For the first time since 2000, the Rams are playing the season as the defending Super Bowl champions.
This is a brand new feeling for most Los Angeles Rams fans, as the organization has not been the reigning Super Bowl champion in over two decades. How will that change things for the Rams, or will it?
Well, for one, it puts a massive target on the team’s back, as teams will bring their A-game every week. Everyone wants to be the team that takes down the defending champions because it’s a good measuring stick. The Rams will have to match their opponents’ intensity because week after week will feel like a playoff game. Teams likely circled their matchup on their calendars.
When Sean McVay was asked about his team entering the season with a target on their back, he downplayed it. Although he did admit his team embraces the opportunity, he also suggested it’s a brand new season and everyone is undefeated to start the season.
“I think every team if you are performing at a high level, has a target on their back if you will,” McVay said. “That is something you are not naïve to because we won last year, but I think a lot of these teams know it’s a brand-new year.”
The Rams have been one of the best teams in the NFL since McVay arrived in 2017. They made the playoffs in four out of five seasons, including two Super Bowl appearances.
Even with all of the recent success, more work must be done.
After winning the Super Bowl, can the Rams repeat and win back-to-back? The last repeat champion was the New England Patriots in 2003 and 2004.
“We won it last year but everybody is undefeated now so we are just going to take the right steps one day at a time,” McVay said. “I think you embrace the opportunity to be somebody that people care about covering.”
The Rams are entering training camp with some fresh faces.
The offense needed another wideout to complement Cooper Kupp, so they brought in Allen Robinson. Los Angeles signed the former Bears receiver to a three-year, $46.5 million contract in March.
Defensively they added eight-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner. The 32-year-old recorded a career-high 170 total tackles in 2021.
With these offseason moves, McVay has confidence that his team can handle the pressure of being the reigning champs.
“We talk about it all the time, pressure is a privilege, but I think we got the right kind of guys that have the humility and understand that that confidence is earned every single day by the way they work.”
The Rams will hold their first practice at UC Irvine on Sunday, July 24.