Of course they have not achieved anything yet, and I know it's an absurd comparison until it's proven on the field. But there are a lot of similarities between the two teams.
The 1998 Rams were 4-12, moving away from Tony Banks, and toward a new future at QB, and they added an elite wide receiver at, ironically, the #6 overall pick in Torry Holt.
Adding Holt, Marshall Faulk, and Adam Zimmerman transformed that offense from a mess to perhaps the greatest in history to that time.
But there were core pieces in place prior to Holt and Faulk. Orlando Pace, Issac Bruce, Az Hakim -- I think the comparison of Thomas to Pace is easy to spot, and yes this isn't a perfect comparison as wan'dale Robinson, Darius Slayton, and Jalen Hyatt are much different receivers.
The thing that I interesting is that the 99 Rams team was known for their speed. But Nabers, Hyatt, Robinson and Slayton are clearly pound for pound a faster group than Bruce, Holt, Hakim and Proehl.
The comparison would be better if Barkley was still here, as obviously he is closer in terms of talent than Singletary.
Anyway, I hope you all will consider some of the striking parallels and not shoot me down for the comparison. The 98' rams were a disaster but obviously just a handful of pieces changed the franchise on a dime.
What are you drinking this afternoon?
That's kind of a big one to be missing.
Probably bigger than the Faulk mismatch, no?
And also Isaac Bruce is in the NFL HOF, and Torry Holt probably could be too. That's quite the projection for Nabers and Hyatt or Robinson. Unless it's Slayton the future HOFer. Is that who it is?
I want to see it. but, have to be honest, I don't see any similarities between the greatest show on turf rams and the current Giants. None.
Hyatt struggles against press man and is one dimensional. So is he supposed to be the Holt or the Bruce part of this? right now he is not close to their league. WanDale is undersized, a useful gadget, and so far not much more. Nabers has a chance to be super, no doubt.
And at QB we have nothing close to Warner. It's easier to make the comparison to the 99 Rams if you think QB is just a guy throwing a football and any top-30 warm body can do it. I'm not there with that. Warner was special in 99 and pretty great after at times and he is in the HOF. Daniel Jones and Drew Lock are not that kind of QB. Warner was smart, decisive, efficient with a quick release, great ball, extremely accurate hitting receivers on the dead run outside of contact. That's not Jones, who routinely throws receivers INTO contact.
Sorry I do not think this is an interesting comparison.
Who’s throwing the ball downfield on our roster?
There are some interesting comparisons and let’s hope we can come close to that. It would be fun to watch.
I do think it still comes down to the OL. They need to give the QB time or the speed won’t matter
There are some interesting comparisons and let’s hope we can come close to that. It would be fun to watch.
I do think it still comes down to the OL. They need to give the QB time or the speed won’t matter
Being a nobody at QB (as in nobody knows whether that player is any good or not) is preferable to a QB who has proven to be a sub-par starter over multiple seasons.
Faulk was the centerpiece of the offense. Without him, or somebody like him, the comparison seems pointless.
As for QB, Jones has a much better resume than the arena league refugee afterthought backup Vermeil promoted when Trent Green went down. But Warner had one outstanding attribute: accuracy. I’m not sure Jones has any. Also in 2023 Jones looked a lot like 2003 Warner: battered and completely spooked. In 1999 Warner stood in and took the hits Martz’s offense required. By 2003 he needed years of recuperation to get his hand and his brain right.
Oh, and Warner dominated NFL Europe with the Admirals, too. You didn't hear about him, but he was not a "nobody"...he was a real NFL talent that matured later than normal.
I like Devito, but Warner is a legit Hall of Famer! There is NO comparison between him and Jones/DeVito. Hell, even a banged up Warner pre Eli was still better than those two..Warner also had a bad OL here, and had zero WR help with the Giants. That wasn't fixed until the next year, when Eli started.
Remember, the Rams had other NFL QB's before him, and that team, as stacked as it was, never won anything until Kurt was the last guy left after injuries. Warner made that team go, there was no "Greatest Show on Turf" without him.
If Jones was 50% of what Warner was, this board would be doing flip flops.