The Don
On the last episode of Bleav In LA Football, The Coach and I talked about how this would be an ugly defensive game and boy were we right. We both thought that the offense would struggle against a very good Steelers defense, but would be able to put together enough drives to finish with more than 17 points and garner a win. Unfortunately, the offense could only muster three points, and were pretty much ineffective all game.
It’s games like these where the blame game starts to get thrown around. “The offensive line is a mess and needs to be completely overhauled.” “Todd Gurley needs to be more involved in the game and get more touches.” “There must be something seriously wrong with Gurley if they don’t want the ball in his hands.” “Jared Goff is regressing and is now way overpaid.”
All of these me be valid on some level, but it doesn’t do anything to improve the Rams and get this offense back to a competent level. This isn’t the offense of 2017. This isn’t the offense of 2018. So it’s time to let go of the past, look at the present, and focus on the future. Goff said it in his press conference after the game, “We need to be who we are…”
Well, who are they?
On the surface, it’s a struggling unit that has deficiencies at every level, but when you dig deeper, there are small corrections that can be made to really make this offense who they want to be.
So who is this offense? Right now, they don’t have an identity. Do they want to get back the old ways of utilizing the play-action? Do they want to create an aerial assault and then use the run sparingly to complement it?
To improve the offense, they need to find an identity and then build upon it. I will be diving into this and putting out an in-depth article later this week so check back in for that!
On a positive note, the defense looked exceptional. This team is still very much alive, so I don’t think everyone should be so grim. In reality, the Rams are closer to being a true playoff contender than some of the other NFC teams because their defense is just starting to hit their stride. If the offense can find their identity, watch out!
Heinz Field. Photo Credit: Sean Hobson | Under Creative Commons License
The Coach
A really ugly game and from my experience, when you’re in an ugly defensive battle you go to your ground game to find a spark. How Todd Gurley doesn’t see the field nor touch the ball in the fourth quarter of a very winnable game is beyond me. The load management excuse is wearing thin, in fact it is now transparently thin.
Is there anyone out there still buying it? If so I have some ocean front property in the great state of Missouri to sell you as well. There is something not right with the Rams offense and how it is being ran. Jared Goff is a decent quarterback, he is a guy that can help you get to a Super Bowl. Help you get there. Sean McVay has one of the best running backs in the leage and he is only 25 years old. Gurley was also averaging over six yards a carry against the Steelers. How do you not feed him in the final quarter of the game?
Feed Gurley, establish the running game, allow Goff to benefit from stacked boxes and one-on-one coverage on the outside. Go back to the drawing board and don’t be afraid to get Gurley involved in the passing game too. Gurley had 59 receptions last year out of the backfield with 81 targets. In 2019 he only has 15 receptions on 28 targets. Todd Gurley is where your offensive spark comes from. Go light it up!