The St. Louis Rams rank 19th in Fox Sports' annual NFL organizational rankings. These aren't just some fancified set of power rankings either. For this, Fox's Adam Scein graded each NFL franchise on six factors, on a scale of 1 to 10. I have some quibbles with how the Rams are graded in a few of those categories.
Here are Schein's rankings for the Rams:
Owner: 3
Quarterback: 7
Coach: 6
Front office: 5
Coaching staff: 6
Intangibles: 6.5
We take issue after the jump.
Owner: Really, a 3? That Stan Kroenke has owned the team less than a year obviously factors into that. He missed out on his first free agent period as an owner thanks to the lockout, which doesn't help since owners would be partially graded on their willingness to write checks. Ultimately, Kroenke will be judged by how he handles the Rams' stadium issue, which will be the hot topic in 2014.
Quarterback: I have no problems with this one. Sam Bradford looks like he'll be an NFL super star, but with only one impressive year under his belt, it's hard to get a higher ranking than that.
Coach: I think this one should be higher than a 6, which the same as what the 24th ranked 49ers got in that category. But every one seems to think Jim Harbaugh is the second coming of Don Shula and/or Jesus. All Steve Spagnuolo has done is take a team built mostly of rookies and youngsters from a 1-win season to one game away from the division title. Small potatoes, right?
Front office: I have a big problem with this one. Think how much things have changed in St. Louis since Billy Devaney took over as GM. First-round draft busts are a thing of the past. Gone are free agent signings like Drew Bennett. Devaney's leadership has rebuilt a Rams roster mostly from scratch. This should be at least a 8.
Coaching staff: The McDaniels hire was a pretty sexy move for a team that traditionally doesn't take many risks. He has to prove himself after a miserable showing in Denver as head coach though. Ken Flajole has turned around a defense that used to give up yardage to World League players in mop up duty. And look at the development of the rookies the Rams have brought in over the last two years. Bradley Fletcher and James Laurinaitis are on the verge of being household names after just two seasons. Chris Long finally lived up to his potential under the guidance of this coaching staff. Should be a 8.
Intangibles: I'm not really sure what this is, but reading the other rankings it seems as though fans and facilities are a big part of it. In that case, this is probably a fair assessment, maybe too much, for the Rams. The Dome hasn't exactly been a scary place for opponents, and the Dome itself isn't exactly a memorable facility.