Los Angeles Rams Roster: Matthew Stafford 1 'Super' Strength; What's 1 Weakness?
The Los Angeles Rams believe they are constructing a roster worthy of a Super Bowl repeat - and SI believes that is happening as well, ranking the Rams one of the dozen clubs "that can actually win the Super Bowl.''
In the process of that construction, the Rams added two Pro Bowl-caliber talents in wideout Allen Robinson, and linebacker Bobby Wagner, with Wagner, in particular, solidifying a spot of extreme need.
However, along with the strengths, come the weaknesses ... or at least that is how Pro Football Focus sees it.
Let's dissect PFF's view of the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the Cowboys roster.
Biggest Strength: Quarterback
Matthew Stafford proved the Rams right with one playoff run that ended in a championship. The Rams offense was dramatically better with him under center all year even though Stafford’s throw-by-throw performance wasn’t a huge departure from his Lions baseline. What changed was the playoff run. Only Josh Allen had a better PFF grade in the playoffs than Stafford, who had four more big-time throws (11) than anybody else. He unlocked the full capability of this offense under Sean McVay.
Biggest Weakness: Depth
The “stars and scrubs” approach to the Rams roster construction will always leave this issue. They have a good team, with almost all areas at least average, but their depth in most of them looks paper thin, and injuries concentrated in any one area could cause major problems. This is a feature of the strategy they employ, and the team has been consistently one of the healthiest teams in football in recent years.
On paper, PFF's analysis is not far off, especially when it comes to the Rams biggest weakness.
Depth will indeed be an issue for L.A., which lost a handful of key contributors from its Super Bowl roster, including Stafford's blindside protector, Andrew Whitworth.
They also lost valuable assets in wideout Robert Woods, pass rusher Von Miller, defensive back Darious Williams, defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph Day, offensive lineman Austin Corbett, and even punter Johnny Hekker
Replacing those positions won't be easy.
Still, the Rams are high on his replacement, Joseph Noteboom, as well as their third-round draft, pick out of Wisconsin, Logan Bruss, who could start from day one.
The addition of Robinson will help in terms of replacing Woods, but the Rams should be on the hunt for additional depth if they can make it work money-wise.
As far as strengths go, PFF isn't far off either. For the Rams, however, it is more of a 'pick your poison' case.
Yes, the Rams return an MVP-caliber quarterback in Stafford, who has mastered the Sean McVay offense. However, they also have arguably the league's best defense, as well as the league's top group of receivers and pass catchers for Stafford to throw to.
At the end of the day, the NFL is a quarterback-driven league, so the choice to go with Stafford wins by default.
Either way, the Rams find themselves in a good position to become the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champs since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005.
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