(Photo: The Ringer)
Of course, the Los Angeles Rams were the talk of the offseason, and deservedly so after the moves they made. They acquired both Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson from the Kansas City Chiefs, won the Myles Garrett sweepstakes, and acquired the All-Pro EDGE rusher from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for Jared Verse. This is one thing I’ll always give the Rams credit for: adding talent to keep themselves in contention in the NFC. They always seem to operate in win-now mode. After rumors and speculation swirled, Aaron Donald also decided to come out of retirement and return to the only team he’s ever known. At times, the Rams were being talked about more than the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Let’s not forget that Seattle defeated them in the NFC Championship Game in January. Following a two-point loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6, the Rams sit at 2–4 and last place in the NFC West. Let’s break this down and dive into the problems.
Last season, this was one of the three or four best offenses in the league. I often saw a unit that played with balance. Matthew Stafford had the best season of his career, winning his first league MVP award, and had two elite receivers on the outside in Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. This season, I barely recognize that unit. There have been far too many mistakes on offense, including negative plays, too many interceptions, penalties, and plays that push the Rams backward rather than generate positive yardage. I’ve also noticed inconsistent execution. They aren’t turning enough of their drives into touchdowns and are settling for field goals instead. Balance is still key at every level of football, and I’ve noticed that this LA team is struggling to run the football consistently. So far this season, the Rams are averaging 4.6 yards per carry, which isn’t bad. However, my point is that they haven’t been able to establish the run consistently enough to take pressure off Stafford. That leads me to my next point: Stafford has been throwing the football far too much for my liking. Against the Denver Broncos, he threw 55 passes. The following week against the Philadelphia Eagles, he finished with 51 pass attempts, and just last Monday night against the Buffalo Bills, he attempted 54 passes. That’s simply too much. This is why I’m saying the Rams need to find ways to get both Kyren Williams and Blake Corum more involved. Given how innovative an offensive mind Sean McVay is, I know he can find ways to use these two running backs more strategically.
The defense has had its moments, both good and bad. I’d say they kept the team in the game against Arizona for most of the contest, but here’s where the issues begin: injuries have decimated this group and exposed some significant weaknesses. Myles Garrett has been on injured reserve since his debut against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne. His absence has reduced the team’s ability to rush the passer, which is precisely why they acquired him in the first place: to pressure opposing quarterbacks. Today, it was announced that Kobie Turner and Poona Ford would also miss time with injuries. Both are key pieces of the defensive front. Trent McDuffie also missed the Cardinals game, and his absence creates uncertainty in the secondary. I’ll give the defense credit: it’s been the stronger side of the ball compared with the offense and has been their saving grace. However, the offense needs to join the party. The Rams can’t always count on their defense to bail them out when the offense is playing inconsistently, especially when special-teams blunders are adding to the problem.
It’s not a lack of talent with this football team. That’s far from the issue I’m getting at. Rather, it’s the combination of injuries exposing weaknesses, a lack of depth, an inconsistent offense, and special-teams failures that has really hurt this Rams team. Davante Adams has now joined the seemingly never-ending list of injured players, as he’ll miss the next six to ten weeks with a hamstring injury. If you ask me, I don’t think this is what Aaron Donald came out of retirement for. A few weeks ago on Monday Evening Quarterback, I was asked about the Rams, and I said they somewhat reminded me of the Miami Heat during LeBron James’ first season with the team. I remember that Miami team struggling early on, but eventually getting things together. If I had to compare this Rams team to another NFL team, though, it would be the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams had plenty of star power but struggled to translate that talent into winning football. I won’t write the Rams off just yet, but changes need to be made quickly.
