NFL power rankings: Who is biggest threat to Patriots?
By Brad Weiss
Los Angeles Rams
, NFC West
The Los Angeles Rams first-team offense looked pretty good on Saturday night, as quarterback Jared Goff led a nice touchdown drive to open up the game against the Oakland Raiders. The organization is hoping he takes a huge step forward in 2017, as he is the key to their success on the offensive side of the ball. He has looked good this preseason, and did a nice job reading the defense on Saturday, but they were playing against a mediocre Raiders secondary.
Heading into Week 3 of the preseason, the Rams have one huge problem on their hands. Star defensive end Aaron Donald has still not reported to came, and word is he may actually be considering sitting out the entire season. That would be a huge blow to the Rams defense, who does not have much star power outside of Donald.
If Todd Gurley II can run the way he did in his rookie season, and Goff can cut down on the turnovers, the Rams may be able to move the ball better than they did last season. They brought in Robert Woods to help Tavon Austin at the wide receiver position, giving Goff two solid options on the outside. In addition, Gurley looks very good this preseason, so he should be much more productive in year three.
This team is not going to win a ton of games, and if Goff regresses, they may be in the business to grab a quarterback at the top of the draft. That would devastate the franchise, as they traded away a lot of assets to get Goff No. 1 overall in the 2016 NFL Draft. It is only preseason, but Goff looked like a different quarterback on that first drive Saturday night, so there has to be a glimmer of hope in L.A.