A season ago, the Los Angeles Rams showed Jeff Fisher the door after nearly five seasons of “7-9 bullshit.” Then, they hired Sean McVay, Washington’s offensive coordinator, to become the new head coach and engineer the franchise’s rebuild. A year later, Los Angeles went from being a laughing stock to winning the NFC West after beating the Titans.
How the Rams went from ‘7-9 bullsh**t’ to the NFL playoffs
A year ago, the Rams were the laughing stock of the NFL. Now, they’ll play football past New Year’s Day.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
The Rams clinched a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2004, a week after demolishing the Seattle Seahawks, the reigning division champions. This season also marks their first winning season since 2003.
How did McVay turn around the Rams so quickly?
That’s an easy answer: McVay brought the Rams back from the dead by surrounding Jared Goff with talent.
McVay’s primary job heading into this season was to help the sophomore quarterback transform into an NFL-caliber starter. The 31-year-old coach did that and then some. McVay, the youngest head coach in NFL history, surrounded Goff added free agents like stalwart left tackle Andrew Whitworth, receiver Robert Woods, and center John Sullivan in free agency. More importantly, he incorporated a quick-rhythm passing game — a system in which Goff flourished in as a college quarterback at California.
But the Rams didn’t stop there. Los Angeles selected tight end Gerald Everett and receivers Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds in the 2017 NFL Draft. On top of that, Los Angeles capped off its busy offseason by trading for receiver Sammy Watkins in August.
The Rams were always stout on the other side of the ball, but they still upgraded that unit by hiring Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator. Phillips, who was the Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator when they won Super Bowl 50, brought some immediate gravitas to a rising defense.
Did those acquisitions pay off?
Yes, they did in a big way. In 2016, the Rams ranked dead last in total offense and only averaged a league-low 14 points per game. This season, however, Los Angeles has the top scoring offense in the NFL.
McVay has done a masterful job of transforming the Rams into a contender. He proved one key thing this season: A quarterback needs the right system and playmakers to thrive in the NFL.
What does this mean for the NFC West? The Rams hadn’t won the NFC West since 2003. Since then, the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and the Arizona Cardinals all took home the division crown at least twice. Seattle, with eight division titles in that span, has been the cream of the crop more often than not.
Los Angeles has dethroned the Seahawks, an aging team that has depended heavily on Russell Wilson as injuries ravaged their defense. The 49ers, on the other hand, are in the process of rebuilding around quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. San Francisco, led by head coach Kyle Shanahan, is a young team that has tons of potential, though it may take a few years to boil to the surface.
You can’t say the same about the Cardinals. Arizona had the oldest group of starters heading into the season, so this team needs to start a youth movement pretty soon. One way the Cardinals can do that is by cutting ties with 37-year-old quarterback Carson Palmer, who broke his arm early in the season against the Rams and is on injured reserve.
Los Angeles could dominate this division for a long time, especially if Seattle goes on a sharp decline. McVay turned the Rams into a force in the NFL. And here’s the great news for Rams fans: they are just scratching the surface.
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