some thotz on offense

from off the net

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aeneas1

only 2 teams ran the ball more than the rams on 1st and 2nd downs in the first half last season, and only 5 teams ran it more on 1st and 2nd downs through the first 3 quarters. the flipside of this is 30 teams threw the ball more than the rams on 1st and 2nd downs in the first half, while 26 threw it more in the first 3 quarters. 2013 was much the same. but this wonk is looking at the actual number of carries, by a team that ran the 3rd fewest offensive plays in the league last season.

last year no team averaged 30 caries through the first 3 quarters of play. so how do teams typically get to 30? by running it in the 4th quarter, something teams that are trailing after 3 don’t do much of compared to teams that enter the 3rd ahead. here’s some food for thought: last season teams that entered the 3rd quarter trailing finished the game with 23 carries on average, teams that entered the 3rd quarter ahead finished with 32 carries on average.

only two backs played 75% or more of their team’s offensive snaps last season, and one of them played on a team that finished 22nd in offensive scoring and 19th rush yards per attempt. fwiw, only 9 backs that led their team in carries played more than 60% of their team’s offensive snaps, while 23 played less.

the pats were the 5th worst team at running between the tackles last season, booking a 3.6 ypc average on such runs, and they did o.k., so i’m not so sure it’s “key”. that said, it’s no secret that the middle of the rams’ oline was pretty subpar last season, which is probably why the rams ranked 29th in rush attempts between the tackles in 2014, they were well aware of it too. but from where i’m sitting, even accounting for the youth and inexperience that will make up 2/3 of the rams’ interior oline this season, it’s an upgrade over last year. add gurley to the mix and i think the rams will have much more success running between the tackles this season vs last. btw, fwiw, the rams ranked 9th in yards per carry on runs outside the tackles last season.

nick threw to his wide receivers 62% of the time in 2014, his tight ends 22% of the time, and his backs 16% of the time. re the 2014 rams, only two teams threw to their wide receivers less, no team threw to their tight ends more, and only 10 teams threw to their backs more.