Beware The LA Rams

BEWARE THE RAMS

After a thrilling Week 10 of NFL action where a lot of divisional and intra-conference action (teams facing each other for the first time in four years) it was the match-up at the tremendous new stadium in Inglewood, home to both Los Angeles teams that turned heads.

The Los Angeles Rams hosted the once rampant Seattle Seahawks - whose wings have now definitely been clipped following a 5-0 start to the season and an MVP calibre start by Russell Wilson - have now lost 3 out of the last 4 to land on a 6-3 record following the Rams 23-16 victory yesterday.

The scoreline marks it out as a tight affair but the Rams forced three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble on the QB), they had 33 minutes of the clock due to their three headed monster at running back (Darrell Henderson, Malcolm Brown, Cam Akers) to hog the ball, yet it is the wealth of receiving talent at Jared Goff's disposal that jumps out - three receivers with over 50 yards (Josh Reynolds - 94, Tyler Higbee - 60 and Cooper Kupp - 50) as well as six receptions for Robert Woods - helped them amass 302 air yards to marry that 106 rushing yards off of 29 rushing attempts.

Yet it is the defence that again is resolute, while playing the Seahawks the numbers will inflate due to the structure of the game changing with Russell forcing plays they were restrained to 248 passing yards, top receiver Tyler Lockett had only 66 yards off of 5 grabs. 

The Rams allow on average 199.7ypg in passing and 96.8ypg on the ground; these are stellar numbers in the scheme of a season that is altering as a more pass happy league and a season where many teams are having success on the ground as the season draws on - think of DeAndre Swift and Antonio Gibson.

They have the best defender in the league in Aaron Donald who heaps pressure on the QB but he was overshadowed by his teammates - Leonard Floyd (3), Terrell Lewis (2) and Michael Brockers (1) - who combined for six sacks on Wilson yesterday.

This defence will be tested over the last seven games on the season no doubt. They travel to Tampa Bay for Monday Night football next week where the Bucs seemed to find the balance on offense following the egg laid against New Orleans with Roland Jones having a 98 yard touchdown amongst a huge day for himself.

There follows  back-to-back division tussles at San Francsico and on the road at Arizona; injuries have scupped the Niners attempt to defend their conference title while the darling Cardinals with Kyler Murray are atop the NFC West standings on a 2-0 division record; the two games between the Rams and Cardinals will most likely dictate who gets the home field divisional round playoff game and maybe even the overall #1 seed if the Saints cannot maintain fluidity if Drew Brees misses time with his rib injury.

After the first of the Arizona contests is an AFC East hosting of the Patriots and the sorry Jets before ending with a holiday double-bill of Seattle on the road and Arizona at home in the new year perhaps for the division title.

It promises to be an interesting end for the most competitive division in the NFL - the balance of the Rams is what stands out (passing offense, ground attack, stellar defence) against the Cardinals who are creative and riding a sea of consistency currently due to the air attack of Murray to his illustrious receivers. 

However, do not discount the Seahawks who are dearly missing the running back tandem of Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde who are both injured at least to take the onus off of Wilson to make magic happen always - if they get the ground force back the schedule is not awful. After this Thursday where they meet the Cardinals again they have a four game stretch of at Philadelphia, v Giants, v Jets and then in the nations capital to face the franchise before ending with Rams and at 49ers. On the face of it that is five winnable games on paper if they get healthy and still have Russell Wilson under centre.

Fascinating to see if two or even three teams from the NFC West make the now seven team playoff structure.

NFL NFC 2015/16 Season Preview

Following on from my AFC preview last week, it is now the turn of the National Football Confernce to come under the NTTA microscope. And where else to start but in the divisional home of the Super Bowl runners, Seattle Seahawks

NFC West
This division for the last few years was a straight battle between the Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. Yet the Seahawks have the upper hand ever since Russell Wilson came to the fore and the legendary 12th man crowd made them impossible to play at home.

Having come within two yards of winning the Super Bowl for a second consecutive season, there is still the competitive drive within the organisation due to the head coach Pete Carroll, QB Wilson and the vaunted defensive unit called the Legion of Boom led by the irrepressible Richard Sherman.

Following the faux pas and wrong play calling, Marshawn Lynch remains as the lead back yet finally Wilson has a legitimate red zone target in Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham, who has left the New Orleans Saints in search of some finger jewellery.

Seattle are the red hot favourites agin in this division, but the runner up could well be different. The 49ers are in meltdown as a franchise, numerous retirements of key personnel coupled with off the field behaviour has decimated their roster, never mind the departure of influential leader Jim Harbaugh to his alma mater of Michigan University in the college ranks. A lot will depend on Colin Kaepernick whose play last year left a lot to be desired at times, and the team will do well to reach five wins for the year and avoid last place.

St. Louis Rams have made some upgrades in search of a playoff spot in a division and conference where 9 games is required at minimum. In defence they have added Nick Fairley from Detroit to join names such as Michael Brockers, sack king Robert Quinn and James Laurinaitis . They have Nick Foles at QB who will offer some much needed assurance and precision at the position to help playmakers like Todd Gurley, Tavon Austin and Tre Mason.

Arizona Cardinals welcome back Carson Palmer, but can he survive an entire season on the injury front with a receiving core led by Larry Fitzgerald. The defence of the Cardinals led by Tyrann Mathieu as well as Patrick Peterson, who is the punt return specialist. Can Bruce Arians conjure up some more magic or will the Cardinals be a team full of talent unable to get over the hill?

Prediction: 1. Seattle 2. Arizona 3. St. Louis 4. San Francisco

NFC North
The division with the leagues best quarterback can now lay claim to having the leagues best running back. Never has the return of one player had such an anticipation of expectation for one team.  Minnesota Vikings exceeded many peoples predictions last year following the season long suspension to Adrian Peterson for off the field conduct. Yet those same Vikings won 9 games with some great play by rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater, who grew into the role as QB and leader as the season went on. The return of all day AP make Minnesota a legitimate play off team.

And a threat to the dominance of Aaron Rodgers and his Green Bay Packers. Many feel the Packers can be the team to defeat Seattle if they get the chance, but like Seattle, the Packers need home field advantage to maintain superiority over their rivals.

Detroit Lions still have Matthew Stafford and Calvin 'Megatron' Johnson, yet they have lost Fairley and Suh from a stellar defence last year, and the continual reliance on this QB-WR duo will again be too much for Detroit to overcome.


Chicago Bears had a pretty bad season last year but have not seemingly changed much apart from employ coach John Fox from Denver. Jay Cutler is still at the helm with Matt Forte and Alshon Jeffrey. The draft pick of Kevin White from West Virginia, will give them a much needed boost in the same way Mike Evans and Odell Beckham did for their teams last season. However, the defence still looks ageing and the need to pressure rival QB or stop Peterson has not been addressed.

Prediction: 1. Green Bay 2. Minnesota 3. Chicago 4. Detroit

NFC South
After so many years of back and forth between Atlanta and New Orleans, there is a gradual sea change in this division based upon who has the best QB. Now that might be legitimate in most NFL divisions but three years ago you would have picked any team with Drew Brees leading the team. Now it seems time is catching up with the Big Easy, a terrible defensive showing last year gave Brees too much to do and the lack of weapons meant they were chasing their tail. The departure of Jimmy Graham also means this again will be a long season for the Saints.

That incapability led to the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton to step in, all the more surprising considering he did it without Steve Smith, but the growth of Kelvin Benjamin and the maturity of Newton was encouraging. This makes the Panthers the tentative favourites but in a division where 8 wins can get you in the play offs, that is an unusual situation to get home field.

The Atlanta Falcons need to bounce back and with Matt Ryan throwing to Julio Jones and Roddy White, they have every chance.

The most surprising storyline will probably come from Tampa Bay who with the overall #1 pick selected Jameis Winston, who lost only one college game at Florida State, his last game versus
Marcus Mariota's Oregon Ducks. Although a tough season on the field, Winston showed unbelievable strength of character and leadership to win 11 games, some from double digit deficits. This temerity
and stubbornness will serve Lovie Smith and his Buccaneers well, as the closeness between the four division rivals is too close to call. Winston also has impressive rookie Mike Evans as a deep threat although Winston is not renowned for his arm strength.

Prediction: 1. Carolina 2. Atlanta 3. Tampa Bay 4. New Orleans

NFC East
For so long the toughest division to call, based on the long held rivalries between the four huge franchises. And it is no different this year either.

Dallas Cowboys won the division last year, and have the potential to go deeper this year if Tony Romo and Dez Bryant fulfil full seasons. Yet it is on defence that is the worry, the selection of Randy Gregory in the draft and Greg Hardy in free agency smacks of a team who irrespective of individual players off the field issues, they are going all in to win big this year whilst Romo can still stand upright.

Philadelphia Eagles played a different brand of football, up tempo, lots of plays and score a
lot of points, yet the defence could not match that intensity. The arrival of Sam Bradford will surprise many but if he can stay fit, a big if obviously, he can marshall an offence without risking injury to himself, yet can they overcome the loss of LeSean McCoy whilst Demarcus Murray will find it hard to replicate his personally great season at Dallas this year.

Washington Redskins are a mess and continue to be so long as they have an unfit QB at the helm, the franchise that is a disgrace will struggle to win 4 games this year and a blessing may be to tank the season and get a new franchise QB and end the Griffin era.

Which leaves us  with the New York Giants, who for me have the potential to be the seasons dark horse much like the Minnesota Vikings. A terrible start to the season was rejuvenated by the inclusion of the phenomenal Odell Beckham Jr, who single handedly (literally) won games by doing ridiculous grabs for big plays. This elevated the play of Eli Manning who finished the season on a tear finally having a stellar Wide receiver at his disposal. The improvements on the offensive line will aid Eli and co.

Prediction: 1. New York 2. Dallas 3. Philadelphia 4. Washington