This year’s Dream Team hasn’t had a dream start.
After entering the season as the overwhelming Super Bowl favorite, the Los Angeles Rams are 2-4 and lagging well behind the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West race. Los Angeles’ latest loss was its most disappointing yet, with the Rams being on the wrong side of the biggest upset of this NFL season when they lost to the Arizona Cardinals last week.
So, what in the world is happening in Los Angeles, and will the Rams be able to snap out of it? We asked people around the league that question, plus their thoughts on Jalen Hurts’ health situation as the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback is out for the year with blood clots.
Here’s what we learned.
Rams Not A Dream Team, But They Can Still Right The Ship
Eric D. Williams: League sources I spoke with were not necessarily surprised by the struggles of the Rams to start the year. However, those folks I talked to also believe that the Rams are built to rebound because of the person leading them: head coach Sean McVay.
“Everyone loved their roster construction this summer!” an NFL front office executive told me. “They were the Dream Team. I’m not overly critical of it, though. There are pros and cons to doing it that way. They are older and therefore more susceptible to injury or a steep decline in performance.
“They had some bad luck in a couple of games. Now they’ve got the Kobie Turner injury. They have never had depth and that is the reason for the poor special teams play. I still think they will be OK. They have an elite coaching staff.”
Three of L.A.’s four losses came in the final moments of the game, including an overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills where kicker Harrison Mevis had a game-winning field goal attempt blocked and then was released. So, the Rams are close. But they also have the fourth-oldest roster in the league, so injury concerns were an issue when the season started, and the Rams have lost a handful of foundational players to the injured reserve, including Myles Garrett, Davante Adams and Turner.
“It’s a combination of bad luck and relying on an older roster,” a league source who has seen the Rams in person this season told me. “They easily could have won the last two games. … They should be 3-3 or 4-2, but they’re 2-4. The roster isn’t amazing, but it’s not bad at all.
“Missing kicks is missing kicks. They got a bad call in Denver. The most surprising thing to me is they couldn’t score more this past game [against the Cardinals]. Aside from that, it’s nothing shocking. The margins are small. And they have mostly played some good teams.”
The schedule does get easier. Three of L.A.’s four losses came against playoff teams from last season (49ers, Broncos and Bills). Over the next four games, Los Angeles faces teams with a combined record of 6-17-1.
A longtime scout told me he’s concerned with McVay’s long-term prospects for the rest of the year, though.
“The pressure of going all in for the Super Bowl like they did in the past with the ‘F’ them picks’ and winning in that year is intensified by themselves, the fans and the media,” the scout told me. “Also, the sportsbooks! Couple that with the Myles Garrett trade and injury, Puka Nacua’s offseason antics and the unretiring of Aaron Donald and that added to the pressure.
“Now you’ve got the unforeseen injuries and bad FG protection. Plus, throwing the ball so much and not establishing an offensive identity by an offensive guru head coach. Just a perfect storm for a coach to fight his way out of it. I’d like to know who Coach McVay turns for guidance. Who’s his Football Muse?”
Ralph Vacchiano: A lot of questions still remain about how the Philadelphia Eagles handled quarterback Jalen Hurts after he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his calf two weeks ago, and why they let him play the next day. But one thing seemed clear to many around the NFL, even after tests discovered more blood clots in Hurts’ lungs: The Eagles weren’t going to willingly risk their quarterback’s life for a game.
“I find it impossible to believe that if doctors told the Eagles it was too risky for Hurts to play, that they would’ve let him play,” an NFL executive told me. “Even if Hurts insisted, they wouldn’t have taken that kind of risk. We’re not talking about a sprained ankle here. It’s serious stuff.
“We all want to win, and we’ll do almost anything to win, but we’re not monsters.”
By all accounts, the Eagles aren’t either. Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, said on Tuesday that “I have great confidence … and believe that everyone acted with an abundance of caution.” And when the Eagles announced on Monday that the additional clots were discovered and Hurts was headed to injured reserve, it came in a joint statement from the team and Hurts’ agent, Nicole Lynn.
That’s not necessarily a sign that the Eagles did everything right. But it was a strong signal that Hurts’ camp didn’t have a problem with how things were handled.
“You don’t think she’d be screaming bloody murder if the Eagles somehow screwed this up?” another NFL executive told me. “She’s aligned with the team on this. And from everything I’ve heard, they really are comfortable with how [Eagles general manager] Howie Roseman and all the doctors handled it. Trust me, if they weren’t, we’d all know.”
That doesn’t mean mistakes weren’t made, though, which is why the NFLPA is calling for a “full investigation” even after the NFL has apparently exonerated the Eagles. Even some outside doctors, who notably weren’t part of Hurts’ evaluation, have gone on record questioning how he was allowed to play after the first clot was discovered.
“I’m not a doctor, so maybe they’re right,” the first executive told me. “But Howie didn’t make the medical decision on his own. There’s no way he overruled his medical people. So if doctors and specialists say he can play, and he wants to play, what are you supposed to do?”
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