How Should Evaluate the Rams in Terms of 'Rebuilding?'

[TorontoRam]

I've seen posts discussing the O-Line; the QB; the Weapons; the OC etc. At the end of the day what criteria should we use to evaluate the Rams progress to date? Is it wins? Is it consistency? Is it statistics? Is it their record against 'quality opponents?' I'm asking the question because I really don't know and would appreciate some insights from other members.

[laram0]

For me it's as simple as wins.

[Fargo Ram Fan]

The Rams have been 'in' pretty much every game. Almost every game was close and could have been a victory for the Rams. They play hard. That said, still lots of mistakes and the consistency is lacking. Big strides have been made.

[Rambunctious]

I know some people like to hold the team accountable for past few years but with a turnover of more than 30 players and a new coach this truly is to me year 1 of a rebuild. So I look at it like this...

A win is a win and I'm happy. Style points will be awarded starting in year 2.

Except for Heart. There have been plenty of games in the past years where it looked liked the team wanted to be anywhere but on the field. I like it when a team keeps fighting to the end.

Since we are notching some wins and it seems to me we are actually playing better in the 4th quarter I would give Jeff and Co. and A.

The future looks bright in my opinion.

[mcpeepants232003]

I would personally like one more win. Going 7-8-1 would obviously be pretty solid after how awful we were last year. Especially when we will have 4 first round picks the next 2 years.

I feel like our entire team has grown and our defense has made the biggest leap. We are a top 12 or 13 defensive team ever after yesterday. We still need to improve our linebacking corps and our safeties.

Offensively I think we are farther away. Jackson is aging, not the same player he once was. Amendola is injury prone, Gibson is inconsistent and our line is still a work in progress.

I think the main focus this offseason will be on adding offensive lineman and playmakers(receivers, rb, te's) and also a safety.

[NJ Ramsfan1]

I think if you look across the board at everything with the 2012 club, we have undoubtedly improved tremendously in multiple areas. We have an owner who spent money. We have a top coach. We brought in a couple of quality free agents who contributed. Our draft was good, and we have multiple 1st rounders the next couple of seasons. Our kicking game is outstanding. Our receivers- though still miles away from where they need to be- have shown flashes. Amendola, when healthy, is excellent. Kendricks has improved. Our DE's are very good. Bradford has rebounded from an injury riddled, frustration plagued sophomore season. Then there are the intangibles like "confidence", "heart" and a belief in one another that seemed to be missing under previous regimes. And of course the record has improved.

Though our work is far from finished, we are a much better team than in years past and the future is bright.

[citr92]

since most people have already said it, we are much better than last year, some things need improving and such

one thing i hope to see next year, but i'm not sure it will happen...is just seeing an aggressive defense in terms of scheme, great this year for the most part against the run, but the pass coverage makes me angry, i ABSOLUTELY DISLIKE soft coverage, i want that to stop, the quick and short throws kill the rams that way

[mcpeepants232003]

since most people have already said it, we are much better than last year, some things need improving and such

one thing i hope to see next year, but i'm not sure it will happen...is just seeing an aggressive defense in terms of scheme, great this year for the most part against the run, but the pass coverage makes me angry, i ABSOLUTELY DISLIKE soft coverage, i want that to stop, the quick and short throws kill the rams that way

you can not afford to have press coverages when you have Craig Dahl and Mikell at the safety position. It sucks but it's the truth.

You can be angry as you want but you'd be far angrier watching Dahl get beat over the top over and over again.

[Fastcat]

you can not afford to have press coverages when you have Craig Dahl and Mikell at the safety position. It sucks but it's the truth.

You can be angry as you want but you'd be far angrier watching Dahl get beat over the top over and over again.

Rite.... Think back to last year, we got beat over the top multiple times in just about every game. The one that stands out to me is the 1st 5min of the Ravens game. Torrey Smith ran past the cbs and the safties at wiill. Last year we played alot of press coverage

[Goldenfleece]

Well, wins are the big thing, but I'd also be looking at how we lose. How bad is the margin of defeat? Are we getting gassed or blowing big leads in the fourth quarter? Are we basically out of the game in the fourth quarter? Or is it coming down to one score, so if the team was just a little bit better, we'd have more wins? Can we hang with the top teams when we play them?

I think we're seeing some good progress on most of those fronts. The big question that still remains, though, is how much better would we need to be to be a legitimate contender for a championship? How many positions would we need to upgrade before this team would play like a champion? I feel like that one tells us how much further we have to go.

[citr92]

you can not afford to have press coverages when you have Craig Dahl and Mikell at the safety position. It sucks but it's the truth.

You can be angry as you want but you'd be far angrier watching Dahl get beat over the top over and over again.

i meant the cornerbacks, the safeties are there to be a "safety net" if anything goes wrong or deep

it just kills me when i see cornerbacks do it almost every play, it's fine for occasions but when it's the main part of the defense i'm not a big fan of it