Exactly. Not only that but Cooks has the ability to set up his man with HOW he runs routes. He is a deep threat so the defense has to respect that. But he can run every route and his footwork and body control is tremendous. Keep in mind that we SETTLED for Watkins but really wanted Cooks because he can do what McVay really wants in a receiver.
The question then becomes - can the team do that? Most teams come in with that mindset. Any time you can make a team one dimensional, you have the upper hand. The problem is that most teams are not capable of doing so against the Rams with McVay running the show. And if this defense is as good as it should be - sight unseen - that will be even more difficult for offenses to not be one dimensional themselves.
If no RB can win on his own, then the key is to always sell out to stop the pass and let the RB fail on his own.
Of Adrian Peterson's 133 games I would say that one maybe two games were won because of him alone. If you take away the pass, RB's won't win a game by themselves.
If it's that easy, why doesn't every team sell out to stop the pass? Why even worry about run defense? Exclusively get a pass rushing d line, run stopping be dammed. Exclusively get LBs that can drop into coverage effectively, no need to worry about running backs. Exclusively use 2 free safety type players, because you don't need an strong safety for run support. If what you're saying is true, why isn't that happening?
Because most teams don't have the personnel to do it. You have to be able to rush and put pressure on the QB with 4 and be able to cover the WR's. A lot of teams can do one, but not the other.
They don't have the personnel to do it because they're still worried about stopping the run. There's plenty of guys who can't hold up against the run out there but are good enough in pass coverage. The reason those guys don't play on Sunday is because they can't stop the run. Because that's still a thing.
