Rams and big plays

I see it out there…the idea that (as one poster put it) the Rams offense is 4 yards and a cloud of dust. Well last year it was more “4.8 yards a carry, and play action passes.”

The offense was about as bad as you can get last year, yet, even in the middle of all that, it had signs of future goodness. Or at least future “much better”-ness.

For instance the Rams actually ranked 8th in big plays last year. More interestingly, they ranked 8th in percentage of big plays with 8.59% (the 1st ranked team had 10.04%). In terms of rushing big plays alone, they ranked 5th.

The way this particular source defines big plays, they include rushing plays over 10 yards and passing plays over 25 yards.

Why were they SO bad on offense, then?

A few things.

* Foles was so extraordinarily bad in his last 4 starts he brought down all the season averages with him. Arguably if you just took the first 4 games when Foles was okay and the last 4 games when Keenum was okay and averaged them together, they would look considerably better. Not top 10, just better. That would indicate that the offense was not that far off in the first place, which could bode well for this year. Well unless another qb goes through a similar meltdown.

* The Rams running game was, if anything, far too dependent on the big play. In between big plays it was inconsistent. A lot of that has to do, I think, with running a rookie RB who had not participated in training camp behind a very inexperienced OL (subtract Saffold/Reynolds from the equation and the week 1 starting OL had an average of 4 games worth of starts, and that includes 2 zeroes). Then the OL got injured (a lot) on top of it. This year if you add a Gurley who is 100% and has been through a camp to a more experienced and healthier OL, and you presumably get a more consistent down by down rushing attack.

* The Rams were bad on 3rd down (ranked last). To improve as an offense it needs to be better on 3rd down, and in the redzone (ranked 23rd).

* QB. Arguably even just a solid Keenum is better than what they had last year, since last year included a stretch of games from a “fully crashed and burned” Foles. They are not stellar at receiver, but they do have some pieces they can use. If the defense stays solid, they ought to get by and be an offense that’s ranked in the low teens/high 20s. That’s enough with the defense I think.

Longterm, Goff promises more than that. Goff promises a much more dynamic offense.