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NFL Media’s Connor Orr is delivering training camp previews for all 32 teams, and his preview for the 2016 Los Angeles Rams highlights the serious challenges facing the team just more than three weeks from opening camp.
Orr’s preview starts off with a brief recap of the Rams’ offseason which I thought unfairly pigeonholed new franchise QB Jared Goff:
Jared Goff is a work in progress and is going to spend the season making the type of mistakes rookie quarterbacks make. At the moment, the team is unsure if he is their opening day starter.
I think it’s unfair to say we have any clue what Jared Goff is going to spend the season doing. The unpredictability of any rookie QB plus Fisherball equals an unknown sum even if the likelier bet is what Orr alludes to. Still, to assume anything at this point is preemptive.
The body of Orr’s preview then centers around three main issues: the quality of the secondary, how to use Tavon Austin and Pharoh Cooper, and how the logistics of the relocation will effect physical readiness. All three are fair concerns, but there are plenty more. That’s why it’s tough to be too critical of Orr’s “way-too-early season prediction”:
Seeing is believing with Goff. He is talented, smart and has a great arm, but the Bear Raid offense at Cal doesn't seem to translate well. There will be growing pains and, to me, five or six wins makes a lot of sense.
No, that’s not the inspiring, optimistic take many Rams fans are eager for. The bigger question, perhaps the biggest one of all looming in a preview sense, is how a new market will accept yet another losing season if it does take place.