different analysts on what's wrong with Rams offense

Rams’ offensive struggles … explained!

Bucky Brooks

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What’s wrong with Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams’ offense?

That’s the million-dollar question floating around league circles, with the defending NFC champions now sitting at 5-4 following another dismal offensive performance in last Sunday’s 17-12 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Rams’ play this season has observers scratching their heads when watching an offense that looks nothing like the unit that dominated opponents during McVay’s first two years at the helm. After averaging 32.9 points and 421.1 total yards per game in 2018, those Rams figures have plummeted to 25.1 points and 375.8 yards in 2019. That’s a significant decline in production for an offense that appeared unstoppable during the early part of the McVay era.

What happened? Did the NFL finally catch up to the creative schemes dreamed up by the ballyhooed young coach?

“McVay’s gotten too cute,” a former NFL defensive coordinator told me. “He’s gotten too far away from the ‘bread and butter’ schemes that made the offense pop. They’re not using Todd Gurley as the focal point of the offense. The fly-sweep motion and runs to various perimeter players have diminished. And the passing game has become more dropback than play-action-based. … Plus, the offensive line isn’t nearly as good as it once was.

“They’re a completely different offense than the one that took the league by storm.”

Rams fans might not want to hear that kind of cold, hard truth, but the veteran defensive coach is simply pointing out the flaws that stand out on tape. McVay’s offense looks nothing like the version that pummeled opponents during his first two years on the job. Just over halfway through the 2019 season, the Rams already have more games with fewer than 30 points (6), fewer than 400 total yards (6) and fewer than 100 rush yards (6) than they had during the entire 2018 campaign. They’re just not nearly as explosive, dynamic or consistent on offense this season — and their decline has been utterly apparent to anyone who has studied the film.

Reviewing the All-22 Coaches Film, the first thing that stands out is the lack of punch in the running game, and McVay’s waning commitment to Gurley. I’ve heard all the theories on Gurley and his arthritic knee. Obviously, I don’t have all of the medical information that Gurley and the Rams have at their disposal. But at times this season, the 25-year-old back has run quite effectively. He just hasn’t received anywhere near the workload he used to get. I don’t know if this is some kind of “load management” plan or just a change in strategy. Bottom line: Gurley’s no longer the center of gravity in this offense. From 2015 through ’18, Gurley averaged 21.2 touches and 110.9 scrimmage yards per game, tallying 56 total touchdown in the process. He’s not even close to sniffing those bell-cow figures this season, averaging 14.9 touches and 63.6 scrimmage yards per game, with seven scores through eight outings. (Gurley missed L.A.’s Week 6 loss to San Francisco with a quad injury.) After opening the season with 14 rushes for 97 yards against the Panthers, Gurley has averaged just 12.9 carries and 47.3 rushing yards per game since. His percentage of the team’s scrimmage yards is the lowest of his career (27.2, 27th overall) after ranking third (44.3) and sixth (38.1) in this category during each of McVay’s first two seasons.

With Gurley not as involved in the offensive game plan, the Rams have suffered the second-largest decrease in rushing yards from 2018 to ’19, posting 43.2 fewer ground yards per game this season. This has dropped Los Angeles’ run game from third in 2018 to 20th this year. And this significantly impacts the entire offense. Although the Rams appeared to be a high-flying attack fueled on big plays in the passing game over the past couple seasons, the ground game was actually the foundation of the offense, with Gurley creasing defenses on an assortment of outside-zone runs with wide receivers racing across the formation on fly-sweep action prior to the snap. But Gurley’s usage — and Los Angeles’ implementation of the fly sweep — have decreased drastically.

“The fly sweep was a big part of their offense in McVay’s early years,” said the former NFL defensive coordinator. “McVay would give the ball to any of their receivers (Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods), so you had to stay home on the edges, which created lanes for Gurley. Without the persistent threat of the sweep, defenders can lock in on No. 30 and keep him under control in the box.”

The fly sweep not only helped Gurley enjoy success, but it was a big driver in Jared Goff’s ascension as a quarterback. The Rams featured a play-action passing game during those early years with the young quarterback thriving from the pocket, thanks to defenders being left dazed and confused by the misdirection action the backfield. Defensive hesitation created huge voids at intermediate range, which led to easy completions from the pocket for No. 16.

Without the threat of the running game creating easy throws for Goff, though, the former No. 1 overall pick hasn’t been nearly as effective as a passer. He is one of only six quarterbacks with at least three more giveaways than passing touchdowns (14 giveaways, 11 touchdowns). In fact, Goff has seen his numbers decline in every major statistical category, including completion percentage (-4.6), yards per attempt (-1.0) and passer rating (-18.4). With an 82.7 passer rating, Goff has the lowest mark of the 11 active quarterbacks who started a playoff game in 2018. Yes, even lower than much-maligned Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky (85.2).

Considering Goff’s disappointing performance, you wonder why the Rams have attempted to put so much on his shoulders when he is also playing behind a porous offensive line. Goff has been pressured on 30.5 percent of his dropbacks, which is the highest rate that he’s faced since his rookie season under Jeff Fisher. With the 25-year-old QB also suddenly struggling against the blitz (53.4 percent completion rate, 7.0 yards per attempt, 2:2 TD-to-INT ratio and a 74.4 passer rating, per Next Gen Stats) — after torching blitz pressure in 2017 and ’18 (58.3 percent completion rate, 8.9 yards per attempt, 19:4 TD-to-INT ratio and 103.4 passer rating) — questions should persist over the Rams’ offense approach.

“We have to get back to the basics,” a Rams official told me. “It’s not too late, but we have to play the right way to turn things around.”

If playing the right way means leaning on the running game, the Rams will need to get a better performance from the front five. L.A.’s offensive line has struggled following the losses of Rodger Saffold (free-agent departure) and John Sullivan (contract option declined). Without as much deception and misdirection in the offense, the Rams have been unable to block defenders at the point of attack and the resulting traffic jam at the line of scrimmage has left the offense stuck in neutral. Not to mention, the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl-winning blueprint — which featured a variety of exotic stunts, line games and fronts — has been copied by defensive coordinators, and the Rams haven’t come up with solid counters.

If the Rams are going to re-emerge as contenders in a loaded NFC field, McVay will need to come up with answers to the league’s copycat tactics while returning the offense to the “bread and butter” approach that used deception, misdirection and a strong, Gurley-led ground attack. Let’s see if the offensive wizard can rediscover his magical powers and fix the league’s most disappointing attack.