In 1999, the St. Louis Rams were coming off a 4-12 season. They started 7-2, averaged a league-high 32.9 points per game and won the Super Bowl as the "Greatest Show on Turf."
In 2017, the Los Angeles Rams are coming off a 4-12 season. They're 7-2, averaging a league-high 32.9 points per game and …
Kind of spooky, eh?
"To me, it's not that hard to figure out," said Jon Gruden, former Super Bowl-winning coach, current "Monday Night Football" analyst and lifelong friend to the McVay family that includes 31-year-old Rams rookie head coach Sean McVay.
"The kid Sean has at quarterback [Jared Goff] was the No. 1 overall pick. Last year, he had no protection, no blocking at all. He was a rookie under siege. Sean went to the GM [Les Snead] and addressed the major issue."
Which was?
"Left tackle," said Gruden, who brought McVay into the NFL as his 22-year-old coaching assistant at Tampa Bay in 2008. "In Greg Robinson, I think they tried to save a bad idea for too long. It wasn't pretty."
Not coincidently, the Rams finished last in scoring (14.0).