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Is LA Rams offense equipped to handle return of big plays?
With LA Rams head coach Sean McVay committing to a 'more explosive' offense, will the Rams need a major overhaul to the roster?
ramblinfan.com
The LA Rams offense wants to emphasize ‘explosiveness’, and in the offensive coach-speak, that means a return to big-plays. The emphasis on doing so is no surprise. After all, one obvious reason to trade for quarterback Matthew Stafford is to incorporate his deep pass into the Rams arsenal. Now the obvious next question.
How ‘explosive ready’ is the LA Rams offense right now? Do they need to overhaul the offense skill-players? Or will the Rams simply need to tweek here and there? Furthermore, does this play into the current starters, the depth players, or does it send the LA Rams shopping?
So far, the LA Rams have been slowly developing their offseason strategy. We know that the Rams are aware that they likely could use a new weapon on offense. But do they need one? We know that the Rams could use a newly drafted quarterback on the roster. But do they need one? We know that the Rams could use a host of depth or compete-for-start players on the offense. But do they need them?
Most likely not. The Rams roster has plenty of depth incorporated from last season. While the Rams are shallow at the offensive center, and vulnerable at offensive tackle, there is enough on the roster today to line up and go into the 2021 NFL season. But what exactly are the LA Rams looking for?
Off to see the LA Rams wizard of O
Well in his latest interview, LA Rams head coach Sean McVay elaborated on that. In that video of his interview, at the 3:10 mark of the video, McVay talked about creating plays down the field. He doesn’t like the 10-15 play offensive drives to score. He believes that too many plays create a risk of mistake. So he wants to construct a quick-strike offense.
But the Rams may already be ‘there’. The LA Rams have deep strike ability with TE Tyler Higbee, WR Robert Woods, and WR Cooper Kupp. Kupp has caught a pass for 70 yards. Woods has caught a pass for 94 yards. Higbee has caught a pass for 44 yards. But if the Rams offense needs shiny new weapons, the team needs to look no further than TE Brycen Hopkins, WR Van Jefferson, WR Trishton Jackson, and WR J.J. Koski. All have big-play abilities, and all are already on the roster.
We’ll look at the offensive weapons on the team as they might factor into this new explosive offense. The LA Rams once more face limited cap flexibility and a finite number of draft picks. So the team is unlikely to be throwing wholesale roster changes up this offseason. After all, many of the key weapons from 2017’s top-scoring offense remain on the team today.
There are still some changes in store for this Rams roster, for sure. But the big blockbuster is already history. Now, the Rams will likely dress up the offense a bit for the new quarterback. Nothing more, and nothing less.
LA Rams ‘adding explosiveness’ will add more pressure to defense
The LA Rams are talking about 'adding explosiveness' to the offense. But if they are successful, that will place more pressure on the defense.
ramblinfan.com
The LA Rams offense was once one of the top-scoring offenses in the NFL. Now that is no longer the case. If I had to use one word to describe the transformation of the Rams offense, the Rams scoring ability is wilting. The LA Rams simply haven’t shown that killer instinct on offense. Scoring touchdowns, for many reasons, has become the exception rather than the rule.
In fact, since the 2017 LA Rams offense led the league with 29.9 points per game, the offense has been on a downward slope in terms of NFL rankings. In 2018, the LA Rams offense actually scored more, rising to 32.9 points per game but falling to second-ranked. In 2019, a besieged offense fell to scoring just 24.6 points per game and the 11th-ranking in the league.
That all came to a head in 2020. Even with more accuracy at quarterback, the Rams offense plummeted even further, all the way to scoring just 23.3 points per game and finishing the season as the 23rd-ranked scoring offense. But let’s not overlook the fact that the slower-paced Rams offense was a key contributor to the Rams defensive success.
Time of possession (TOP) still matters
The LA Rams enjoyed a great defense in 2020. But let’s pause a moment. An official NFL game is 60 minutes. The balance between offense and defense is impacted by how much of that clock is managed by the offense and how much of that clock is managed by the defense. If you look at it from that perspective, that last year of Wade Phillips’ defense was the first step of a rapidly improving defense.
What do I mean? Well, the defense will typically benefit greatly when the offense spends more time on the field.
The 2017 offense, per Lineup.com, the LA Rams offense time of possession, ranked 17th in the league at 29.6 minutes. That time of possession remained unchanged for the Rams, once more coming in as the 17th-ranked in the NFL at 29.6 minutes.
In 2018, the Rams offense plunged to 27.7 minutes and came in as the 25th-ranked offense in time of possession. The Rams offense skyrocketed in time of possession in 2020, adding nearly 4 minutes in one season to hold the ball 31.4 minutes and climb to the fourth-best offense in the NFL.
Brace for a defensive decline when TOP shrinks
The LA Rams seek to infuse ‘more explosiveness’ into the offense. That comes with positive and negative impacts. What do I mean? Well, the verbiage used to add context from the Rams organization tends to aim at eliminating the long 12-16 play offensive drives that chew up the clock (I love those by the way). Instead, the team appears more interested in the quick-strike offense, say no more than 10 plays per scoring drive.
There are two ways to improve defensive performance without adding talent. Either reduce the number of plays that the opposing offense gets, or cut down on the amount of time they have to make plays. Of course, the first is to be more effective on defense. The second? That’s up to the offense.
In a game, if the Rams defend for a long drive that chews up the game clock, they will be tired. As a result, they will be more prone to make mistakes and suffer injuries. Now, if the LA Rams come out and sputter with a three-and-out performance, or run two plays and score a deep touchdown on the third, the only difference is the scoreboard. In either case, both scenarios result in the defense enjoying no more than a two-minute rest,
NFL teams with quick-scoring ‘explosive’ offenses struggle to dominate on defense for that reason. And with a new defensive coordinator arriving, it’s important to realize just what a huge difference that time of possession can truly make on a game’s outcome. The LA Rams may indeed restore ‘explosiveness’ to their offense. But don’t be surprised if the defense suffers as a result.
