A Look At The LA Rams Schedule
- Updated: September 1, 2016
The Los Angeles Rams begin and (almost) end their 2016 NFL season with their two easiest games of the year: each time facing the San Francisco 49ers, first in Week 1 and then in Week 16. Around those games, there are a bunch of very hard matchups pending for the Rams.
With so many tough opponents on the slate, it makes the easier games must-win for LA. This team cannot afford to come up short against winnable foes when there are so many games that do not appear winnable at this juncture. Los Angeles obviously plays division rivals Arizona and Seattle twice. The Cardinals and Seahawks are probably two of the three best teams in the conference. Last year, the then St. Louis Rams managed to go 3-1 in those four contests. It was a remarkable performance in an otherwise forgettable season. It also has a very low chance of being replicated. Instead, LA will probably sign up for 1-3 if you could get an honest answer out of the organization.
Outside of divisional games, the Rams have key games coming out of their Week 8 bye. They face the Carolina Panthers, New York Jets and New England Patriots in the span of five weeks. Intermingled between, are tough games against Miami and at New Orleans as well. This five-week stretch is going to make or break the Rams’ season.
Everyone knows how good Carolina and New England are. For the Patriots, this game will take place long after Tom Brady returns from his suspension, meaning New England will surely be firing on all cylinders by the time it hosts Los Angeles.
The Jets are an underrated star team. If they get any performance out of Ryan Fitzpatrick that approaches what he was able to accomplish last season, this will be a scary squad. The skill players around their quarterback are as good as it gets. Arguably the same goes for the Miami Dolphins. This team is supremely talented yet grossly underachieved in 2015. Expect a bounce back this season, which doesn’t do Miami’s opponents any favors. And then there’s New Orleans; a declining organization that still is led by a premiere passer with potent skill players of its own. The Saints don’t have anything close to the defense of those other teams (including Los Angeles), but they are a tough out at home most seasons.
It’s hard to look at their schedule and see any easy games for the Rams, making these games against mid to upper tier foes all the more important. Adding a monkey wrench to the whole season is the fact that LA loses a home game with it’s trip to London in Week 7 to take on the Giants. The Giants are beatable for this club, but losing a home game and being forced to travel across the pond adds impact to this matchup. LA will want momentum heading into its bye and will want to overcome the neural site. This game could be the difference between 3-4 or 4-3 heading into the off week. And after that comes the tough slate already described.
Last year, LA did a bad job of protecting home field. It will be all the more important in 2016 with a young and growing roster. The rest of the home games come against Buffalo and Atlanta: two games the Rams need to win. Neither team is a guaranteed playoff contender, let alone a dominant club. Both had struggles defensively in 2015, especially Atlanta. For Los Angeles, it needs to capitalize anytime it faces a weak defense since its own offense could be lacking on certain weeks. The logic goes, if LA can’t excel against Atlanta, what hope does it have of scoring points when the big boys come to play?
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Rams and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time!
Related Posts
About Guest Writer
