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- May 25, 2013
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- 1,291
I've gone on record that this is a rebuilding year with too many factors that will mitigate a winning season this year. The QB position is so complex that it simply takes time for a young guy to develop in the NFL. Injuries to key players like Donald, Gurley, Ogletree, Whitworth, Sullivan, Woods, Johnson, or Barwin could derail the integrity of what this team could accomplish. Between that and having to count on a collective unification of so many young players in a first year system having to compete with experienced, veteran defenses indicates we may have to wait a year to see what this offense is capable of accomplishing.
While this was a reasoned assertion a few weeks ago and I vowed not to drink the offseason Kool-Aid, a couple things have changed that have me taking a couple sips now. The big thing was reading MMQB's transcript on 24 hrs w McVay. What stood out to me was his process for developing plays, evaluating film, and involving other coaches in his decision making process. I always scratched my head when the Redskin offense made Gregg Williams' defense look inept with Kirk Cousins. But now I see first hand why it happened. My original premise was that McVay was teaching a new system and the players would have to grow into what McVay has run in Washington. Apparently, that's not the whole story. McVay is developing plays that simplify things for the offense and fit what they are equipped to accomplish successfully as individuals. While the Skins were a high percentage of two TE sets, they also had seasoned vets playing at high levels. Higbee and Everett will have some good plays and develop nicely, but they aren't the best receiving options on the team...they will have an important role, but by percentage, smaller than that of Reed and Davis. Where Reed was their best slot mismatch, I'd say on the Rams McVay would prefer Kupp, Woods, Cooper, or Spruce over Everett (not yet a good route runner) or Higbee (still raw at the position). The other thing that impressed me was McVay's breakdown of Gurley. He's insisting that Gurley keep his shoulders square and develop patience like LeVeon Bell. I watched a couple Steelers games last year and made a similar observation but wrote it off as the two being different types of backs. However, it seems that McVay is astute in this area even as he is with QB's and receivers. I would love to be a fly on the wall hearing his conversations with Kromer to learn how much input he has in developing a running attack similar to Buffalo's. Imagine that...a Redskin like creativity in the passing game combined with the running effectiveness like the Bills. It makes me shiver. At the very least, it would make McVay's offense more effective in the Red Zone where the Skins were particularly weak last year. Combine this with Phillips' penchant for improving defenses, and I'm having difficulty pumping the breaks on my expectations. It's not like we as Rams fans haven't seen a coordinator produce unimaginable results in year one...though there's no way we have the same talent as the GSOT. But it doesn't have to be that dramatic for a 10 win season. Therefore, I'm retracting my position and am getting mildly buzzed about this year.
While this was a reasoned assertion a few weeks ago and I vowed not to drink the offseason Kool-Aid, a couple things have changed that have me taking a couple sips now. The big thing was reading MMQB's transcript on 24 hrs w McVay. What stood out to me was his process for developing plays, evaluating film, and involving other coaches in his decision making process. I always scratched my head when the Redskin offense made Gregg Williams' defense look inept with Kirk Cousins. But now I see first hand why it happened. My original premise was that McVay was teaching a new system and the players would have to grow into what McVay has run in Washington. Apparently, that's not the whole story. McVay is developing plays that simplify things for the offense and fit what they are equipped to accomplish successfully as individuals. While the Skins were a high percentage of two TE sets, they also had seasoned vets playing at high levels. Higbee and Everett will have some good plays and develop nicely, but they aren't the best receiving options on the team...they will have an important role, but by percentage, smaller than that of Reed and Davis. Where Reed was their best slot mismatch, I'd say on the Rams McVay would prefer Kupp, Woods, Cooper, or Spruce over Everett (not yet a good route runner) or Higbee (still raw at the position). The other thing that impressed me was McVay's breakdown of Gurley. He's insisting that Gurley keep his shoulders square and develop patience like LeVeon Bell. I watched a couple Steelers games last year and made a similar observation but wrote it off as the two being different types of backs. However, it seems that McVay is astute in this area even as he is with QB's and receivers. I would love to be a fly on the wall hearing his conversations with Kromer to learn how much input he has in developing a running attack similar to Buffalo's. Imagine that...a Redskin like creativity in the passing game combined with the running effectiveness like the Bills. It makes me shiver. At the very least, it would make McVay's offense more effective in the Red Zone where the Skins were particularly weak last year. Combine this with Phillips' penchant for improving defenses, and I'm having difficulty pumping the breaks on my expectations. It's not like we as Rams fans haven't seen a coordinator produce unimaginable results in year one...though there's no way we have the same talent as the GSOT. But it doesn't have to be that dramatic for a 10 win season. Therefore, I'm retracting my position and am getting mildly buzzed about this year.
