EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The mass exodus that has taken place in San Francisco this offseason has many wondering just how far the 49ers are going to fall off in 2015.
It started with coach Jim Harbaugh's departure and then trickled down to the roster via surprising retirements (Chris Borland and Anthony Davis), not-so-surprising retirements (Justin Smith) or free agent movement (guard Mike Iupati). NFL Nation columnist Kevin Seifert put all of those losses in better perspective on Monday by examining the number of player snaps added and lost this offseason.
Seifert finds that the 49ers have the biggest difference between snaps added and snaps lost at 5,697. The Philadelphia Eagles are next at 4,853.
The St. Louis Rams, meanwhile, come in at 3,419 snaps lost. But to put that in perspective, many of those snaps came from the likes of center Scott Wells and guard Davin Joseph, neither of whom was very effective a year ago. The Rams actually retained 93 percent of their defensive snaps from last season with defensive tackle Kendall Langford the only major deletion.
None of this guarantees anything in terms of the Rams' anticipated progress in 2015. But the Rams did beat San Francisco on the road last year (the Niners handled them in St. Louis earlier in the season) and finished two games behind the Niners in the NFC West. Bigger surprises have happened but with so many moving parts and a new coach in Jim Tomsula, the Rams look like they're in position to at least move out of the division's basement this year.
ICYMI
A roundup of Monday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... In the Ram-blings, we started the day with a look at whether Nick Foles can emerge as the Rams' long-term quarterback. ... Receiver Kenny Britt is not satisfied with his first six seasons in the league. ... The Rams just couldn't resist the opportunity to hire Jeff Garcia as a coach. ... Jeff Fisher's unique approach to the offseason program isn't going to change simply because there's so much to do.
Elsewhere:
At 101sports.com, a local politician responded to Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon's latest comments on the pending lawsuit about the St. Louis stadium project.
At FoxSportsMidwest.com, Elisabeth Meinecke has an interesting story on one of rookie lineman Jamon Brown's jobs before he came to the NFL.
At stltoday.com, Joe Lyons takes a closer look at the added competition at running back brought on by the team's new rookies.
Following up on Chris Long and William Hayes' homeless endeavors, a woman they helped after their night on the street has received some additional help.
NJ.com comments on the early love for Foles in St. Louis.