Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Three championships in their franchise's history - each one in a different city. Of course the latter of these are eras away from the first two; but for their time, which Rams title team do you feel has the most to hang their hat on - '45 Cleveland, '51 Los Angeles, or '99 St. Louis?

Cleveland & LA - just six years apart - seem like the two that can be the easiest to compare to one another. But much similarities between LA & StL despite the 48 year distance. Both 'Greatest Shows' in their own regard with defenses that may have not been the 'main characters', but good enough in each case to complement those historically potent offenses to a title. Finishing at just 8-4, LA needed help from 6-4-1 San Fran in the finale to make 7-3-1 Detroit into a 7-4-1 team which they did thus winning the Rams that conference for them. And in the League Championship Game one week later, they could not have faced a tougher opponent! They did what they almost did a year prior and that's defeat Paul Browns' defending-Champs who were even better that regular season at 11-1 (their one loss being the opener)! St. Louis did have themselves that softest schedule a SB-champ has ever had but proved their mettle in the playoffs; particularly against brute smash-mouth teams in both the NFC Championship and the Super Bowl! But, to me, I'd have to still give '45 Cleveland the nod for that more-dominant 9-1 (.900) regular season - and beating 8-2 Baugh & Co to boot! Definitely the much better defense of the two as well.

Thoughts?

To answer you original question... I'm tempted to go with 1967. First in scoring, first in points allowed. Their greatest championship team I'd pick 1999.

I'd go with the '51 Rams. Any time you have either Waterfield or Van Brocklin sitting on the bench, you're some kind of team.

51 team for me ... they were due with all that offensive talent.

The 99 team came out of nowhere with a backup QB but what a season, though the Bucs got robbed in the NFC Champ game.

The 67 team had a great year but peaked against Baltimore for the division ... they missed scoring chances against the Packers in the playoffs, also ...

Problem is best Rams teams--73 and 67 choked in playoffs

99 team had soft schedule but was better than some think, derspite that
run defense was great, pass rush great, defensive passer rating was great.

Something that was because they ran up score and teams didn't run
late in games and they racked up sacks, but ran the numbers and
it was counterintuitive

the 1945 team, relative to the rest of the league has to be right there
the 1951 teams had a lot of weakness

so, 1999 is the best, despite schedule, beat two great defenses
TB and Tenny, with inexperienced QB, Faulk is the key, though
with him, makes them the best of the Rams teams

1951 team still was underrated, going to three straight championship games. Would the 50 Giants and that defense beaten them had they got by Cleveland ?

ChrisBabcock wrote:To answer you original question... I'm tempted to go with 1967. First in scoring, first in points allowed. Their greatest championship team I'd pick 1999.

The 1967 Rams looked like the best Ram team ever when they beat the Colts in the all or nothing season finale. The 1967 Rams beat the Cowboys, Packers, and Colts in the regular season. Six days later they played the Packers in Milwaukee, 13 degrees wind chill -3. George Allen's 1967 and 1969 teams couldn't get a break on the playoff seeding.

I still dont understand why an 12-1-1 Ram team had to go to a 9-4-1 Packer team in Milwaukee of all places, in 1967 ?

What hurt the 69 Rams was losing their last three games. Had no momentum going into Met Stadium

Brian wolf wrote:I still dont understand why an 12-1-1 Ram team had to go to a 9-4-1 Packer team in Milwaukee of all places, in 1967 ?

Back in the day, the home field advantage was determined by a rotation system instead of the best record. For instance, in 1951, the 11-1 Cleveland Browns had to play the championship game against the 8-4 Rams in Los Angeles, even though the Browns beat the Rams during the 1951 regular season, 38 to 24, and had the much better record.