, 3, 6, 7
The Rams haven’t had a first round pick in a long time, come to think of it.
LA Rams 1st round picks
2016: Jared Goff
2017: No pick
2018: No pick
2019: No pick
2020: No pick
2021: No pick— Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) December 22, 2019
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Limiting your resources would be fine if the team was winning but the Rams are 8-7 and have been eliminated from the playoffs. On the surface their offense is fine being that they still rank top ten in yards per game but they went from second in points per game in 2019 to twelfth. The defense is in the same range in points per game but have added eight more sacks since 2019 with one more game left to play. So, all things considered, that side of the ball has remained the same.
It’s clear that Goff has regressed throughout the season, missing easy throws and not seeing the field clearly.
Jared Goff throws a disastrous Pick-6 at the end of the 1st half pic.twitter.com/fH7TRDcCqx
— Annie Bart 😍🇺🇸😍 (@AnnieBart8) December 22, 2019
The chicken/egg question to ask is this; is Goff’s regression due to the lack of a good offensive line or has his regression made the offensive line look bad? Betting money would say the former but the case can still be made.
Alright, the Rams have taken a step back but don’t have the cap space or top tier draft capital to turn this team around. How do they get themselves out of this mess?
First; they need to hit home runs on the draft picks they do have. That’s a lot of pressure on the scouting department but it is what it is. It’s the only way to get better and save money on rookie deals.
Second; it’s time for Sean McVay to be the genius he’s heralded to be. The past couple of years anyone who’s touched the hem of his playbook has gotten a job in the NFL and now it’s time to prove why that’s the case.
Third; Rams management need to find a way to get out of bad contracts; Todd Gurley’s in particular. His arthritic knee is only getting worse and putting him on a “pitch count” is severely hindering this offense. Unfortunately it won’t make financial sense to cut him until 2021.
LA will be opening a new stadium next year, hopefully it has other entertainment options because, as constructed, this team will be looking at 8-8 or 9-7 again.
Second Down
That boy Carson Wentz is something else…
Carson Wentz is the first QB in @NFL history to record 30+ completions and 0 INTs in 3 consecutive games. #FlyEaglesFly
— John Gonoude (@john_gonoude) December 23, 2019
Wentz joins the following as the only @NFL QBs with 30+ completions in 3 straight games:
Matt Ryan (2019)
Kirk Cousins (2018)
Philip Rivers (2015)
Peyton Manning (2010, ‘15)
Drew Brees (2011, 2013 twice)
Tom Brady (2011)
Kurt Warner (2008)
Rich Gannon (2002)
Steve Young (1995)— John Gonoude (@john_gonoude) December 23, 2019
Let the record show that this accomplishment has occurred while he’s missing three starting wide receivers, starting running back, right tackle, and his star tight end missing time during the game with a rib injury. An injury that turned out to be broken.
Carson’s December run has been nothing short of magical. Beating three divisional opponents, two with game winning drives, to take first place in the NFC East.
Carson Wentz in the month of December:
121/179, 67.5%, 1220 Yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT, 101.3 QB Rating
3-1
2 Game winning drives
3 consecutive wins against the division
— Justin Goodhart (@GoodhartJustin) December 23, 2019
He’s also lost a fumble, to be fair.
If the Eagles wanna make the playoffs it’s simple; beat the Giants in New York on Sunday. If they do make it that means meeting a Seattle team in Philadelphia in a rematch of week 12.
Are the Eagles good enough to win the Super Bowl? Probably not. They are good enough to make someone sweat in January, though.
And as an Eagles fan who has had to sit through all of these injuries, that’s all one can ask for.
Third Down
Michael Thomas is quietly having one of the best years in NFL history.
.@Cantguardmike is having one of the greatest receiving seasons of all time.
▫️No. 1 in rec. yards
▫️No. 1 in 1st downs
▫️No. 1 in targets
▫️No. 1 in catch % (among WR)
▫️No. 2 in rec. TDs
▫️Nine games with 10+ catches
▫️Broke Marvin Harrison’s single-season catch record pic.twitter.com/lqPGIE571H— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 23, 2019
Prepare for the wildest Michael Thomas stat you've seen yet…
Most receptions, first 5 years of a career:
Jarvis Landry 481
Michael Thomas* 466
Larry Fitzgerald 426
Torry Holt 423
A.J. Green 415
Julio Jones 414
Randy Moss 414*Thomas has one game left in his FOURTH SEASON 🤯
— Heath Cummings (@heathcummingssr) December 23, 2019
It’s always great to highlight players on the field but it’s even better to talk about the work they do off of it.
Michael Thomas creating unforgettable moments for a special fan at the hospital ❤️ @brgridiron
(via @Nader723) pic.twitter.com/5HXkUjOF1x
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 24, 2019
“That’s love @Cantguardmike!” ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/QSFSkj04aI
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 24, 2019
We take so much time to talk about what’s wrong with NFL players and their missteps that we sometimes miss all the good players do in their community. Thomas could easily go home after practice and do rich people stuff but instead he invests in those around him. And we all can agree that Saints fans are some of the most annoying beings on the planet but we all can gather ’round the fire for this story.
Warms the heart this holiday season.
Fourth Down
PICK TIME!!!
Last week yours truly had a rough week and went 7-9. The season total is now 107-65. Let’s do this one more time for the regular season.
Winners are in red.
Sunday Afternoon
Green Bay @ Detroit
New York Jets @ Buffalo
Miami @ New England
Chicago @ Minnesota
Los Angeles Chargers @ Kansas City
Cleveland @ Cincinnati
New Orleans @ Carolina
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay
Indianapolis @ Jacksonville
Philadelphia @ New York Giants
Arizona @ Los Angeles Rams
Pittsburgh @ Baltimore
Tennessee @ Houston
Oakland @ Denver
Washington @ Dallas
Sunday Night
San Francisco @ Seattle
Extra Points
I’M HERE FOR ADAM’S RICH ENERGY
“I’m rich as f—k.”
Sources: Adam Gase shuts out criticism from frustrated Jets fans by boasting about bloated bank account.
Story: https://t.co/KA21hDV3Vd
Tuesday NY Daily News back Page: pic.twitter.com/XKpY5szdkP
— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaSports) December 24, 2019
Pro Bowl bound.
There’s people on the #NFL100 list who couldn’t do this https://t.co/pXMGiPgUeq
— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) December 24, 2019
Which one which?
Daniel Jones and Eli Manning partying is best thing you'll see today pic.twitter.com/qtbvkz5wMq
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) December 23, 2019
MVP for the next 5 seasons!
Lamar hit the Browns with two of the most disrespectful juke moves you'll ever seehttps://t.co/C1d4O9koET
— PFF (@PFF) December 22, 2019
As always, thanks for reading.
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