THOUSAND OAKS
Johnny Hekker Jersey , Calif. (AP) — One year ago, general manager Les Snead and the Los Angeles Rams‘ front office decided they had to jump through the
championship window that had suddenly, shockingly appeared before them.Now that
they’ve landed on their feet in Atlanta, Snead has zero regrets about writing
the checks and making the commitments necessary for his Super Bowl-bound team to
make that leap.“After winning the division last year, after contending last
year, we sat back and said, ‘We definitely feel like we can do this, and we
could do this consistently for a little while,'” Snead said Wednesday. “I think
the moves this year were (about saying), ‘Let’s improve. That wasn’t good
enough.'”The Rams reached the playoffs last season for the first time in 13
years, with rookie coach Sean McVay leading a seven-win improvement for a
franchise that hadn’t had a winning season since 2003.But Los Angeles promptly
lost its first postseason game to the Falcons, putting a slight damper on that
incredible one-season turnaround.Knowing the tenuousness of NFL success for
every team except the Patriots — and realizing the impact that a Super Bowl run
could have in the Rams’ new hometown — Snead decided it was already time to do
everything possible to help homegrown stars Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald and Jared
Goff.“That feeling after Atlanta was hollow, even after the sweetness of the
breakthrough
Greg Zuerlein Jersey ,” said Snead, the genial Alabama native in charge of the Rams’ front office since 2012.So the Rams made several enormous bets on
themselves, and every single one of them has paid off.The Rams acquired
defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters and
edge rusher Dante Fowler to bolster their defense. They gave huge contracts to
Gurley and Donald — and even to receiver Brandin Cooks, who had just been
acquired from New England for a first-round pick and hadn’t even suited up yet
for Los Angeles.Snead’s largely homegrown roster was suddenly supplemented by
elite, high-priced veteran talent, and McVay’s staff made it all work.After
matching the NFL’s best regular-season record at 13-3 and then beating Dallas
and New Orleans in the postseason, the Rams are beginning preparations for their
trip to Atlanta to face New England in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.Snead knows some
of the Rams’ moves were greeted with raised eyebrows. Talib and Peters are
well-known for their strong personalities, with Peters particularly enduring
rough patches in college at Washington and again with Kansas City.Yet there
hasn’t been a hint of serious conflict in the Rams’ harmonious locker room.
Despite some up-and-down performances, Peters allowed the Rams to get past the
loss of Trumaine Johnson, their top cover cornerback last season, while Talib is
a team captain who has been the Rams’ top cover man since returning from injury
in December.Suh didn’t immediately have the dramatic effect many expected after
he signed for one season at $14 million, but he was incredibly disruptive in the
Rams’ two playoff games — which also happened to be the first two postseason
victories of his nine-year NFL career.Snead gives much of the credit to McVay
and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, but he also isn’t surprised.“We always
say around here that we’re not collecting talent
Jacob McQuaide Jersey ,” Snead said. “We’re building a team, and there’s more to team than just a skillset on the football field. I like to say, ‘You can’t bring
someone in that’s going to be a toothache.’ … And also, our culture can lead to
them thriving.”The Rams’ bets on continuing excellence from Donald and Gurley
paid off with outstanding seasons from both stars. Cooks also lived up to his
five-year, $81 million extension from July, racking up 80 catches for a
career-best 1,204 yards receiving.The Rams acquired Fowler from Jacksonville
during the season, and his effectiveness has steadily increased, culminating in
two strong playoff games against Dak Prescott and Drew Brees.Snead had one
clever move left for the winter, signing veteran running back C.J. Anderson last
month after Gurley was slowed by a knee injury. Anderson had been released by
three teams in the previous eight months, but the compact back immediately
delivered three consecutive 100-yard rushing games.Snead is quick to point out
one important factor in the Rams’ recent moves: Goff is still on his rookie
contract, which frees up a large chunk of Los Angeles’ payroll that would
otherwise be given to a franchise quarterback, as the third-year pro appears to
be.“That gives you some flexibility within the budget to do some other things,”
Snead said. “The goal is also to continue being sustainable when you do have to
maybe give Jared a raise in due time.”Snead plans to enjoy the next two
weeks
Dominique Easley Jersey , but he isn’t ready to reflect fully on the success of his moves — not while he’s still spending several hours a day preparing for
the draft and free agency.“All that’s done now is (to) put you in a spot where
you’ve got an opportunity to go get a bigger trophy, and that’s the focus,” said
Snead, who spent his formative front-office years with the Falcons.FanPulse: Los
Angeles Rams fans the only NFL fan base with unanimous confidence Welcome to SB
Nation FanPulse — a survey of fans across the NFL, powered by SurveyMonkey. Each
week, we send 32 polls to 100+ plugged in fans from each team. Rams fans, sign
up HERE to join FanPulse.Week 1 FanPulseWeek 2 FanPulseHeading into Week 1 of
the regular season, there were two NFL teams whose fan base expressed 100%
confidence in the trajectory of the team: the New Orleans Saints and the Los
Angeles Rams. The Saints lost that weekend to the Tampa Buccaneers and escaped
with a three-point win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.Their fan confidence
now? 58%.The Rams on the other hand put up a 33-13 Week 1 win over the Oakland
Raiders followed by a dominant 34-0 win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week
2.Rams fans confidence now? 100%.Yes for the last two weeks, Rams fans have been
the only fan base unanimous in their confidence level for their
team.Philadelphia Eagles fans? 93%. Kansas City Chiefs fans? 96%.Even
Jacksonville Jaguars fans have a sliver of doubt at 99%.Yes, this is about the
performance of the team and the headline-making offseason. But it’s also about a
media climate that pumped expectations as high as possible.Ride the ride, Rams
fans.
