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The Los Angeles Rams are coming off of a 2018 campaign in which they won 12 games, captured the NFC West division title and made it all the way to the Super Bowl, and now, they want to finish the deal.
The Rams are considered one of the top contenders to win the championship going into 2019, and with good reason: their offense is absolutely loaded, their head coach is as innovative as they come and they now have some experience.
But are we jumping the gun in essentially giving Los Angeles a free pass to another 12-win season with playoff success?
There is no doubt that the Rams have some question marks, and even if they have less worries than most teams, they still have some reasons to exercise caution.
Here are three areas of concern for Los Angeles heading into 2019:
3. Jared Goff's Second Half of 2018
Jared Goff's 2018 campaign was a tale of two quarterbacks. While he was an MVP candidate during the first half of the season, his second half was not so good, and his postseason was even more concerning.
Yes, the Rams made the Super Bowl, but in three playoff games, Goff threw just one touchdown while completing 55.7 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 71.7.
Goff certainly appears to be LA's quarterback of the future, and he is still just 24 years old, so he's a kid. But there is no doubt that his second-half slump is somewhat concerning, and the Rams have to hope it doesn't carry over into 2019.
Obviously, having a great offensive line and a deep receiving corps should help tremendously, but it's ultimately up to Goff to reverse this recent trend.
2. The Run Defense
The Rams ranked just 23rd against the run this past year, and now, they are without Ndamukong Suh, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers via free agency.
That's not to say that Suh was spectacular in Los Angeles, but he was still solid and helped form a pretty great two-man game with Aaron Donald along the Rams' defensive front.
But now, with Suh gone, rookie fourth-round pick Greg Gaines will take over at defensive tackle, which could make what was an already shoddy Los Angeles run defense even worse.
Donald can only do so much on his own.
You have to wonder if the Rams will really regret not making an effort to bring back Suh.
1. Todd Gurley's Knee
Todd Gurley was knocked out for the final two games of the 2018 regular season due to a knee injury. He returned in the Divisional Round of the playoffs and looked just fine, gashing the Dallas Cowboys for 115 yards and a couple of touchdowns, but he was then a virtual non-factor in the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl, leading many to wonder just how fine his knee was.
Gurley has not given us much to go off of this offseason, essentially brushing off any questions about his knee and not even denying that he has a degenerative issue there. There has also been some talk that Gurley's knee injury initially happened much earlier in 2018, but he played through it.
It also doesn't look like Gurley will be playing in the preseason, which is certainly worrisome, as you would have figured he would absolutely be back to 100 percent by now.
As great as the Rams' passing game is, Gurley is the focus of their offense, and if he is compromised in any way, Los Angeles is going to have a very difficult time making it back to the Super Bowl this coming season.
