Posted on September 4, 2019, by Travis Pulver
When Sean McVay took over the Los Angeles Rams, they were not a good team. They had just paid a hefty price to move up in the draft to take Jared Goff. During his rookie season, he had seven starts and did not play particularly well.
Fast forward a few years and the Rams are coming off a trip to the Super Bowl and have won their division the last two years. Goff has since turned into one of the better young quarterbacks in the NFL and has McVay to thank for it.
So, the team went ahead and did the logical thing.
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They decided to go all-in on the current nucleus. General manager Les Snead was signed to an extension through 2023 as was head coach Sean McVay.
“I’m very thankful to be a Ram for many years to come, working with great ownership, people, coaches, and players,” McVay said, via NFL.com. “It’s exciting to get camp going, and we’re ready to roll up our sleeves up and get to work.”
In case there was any doubt, McVay can now rest assured that he will have his starting quarterback for the duration as well. Goff has signed an extension that will keep him with the team through 2024 and make him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.
This season he will still be under his rookie deal and make $4.3 million. Next season, he will play under the fifth-year option teams can exercise. But then his extension worth $134 million with $110 million guaranteed over four years (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter) will kick in.
Of course, the question now is whether the dynamic duo of Goff and McVay will be able to live up to the amount of faith the Rams organization has proven they have in them.
The odds (via Draftkings.com) favor them winning their division again:
- Odds of winning NFC West
- Rams -182
- Seahawks +275
- 49ers +500
- Cardinals +2500
They are also expected to make the playoffs again (-250) and are tied with the Saints for the best odds to win the conference (+450). DraftKings also gives them a good shot at winning the Super Bowl at +900, tied for third-best along with the Saints (FanDuel has them at +1350; fourth-best).
Having short odds are great, but that doesn’t mean they can or will win. But can they? Can they overcome the dreaded ‘Super Bowl hangover’ and win it all this year?
Offensively, they are probably going to lean on Goff a lot more, and not just because they want to get their money’s worth out of him. The Rams do have an excellent group of wide receivers in Cooper Kupp, Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, and Josh Reynolds.
Their offensive line will be somewhat rebuilt this year, but ProFootballFocus.com grades them as the 13th best unit in the league.
The only real question is the running game because it remains to be seen how much Todd Gurley will be able to contribute with his knee issues. Hopes are high for rookie Darrell Henderson, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
But if Gurley can do enough to keep defenses from focusing on the passing game, he will be worth his money. Then it will just be up to Goff to earn his. As long as the defense doesn’t take a big step backward, the outlook for the Rams is good this season.
Does that mean they are worth betting on to win the Super Bowl? At +900? No, but at +1350—yeah, sure; just don’t bet the house on them.