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The halfway point has arrived for the roller coaster ride that is the Los Angeles Rams’ 2019 season. So far, the Rams have sandwiched a three-game losing streak in between three- and two-game winning streaks. It’s great to offer the New Orleans Saints their only loss, but we gave up 55 points to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. All in all, a record of 5-3 isn’t bad, but it feels a bit more uncomfortable due to the current climate of the NFC where teams like the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings could easily end up being 11-win wildcard teams.
Now at the midpoint, it’s a great opportunity to appreciate the symmetry of the situation and double everyone’s output so far, and project whether trends will continue, uptick, or fall apart.
QB Jared Goff
2019 projected stats:
22 TDs, 14 INT, 4,734 yards, 61.1% completion percentage
Goff is certainly racking up major yardage, but his TD/INT ratio puts him in a statistical level that parallels the 2018 performances of passers like Andy Dalton, Eli Manning, Derek Carr and Matthew Stafford. Goff’s completion percentage is down from 64.6 to 61.1 while his yards per attempt is down almost a full yard. This is certainly not the top-tier material the Rams are hoping to see from their $110m (guaranteed) man.
On the bright side, he’s thrown only one pick over the last four games and seems to be finding more rhythm albeit laced with a few oddball decisions over the last couple games. With a line that may be gelling a little bit, hopefully, it seems conceivable that Goff will end up slightly better than his projected stats though he has plenty of tough dances left with the San Francisco 49ers, Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, and even the Pittsburgh Steelers defense.
I’ll guess he ends up with 26 TDs, 13 TDs, 4447 yds, 62.1%.
What do you think?
Poll
Will Jared Goff have over 4,734 passing yards?
Poll
Will Jared Goff have more or less than 14 interceptions?
This poll is closed
-
28%
More
(62 votes) -
10%
14
(23 votes) -
60%
Less
(130 votes)
Poll
Will Jared Goff have more or less than 22 TDs?
This poll is closed
-
86%
More
(189 votes) -
7%
22
(16 votes) -
5%
Less
(13 votes)
WRs
2019 projected stats:
Cooper Kupp- 116 receptions, 1,584 yards, 10 TDs
Robert Woods- 76 receptions, 942 yards, 2 TDs (on carries!)
Brandin Cooks 54 receptions, 804 yards, 2 TDs
Kupp is on pace to have a ton of yardage, but I’ll predict a slight dip ending up closer to 1,325 or so on about 110 catches. Despite his concussion issues, I’m guessing Cooks hangs around and has a few hundred yard games to end up at or close to 1,000 yards. I think Woods keeps his current pace with a minor uptick in yardage to end up right over 1,000 yards on the season.
What do you think?
Poll
Will Cooper Kupp exceed 1,584 yards?
Poll
Will Brandin Cooks get to 1,000 yards?
Poll
Will Robert Woods break 1,000 yards?
RB Todd Gurley
2019 projected stats:
184 carries, 710 yards, 3.9 yards per carry, 12 TDs
The offseason questions about Todd Gurley’s usage are finally being answered on the field, and the answer is...he’s not carrying the ball very much! 184 carries would have ranked 19th in the league a year ago, right between Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay who split carries with Royce Freeman, and the Kansas City Chiefs Kareem Hunt who only played in 11 games.
Are the Rams saving Gurley for the stretch run when we can see an increase in his usage? I’d guess a little bit, but honestly don’t see the Rams giving Gurley 15 carries very often.
Also worth noting, Gurley’s 12 touchdowns would rank him 4th in the league among 2018 rushers.
Poll
Do you think Todd Gurley will break 710 yards?
Poll
Do you think Todd Gurley will end up exceeding 184 carries?
Other stat projections worth note:
OLB Dante Fowler Jr.: 13 sacks
OLB Clay Matthews: 12 sacks (10 games)
DL Aaron Donald: 10 sacks
TE Gerald Everett: 51 receptions, 594 yards
ILB Cory Littleton: 132 tackles
S Eric Weddle: 118 tackles