Sean McVay on Rams Odds: ‘They Don’t Believe in Us!’
Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay knows he's damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't in terms of commenting on the team's over/under win total entering the 2023 season. So he kept his thoughts short and sweet at the outset of Training Camp
The Rams have an over/under of 6.5 wins during the 2023 regular season. The normally long-winded McVay used less than 20 words Tuesday to respond to the underwhelming prognostication for his squad this season.
"Whatever I say, I’m going to get in trouble right now," McVay acknowledged. "They don’t believe in us.”
There's enough in the second part of that statement to get the impression that McVay thinks his team will hit the over in 2023. But there weren't any guarantees or any type of comments that would come back to bite him in a few months if Los Angeles' season goes sideways for the second consecutive year. Because truthfully, McVay may have an idea of what the Rams could be, but they are one of the more difficult teams to project entering this campaign.
If quarterback Matthew Stafford, receiver Cooper Kupp and defensive tackle Aaron Donald stay healthier this year than they did in the Rams' 5-12 season in 2022, obviously that would lead you to believe Los Angeles will have something of a bounce-back season. But particularly in the case of the 35-year-old Stafford, there's no guarantee that 2022 wasn't the first sign that the wheels are starting to come off given the beating he's taken in his career.
Even if the trio of Stafford, Kupp, and Donald are all healthy in 2023, the Rams still project to be a very top-heavy team. They have next-to-no proven talent among their linebackers and secondary with both Bobby Wagner and Jalen Ramsey departing in the offseason.
The Rams are counting on second-round pick Steve Avila to be an immediate starter at left guard, which will impact both the ability to protect Stafford and improve upon a running game that was one of the poorer in the league last season. It's unclear if the Rams have a No. 2 receiver to pair with Kupp. There are just a lot of questions with the Rams.
And unless they are bad enough to get a top-two pick in the 2024 NFL Draft -- which doesn't seem especially likely -- you do wonder if McVay will stay the course with the Rams if there isn't some sort of bounce back this upcoming season.
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