Predictions: 2017 L.A. Rams Season, Part II

In the last post, we looked at the L.A. Rams games for weeks 1 - 4.  This time around, we address weeks 5 - 9, which includes their bye week.  

No time for delays! Lets get to it! 

Week 5: Seattle Seahawks at L.A. Rams

If this game was at Seattle, I’d pick Seattle, however, it’s not!  It’s a “Rams” home game at the coliseum and my belief is that the Rams are coming off of a loss, after three straight wins to start the season.  I think they’re confident and a bit cocky at this point on top of the fact that they’ve fared well against Seattle under Jeff Fisher.  If you go back 12 seasons to 2005, the last 24 games were settled as such:  Seattle 18 :  Rams 6

However, if you go back to the 2012 season, it’s a split series at 5 and 5.  Quite a difference!

If you really want to cherry pick data, start at the 2014 season and the Rams step up to 4 to 2!

On top of that,  if the press is to be believed, there’s still some internal strife going on in Seattle from the Superbowl loss to the Patriots when everybody in the entire galaxy knows that they should have given the ball to Marshawn Lynch instead of throwing what would be a game clinching pick.  I don’t believe that they are healed of this event yet.

So, with a new coaching staff, and therefore, a whole new methodology, I’m not confident at all in this game, but I’m going to go with the home team.

Week 6: L.A. Rams at Jacksonville Jaguars

I’m not sure what the actual stats are for teams that travel across the country are, but I know that the Rams weren’t a great traveling team, and that was from when they were based in the middle of the freakin’ country!!  It seems like they did better traveling West than they did East, but they weren’t stellar whichever direction they went. 

I’m going Jacksonville for that reason alone…  Well that reason and I feel like Jacksonville was starting to put things together last year and I think they’ll continue.

Week 7: Arizona Cardinals at L.A. Rams (London)

This is a tough one.  In talking about the Jacksonville game, I said that the Rams don’t travel well.  London would certainly qualify as some BIG travel!  During the Fisher era of the Rams, it was well known and documented that the Bruce Arians (Cardinals Head Coach) despises the Rams and the Rams didn’t think much of them either!  Both teams are traveling roughly the same distance, so what’s the difference in this one?  An aging Cardinals team in two of the skilled positions (QB & WR) in Carson Palmer (38) and Larry Fitzgerald (34). 

Don’t get me wrong, I would still gladly take Fitz on the Rams at 34 years old, as he would be an instant upgrade to the Rams receiving core, however, with the 38 year old Palmer getting the ball to him, I don’t buy it. 

And don’t get me wrong again,  Carson Palmer has been a very good/great QB for 13 years now (a couple of off years in there…) and still threw for over 4200 yards last year, starting 15 games.  His TD’s declined from 2015 while his INT’s increased for the last two seasons.

I told you this was a tough one…  I’ve really made no good arguments and I’m back to the beginning.  I think the Rams will pull this one out with the fresh stamp of Wade Phillips on an offense with an aging QB and star WR. 

Or something…

Week 8: Bye Week  -  Rams WON’T lose!

Week 9: L.A. Rams at N.Y. Giants

Traveling.  Have I mentioned how the Rams travel?  The good news is that the Rams are coming off of a bye week after the trip abroad.  That being said, the Giants are also coming off of a bye after playing in New York in week 7 in the afternoon game, against Seattle. 

Advantage:  Giants.

So at the end of this post, we’re sitting at the halfway point and more importantly, I think the Rams are sitting at 5-3.   Which means they’re slipping…   Ugh!