Todd Gurley is an elite running back and a man among boys. The Rams managed to get off to an alright start past year. He went for 6.2 with a long touchdown run to make that stat line really pop.
Advertisement
I could be a contrarian and aim closer to 11-5 (citing Palmer’s turnovers to potentially increase and a new look secondary), but short of a catastrophic injury, it’s not hard to see Arizona remaining the cream of the crop in the NFC West. They invested heavily in Arik Armstead at defensive tackle in the draft a year ago. They turned around and did it again when they drafted DeForest Buckner. The defense is led by star inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman. The 49ers’ defensive front has dealt with injuries throughout training camp while the Rams’ offensive line is nearing full strength with the return of right tackle Rob Havenstein, who missed nearly all of training camp with a foot injury.
And Kelly needs to run the ball to win.
Of the 85 total quarterbacks on opening-day rosters, 26 are former first-round draft picks, easily the most of any round. Tavon Austin should be ready to rip and could very well be more than that 49ers team can handle. The 49ers allowed an average quarterback rating of 98, which was 8th worst in the National Football League last season.
When watching this game, it going to be important to watch the rushing on both ends with Todd Gurley for the Rams and Carlos Hyde for the 49ers. The Rams strength on defense is their line.
Both the Rams and 49ers will be employing similar game plans on defense: take the ball out of the running back’s hands as much as possible. So this probably goes one of two ways. But Gabbert emerged from the wilderness midway through the 2015 season, starting the 49ers’ final eight contests.
It’s Chip Kelly 2.0 in the NFL. We’ve got to come out and play and it’s going to be a dogfight. This will especially be present in their first game against the 49ers, who will have a new head coach with a new offense. He’ll have his work cut out for him facing off against the likes of Aaron Donald. “Monday night, at their place; they’re definitely a great team for sure”. Either way, Hyde is going to need to come up big if the 49ers have a chance.
“It’s going to be great”, he said of starting the first game for the Rams in their new Los Angeles era. I would imagine that 20 or more touches should be the baseline to operate from. The Rams, like the Niners, have a questionable passing attack, meaning neither team should score much.
Since joining the Rams in 2012, coach Jeff Fisher has just a.400 winning percentage (16-24) outside his division.
Advertisement
Palmer does slightly worse this season statistically, but it allows the Cardinals to become more reliant on David Johnson, Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington. But it can’t happen in January, because let’s face it, the expectations for this season is Super Bowl or Bust, and I have yet to see these Cardinals play a complete game in January. Just smart, and Case Keenum is smart. If Jimmie Ward is as improved as he’s looked in practice, he and Tramaine Brock will likely be playing on islands tonight, something they should be able to handle with the Rams’ feeble wide receiving unit. As Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times reports, the Rams Week 1 inactives include a few names who fans were hoping to see early on in 2016.
