How will opposing Defenses Cover Kupp, Woods & Jefferson?

[SeminoleRam]

It will NOT be easy!!!

 

[Merlin]

I'm excited to see Jeff and his ability to get quick separation vs the depth corners who will draw him early on. No matter who they choose most defenses will have a mismatch on their hands.

And that's not counting the TEs. So yeah the pieces are there at the skill position.

 

[badnews]

All we need is average run and pass blocking from our O-line. If we are middle of the pack up front, our offense will be in the top 10.

Same goes for our LB corps and the defense.

I, mostly sober and without the mind altering affects of kool-aid, believe we will be a top 4 NFC team with a good shot at the SB.

 

[dang]

So Rams are moving further away from slow developing long pass plays downfield. Precision route running, strong hands and YAC will carry this team’s passing game. Goff is still going to need some time to go through his progressions. So if the OL can give him decent time we should see the Rams offense consistently moving the ball downfield. We will miss Gurleys red zone running but should be able to throw for more TDs this year in the red zone. And maybe Akers and Brown can add the necessary punch in when needed.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

I would not leave Higbee out of that string of names.

With the back end left trying to cover the aforementioned three Higbee should be able to feast.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

They can't cover all of them at once, for certain, the only way they can do it is by getting a pass rush. Our O-line has a lot to prove, but if they can hold up, then we will be good.

 

[oldnotdead]

IMO most teams early in the season will open in their base nickel. If that is press man then that's what they will attempt to do. But they will find that they simply won't have the DBs to match up and like most teams, they will end up playing a lot of zone. They will mix in man coverages on their blitzes but overall I think the defenses will play a lot of zone. Jefferson is a huge game changer in that they simply won't have any #3 CB or safety that can cover him in man coverage. Now add in the TEs and it really becomes a mismatch. What I see some teams playing is a two-deep shell and a third safety in their nickel. They will try to cover Jefferson and the TE with zone underneath hoping their pass rush will get there. This type of scheme also will allow them to try to cover the Ram run attack as the 3rd safety and the LBs will all be facing the LOS.

If they play this type of defensive scheme it behooves the Rams to have a strong inside run attack. Inside zone or power gap will gain yards if executed properly. Where it really becomes difficult for the defense is 3rd and short where out of 11 personnel they will replace an LB with a safety and try to stop a strong inside run attack with essentially a light box or a quick pass with someone like Jefferson who can get open quickly.

Notice the commonality in all these possible defenses, that the defensive front needs to pressure Goff or get off run blocks. That commonality is the Ram offensive line being able to simply execute their blocks. They don't have to be an elite line, just above average will do. Goff has been practicing getting the ball off faster on time. The o-line is moving to a better blocking scheme as evidenced by what little has been shown. It looks like a basic inside gap or inside zone scheme. I've been saying this since last year that Mundt should be used as a fullback and now there are hints that might be the case. He has the size and movement ability to pull it off. Also, he has better hands than most FBs so that part of the play action will be open to McVay/Goff. With the RBs the Rams have if they can execute a power gap run attack it would very hard to stop. Sooner or later Ackers or Henderson will break one.

The Ram passing attack is built to beat man or zone.

 

[fearsomefour]

The easiest way to cover elite receivers is defeat an average OL.
I expect to see the OL tested early and often, esp in the middle of the line.

 

[Faceplant]

IMO most teams early in the season will open in their base nickel. If that is press man then that's what they will attempt to do. But they will find that they simply won't have the DBs to match up and like most teams, they will end up playing a lot of zone. They will mix in man coverages on their blitzes but overall I think the defenses will play a lot of zone. Jefferson is a huge game changer in that they simply won't have any #3 CB or safety that can cover him in man coverage. Now add in the TEs and it really becomes a mismatch. What I see some teams playing is a two-deep shell and a third safety in their nickel. They will try to cover Jefferson and the TE with zone underneath hoping their pass rush will get there. This type of scheme also will allow them to try to cover the Ram run attack as the 3rd safety and the LBs will all be facing the LOS.

If they play this type of defensive scheme it behooves the Rams to have a strong inside run attack. Inside zone or power gap will gain yards if executed properly. Where it really becomes difficult for the defense is 3rd and short where out of 11 personnel they will replace an LB with a safety and try to stop a strong inside run attack with essentially a light box or a quick pass with someone like Jefferson who can get open quickly.

Notice the commonality in all these possible defenses, that the defensive front needs to pressure Goff or get off run blocks. That commonality is the Ram offensive line being able to simply execute their blocks. They don't have to be an elite line, just above average will do. Goff has been practicing getting the ball off faster on time. The o-line is moving to a better blocking scheme as evidenced by what little has been shown. It looks like a basic inside gap or inside zone scheme. I've been saying this since last year that Mundt should be used as a fullback and now there are hints that might be the case. He has the size and movement ability to pull it off. Also, he has better hands than most FBs so that part of the play action will be open to McVay/Goff. With the RBs the Rams have if they can execute a power gap run attack it would very hard to stop. Sooner or later Ackers or Henderson will break one.

The Ram passing attack is built to beat man or zone.

Fantastic post by an excellent poster. As @flv mentioned, Goff will be the key here. He has to take that next step and recognize coverages a tick quicker so he can take advantage of second reads. Hell, 2nd and 3rd reads should be there all day. Rams should win 12 games if they execute. 12 is the floor. Anyone else want a sip?

 

[Corbin]

Facts. Same with pressure combined with this.

Somehow, someway I really feel if the OL is just mid tier we are going to buzzsaw half our games on the offensive side.

 

[Paydirt]

and Akers ...... and Higbee ......weapons have never been the issue . It's the same ol' same ol = offensive line !!! Will only go as far as that damn unit takes us.

 

[badnews]

...about Goffs struggles after the 1st read... Where were his dump off/safety valves last season? It was as if checking down to the HB or TE after slipping out late just wasn't part of the scheme at times.

 

[Jacobarch]

And higs and Everet

 

[Merlin]

Goff definitely made his share of mistakes last year. He did struggle vs some schemes when his first or second reads weren't there, but he also showed an ability to get through reads quickly at times too. And the pressures he faced were really quick, which makes it hard for a QB to settle in to games.

Just keep guys off him at an average rate and with these weapons I think Goff will respond with a huge statistical season.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Goff definitely made his share of mistakes last year. He did struggle vs some schemes when his first or second reads weren't there, but he also showed an ability to get through reads quickly at times too. And the pressures he faced were really quick, which makes it hard for a QB to settle in to games.

Just keep guys off him at an average rate and with these weapons I think Goff will respond with a huge statistical season.

My head is here too.

Goodness if Jefferson carries his play over into the season... this offense looks real good.

 

[Ram65]

Defenses are going to have to mix up coverages to confuse Goff. They need to control the Rams run game and keep them in third and long. Stunts by the defensive line which the Rams have had trouble covering. Get pressure and create penalties with that pressure as well as sacks. They have to rattle Goff and force mistakes. They need the power DTs to push back the weaker Rams offensive line players.

I want to see the changes McVay has done to the offense. Replacing Cooks with Jefferson probably won't change his penchant for 11P. He could go to some quick-hitting routes to burn the blitzes. He is going to have to run more than last year and mix in 2 TE sets. He needs better hot reads. Keep Goff moving around to tire defenses early on.

 

[MachS]

If we have a running game this year, this offense can be better than 2018. Having two TEs like we do that can make a huge impact will be so important because I suspect we'll be in more 2-TE sets than '17 and '18. It will be hard to stop Woods, Kupp, Jefferson, Higbee, Everett.

 

[OntarioRam]

How will they cover them? With relative ease if Goff is sacked as soon as the ball is snapped. We need much better o-line play this year. Goff needs to up his game as well. In particular, he needs to start doing better under pressure. All QBs look 10x worse under pressure. The problem with Goff is that he looks 100x worse. And routinely fumbles the ball when getting sacked. Still, it all starts up front.

Hopefully, we have a better run game too. That should help. Once teams stopped respecting Gurley, it was that much easier for them to sell out towards getting to the QB.

 

[Deac]

I actually think his struggle is more with pressure than reads, but I'm with you on this.