Sean McVay says Rams will adopt 49ers' running back strategy in 2020

[ROD-BOT]

Sean McVay says Rams will adopt 49ers' running back strategy in 2020: Here's what that means

With Gurley gone, the Rams' offense will look a bit different

www.cbssports.com

Sean McVay says Rams will adopt 49ers' running back strategy in 2020: Here's what that means

The Los Angeles Rams are entering a new era in several different ways this season. They have a new stadium, new uniforms and a bit of a new offense. Former No. 10 overall pick Todd Gurley has found a new NFL home, and he leaves a pretty big hole at running back. Sean McVay recently told Dan Hellie on the Helliepod that he's adopting Kyle Shanahan's strategy in how he plans to approach the running back position -- which is a smart idea considering the San Francisco 49ers made it all the way to the Super Bowl last season. Not to mention, the whole run Gurley into the ground strategy didn't exactly work out well long term for the Rams.

"I think it'll just naturally work itself out. I think if you look at that success San Fran had last year with that running back-by-committee approach," McVay said, via NFL.com. "What I thought Kyle and their players did a great job of is, 'Hey, we're going to have an open-mind approach, we're going to be committed to trying to have some balance and then we'll go with the hot hand or whoever really expresses himself as deserving of the carries."

Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman all played important roles in San Francisco's offense last season, as the 49ers averaged 144.1 rushing yards per game -- which was No. 2 in the league behind the Baltimore Ravens. McVay believes that his running back room has enough talent to replicate what Shanahan did last season.

The Rams definitely have some talent at the running back position with veteran Malcolm Brown and youth with Darrell Henderson and John Kelly. The Rams also used a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on former Florida State running back Cam Akers -- who is viewed as a potential "workhorse." The second team All-ACC player out of Jackson, Mississippi rushed for a career-high 1,144 yards and 14 touchdowns during his junior season in Tallahassee and broke Dalvin Cook's freshman record for rushing yards in his first year at Florida State (1,025). He's a compact, aggressive prospect who could be a three-down back at the next level. While Akers does have star potential, it's clear that McVay is going to give everyone a fair shot to prove their worth in the backfield.

"We feel good. We've got three guys really on our roster that have played football when you look at Darrell Henderson, John Kelly is another guy, Malcolm Brown has consistently produced in that No. 2 role behind Todd," McVay said. "And then Cam Akers is a guy that we're excited about. So we've got four backs that we feel like are all NFL-legitimate starting-caliber backs and not feeling like you've got to force carries or touches to any of them. Just open mind and see how these guys do."

 

[oldnotdead]

This was pretty obvious as they tried to implement the same type of gap blocking scheme used by the Niners late in the season. The problem was the coaching was poor (Kromer & Dickenson) and the execution was inconsistent. It's why I've felt they would focus more upon running between the tackles as they have the backs to do it. Since they don't have a FB they could use a TE or another RB like Brown as a lead blocker but I think they will use a TE as either their lead blocker or as a wham blocker. They also might simply use an inside zone or inside gap blocking without the "power lead blocker" unless they are going to convert Mundt to be basically a FB as a lead blocker off of motion.

It's the blocking scheme they should have started the 2019 season with instead of trying to implement something they obviously didn't practice during the offseason in midseason. The technique between zone and gap are similar but the execution is different. The OG's and the C will have to execute blocks on the second level. This is why I simply can't see Blythe as a starter because after all these years he still sucks trying to make second level blocks. An inside run attack makes playaction far more effective and slows the rush down.

Here again is a problem. If Kromer is the run game coordinator why didn't he see this? Why did he assume he could get away with a simplistic outside zone attack? Why didn't Kromer implement a gap blocking scheme last offseason? If he is the run game coordinator why is it McVay having to make these changes. What does Kromer do?

 

[Ram65]

I expect McVay to go more with Akers. Henderson will get his touches but, more in the 5-8 per game. I would still like him to get in as a WR with Jet Sweep action. His 10-yard split is very top-level. I haven't change my thinking from last year that Henderson comes in after Akers wares the defense out.

 

[FarNorth]

Sean McVay says Rams will adopt 49ers' running back strategy in 2020: Here's what that means

With Gurley gone, the Rams' offense will look a bit different

www.cbssports.com

Sean McVay says Rams will adopt 49ers' running back strategy in 2020: Here's what that means

The Los Angeles Rams are entering a new era in several different ways this season. They have a new stadium, new uniforms and a bit of a new offense. Former No. 10 overall pick Todd Gurley has found a new NFL home, and he leaves a pretty big hole at running back. Sean McVay recently told Dan Hellie on the Helliepod that he's adopting Kyle Shanahan's strategy in how he plans to approach the running back position -- which is a smart idea considering the San Francisco 49ers made it all the way to the Super Bowl last season. Not to mention, the whole run Gurley into the ground strategy didn't exactly work out well long term for the Rams.

"I think it'll just naturally work itself out. I think if you look at that success San Fran had last year with that running back-by-committee approach," McVay said, via NFL.com. "What I thought Kyle and their players did a great job of is, 'Hey, we're going to have an open-mind approach, we're going to be committed to trying to have some balance and then we'll go with the hot hand or whoever really expresses himself as deserving of the carries."

Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman all played important roles in San Francisco's offense last season, as the 49ers averaged 144.1 rushing yards per game -- which was No. 2 in the league behind the Baltimore Ravens. McVay believes that his running back room has enough talent to replicate what Shanahan did last season.

The Rams definitely have some talent at the running back position with veteran Malcolm Brown and youth with Darrell Henderson and John Kelly. The Rams also used a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft on former Florida State running back Cam Akers -- who is viewed as a potential "workhorse." The second team All-ACC player out of Jackson, Mississippi rushed for a career-high 1,144 yards and 14 touchdowns during his junior season in Tallahassee and broke Dalvin Cook's freshman record for rushing yards in his first year at Florida State (1,025). He's a compact, aggressive prospect who could be a three-down back at the next level. While Akers does have star potential, it's clear that McVay is going to give everyone a fair shot to prove their worth in the backfield.

"We feel good. We've got three guys really on our roster that have played football when you look at Darrell Henderson, John Kelly is another guy, Malcolm Brown has consistently produced in that No. 2 role behind Todd," McVay said. "And then Cam Akers is a guy that we're excited about. So we've got four backs that we feel like are all NFL-legitimate starting-caliber backs and not feeling like you've got to force carries or touches to any of them. Just open mind and see how these guys do."

Yes, but.... I’m taking this as coachspeak at this point in time. Which is to say, imo the Rams are trying to be conservative in placing too many expectations too soon on Akers, and want to maximize competition from the whole stable. I’m still expecting Akers to get the bulk of the playing time sooner rather than later, with Brown as a solid option for a few series. Meanwhile the Rams will hope that Henderson will will step up as a true playmaking alternative. If he does it could be a committee, but Akers will be the top dog.

 

[oldnotdead]

In a power gap scheme it's all about the blocking execution. Why do I think the Rams have the perfect RBs for the scheme? Because if the scheme is an interior gap blocking scheme with a lead blocker then the RBs simply need to read the blocks correctly and use their acceleration, agility and have enough power to break arm tackles to exploit the holes. All three RBs, Akers, Brown and Henderson can do that. Henderson showed surprising power, by breaking arm tackles last year. The only one who doesn't have breakaway speed is Brown, but he can get that 5-10 yds in an offense like that with decent o-line execution.

I don't think there will be a workhorse type RB on the Rams this year barring injury or illness. I think we will see a situation like the Saints had a couple of years ago with their two headed monsters at RB.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

This was pretty obvious as they tried to implement the same type of gap blocking scheme used by the Niners late in the season. The problem was the coaching was poor (Kromer & Dickenson) and the execution was inconsistent. It's why I've felt they would focus more upon running between the tackles as they have the backs to do it. Since they don't have a FB they could use a TE or another RB like Brown as a lead blocker but I think they will use a TE as either their lead blocker or as a wham blocker. They also might simply use an inside zone or inside gap blocking without the "power lead blocker" unless they are going to convert Mundt to be basically a FB as a lead blocker off of motion.

It's the blocking scheme they should have started the 2019 season with instead of trying to implement something they obviously didn't practice during the offseason in midseason. The technique between zone and gap are similar but the execution is different. The OG's and the C will have to execute blocks on the second level. This is why I simply can't see Blythe as a starter because after all these years he still sucks trying to make second level blocks. An inside run attack makes playaction far more effective and slows the rush down.

Here again is a problem. If Kromer is the run game coordinator why didn't he see this? Why did he assume he could get away with a simplistic outside zone attack? Why didn't Kromer implement a gap blocking scheme last offseason? If he is the run game coordinator why is it McVay having to make these changes. What does Kromer do?

the Rams had three guys on the line to start that couldn't hit second level blocks. Blythe, Noteboom, and Allen. Hitting those blocks was a key to the success the Rams had in 2017 and 2018. How could Kromer not see that his starting Oline wasn't capable of pulling it off? Didn't they practice it?

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I don't see Kelly being a cog in the Rams running game, unless there is an injury.

 

[TexasRam]

Yea pretty much hehe.

Our pass game will always be an advantage we have over the Niners.

 

[den-the-coach]

I don't see Kelly being a cog in the Rams running game, unless there is an injury.

Kelly runs hard, but he's not fast, doesn't really catch the ball well and has really struggled picking up pass protection. Now, maybe the light comes on, but there is plenty of competition with UDFA's Xavier Jones of SMU & James "Gibby" Gilbert of Kansas State.

 

[snackdaddy]

I like the idea of running back by committee. We have 3 backs with contrasting styles. It'll be hard for the defense to get a good feel on how to play each guy. Kinda like a baseball pitcher who mixes up his pitches and keeps hitters off balance.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

"What I thought Kyle and their players did a great job of is" = "OmG ThE RaMs wiLL coPY thE 49ERs ruN StraTeGy" I bet McVay has to regularly go back and find "wait, where did I say that"?

 

[So Ram]

This was pretty obvious as they tried to implement the same type of gap blocking scheme used by the Niners late in the season. The problem was the coaching was poor (Kromer & Dickenson) and the execution was inconsistent. It's why I've felt they would focus more upon running between the tackles as they have the backs to do it. Since they don't have a FB they could use a TE or another RB like Brown as a lead blocker but I think they will use a TE as either their lead blocker or as a wham blocker. They also might simply use an inside zone or inside gap blocking without the "power lead blocker" unless they are going to convert Mundt to be basically a FB as a lead blocker off of motion.

It's the blocking scheme they should have started the 2019 season with instead of trying to implement something they obviously didn't practice during the offseason in midseason. The technique between zone and gap are similar but the execution is different. The OG's and the C will have to execute blocks on the second level. This is why I simply can't see Blythe as a starter because after all these years he still sucks trying to make second level blocks. An inside run attack makes playaction far more effective and slows the rush down.

Here again is a problem. If Kromer is the run game coordinator why didn't he see this? Why did he assume he could get away with a simplistic outside zone attack? Why didn't Kromer implement a gap blocking scheme last offseason? If he is the run game coordinator why is it McVay having to make these changes. What does Kromer do?

Whatever dude! Kromer is a solid Offensive Coach. The Rams got lucky he was available. The Rams offensive line has been solid since he has been here.
However the scheme, Sean Mcvay should have had a real OC last season. Kromer had an extra responsibility & why John Sullivan was released was stupid.
The fact Noteboom & Nrian Allen were given starting jobs without earning them was STUPID!!

Cry all you want. My thoughts last season and beyond was Austin Blythe was to small to play RG. He did a good job at Center & controling the play-calling.
You can draw it up all you want to,if a play is running free and makes the wrong read downfield it is a combination of things. The fact those plays were open shows a lack of experience & cohesiveness.
I don’t understand your Hard-On for Dickerson either. Zac will be helping out as well.Having O’Connell as the OC will be GOOD. Edwards,Evans & Brewer were the key backups at 22 & not much experience. Austin Corbett came in without much experience & had to learn on the fly.
I look back at how Kromer trains & way the TE’s and WR’s block as well. They are all thought right.The New RB Coach is going to be an added plus,was never a Skip Pete fan.
Roger Saffold learned a lot playing under Kromer & mentoring how to be a leader by Whitworth & Sullivan.
I believe The Rams offensive will be ahead of the game once the season has started.Just knowing no preseason & the experience The Rams offense together is a PLUS.
-Say as you will,the other fact is Noteboom,Allen,Havenstien, & Whitworth got extensive time together rehabbing after the season.
—Have to also say Jared Goff is happy Austin Blythe is back.He trust that delayed blitzed will be picked up.Seeing it on film helps knowing that as well.

 

[So Ram]

I believe Mcvay is talking about the rotation.
-Don’t discount Tyler Higbee’s all-pro season.

 

[So Ram]

I expect McVay to go more with Akers. Henderson will get his touches but, more in the 5-8 per game. I would still like him to get in as a WR with Jet Sweep action. His 10-yard split is very top-level. I haven't change my thinking from last year that Henderson comes in after Akers wares the defense out.

Well from the article Mcvay sure has. Gurley needed to be fed. His contract & DIVA attitude mandated it.
-John Kelly was talked about as a starting NFL RB.I don’t know what your thoughts are there ??

 

[So Ram]

Yes, but.... I’m taking this as coachspeak at this point in time. Which is to say, imo the Rams are trying to be conservative in placing too many expectations too soon on Akers, and want to maximize competition from the whole stable. I’m still expecting Akers to get the bulk of the playing time sooner rather than later, with Brown as a solid option for a few series. Meanwhile the Rams will hope that Henderson will will step up as a true playmaking alternative. If he does it could be a committee, but Akers will be the top dog.

I’d say the lather,but without a preseason it makes it harder to judge either way.I don’t think John Kelly getting carries early is coach speak.

 

[So Ram]

Kelly runs hard, but he's not fast, doesn't really catch the ball well and has really struggled picking up pass protection. Now, maybe the light comes on, but there is plenty of competition with UDFA's Xavier Jones of SMU & James "Gibby" Gilbert of Kansas State.

2020 is a different season all together. UDFA rookies are all unlucky. The Rams usually don’t use starters. Rosters are already cut down from 90 to 80.

 

[So Ram]

I like the idea of running back by committee. We have 3 backs with contrasting styles. It'll be hard for the defense to get a good feel on how to play each guy. Kinda like a baseball pitcher who mixes up his pitches and keeps hitters off balance.

Using baseball terms. A new starter every 5 games. Starter by committee.

 

[den-the-coach]

2020 is a different season all together. UDFA rookies are all unlucky. The Rams usually don’t use starters. Rosters are already cut down from 90 to 80.

This is very true, they might just stick with the guys who know the offense.

 

[So Ram]

"What I thought Kyle and their players did a great job of is" = "OmG ThE RaMs wiLL coPY thE 49ERs ruN StraTeGy" I bet McVay has to regularly go back and find "wait, where did I say that"?

I guess then FIV was asking about a FB ?? Where is that Blueprint??

Thomas Brown is the new RB coach. Wondering how that changes things vs.Pete ?