Sean McVay on lack of balance: We're trying to 'find our identity'
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theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
Since Sean McVay took over as head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, the team has been well balanced on offense. Last season, they ranked 14th in pass attempts and eighth in rush attempts. The year before, they were 24th and ninth, respectively.
This season, the split has been far more lopsided. The Rams have thrown the most passes in the NFL, while they’re just 22nd in carries and rushing yards. The ground game that’s almost carried the offense the last two seasons has been stagnant and uninspiring, even with Todd Gurley leading the backfield.
Many have pointed to the lack of balance on offense as the reason for Los Angeles’ struggles, but McVay made it clear on Monday that the Rams have been in situations that prevented them from running the ball – thus, the heavy dose of passes compared to carries.
“Each of the games, when you really look at it, you’ve got a chance in the first two games to get about 30-plus attempts. I’d say you get about 32 and then 30 against the Saints, like 24 against the Browns. Then, the Tampa game is such an outlier because you fall behind,” McVay said. “You’re really almost in two-minute mode the majority of the game, even though we ended up catching back up. So, you get so skewed on the numbers there where it’s like a 68-to-11 balance. We started out the other day where we wanted to be able to run the football. I do think there’s an element of things can get a little bit off in terms of your run-pass balance because you end up having two-minute situations for us at the end of the half where that ends up being about 8-10 plays where you’re pretty much, for the most part, throwing the football. Then, when you get into it at the end of the game, where really, like you asked me after the game, with two and a half minutes left, you could debate, ‘All right, do you really jump into two-minute mode?’ Well, we did, so that ended up representing two drives where we ended up turning it over and then getting the ball back where you’re on the minus-seven. So, there ends up being about 20-plus snaps that account for where you’re mostly throwing it based on the situation.”
McVay’s right. Against the Seahawks, they were forced to throw the ball at the end of the game in an attempt to score quickly. Goff’s interception was costly, but even after that turnover, the offense was given another opportunity to score – which only would’ve been possible through the air, given the time restraints.
Gurley was productive on his 15 carries against the Seahawks, scoring two touchdowns and gaining 51 yards, but it wasn’t the typically heavy workload he was used to the last few years. The Rams tried to get him going early in the game after that wasn’t the case in Week 4, but once again, the offense got one-dimensional because of the way the game went.
So will McVay try to balance out the offense and truly commit to the run? Possibly, but don’t count on it. He’s still figuring out what’s best for this team.
“I think there’s been some games that we’ve gotten it going. Definitely want to be able to be committed to that, but I think part of it is, too, continuing to find our identity for the 2019 team,” he said. “We’ve got some continuity at some spots, but we’re also figuring out what’s the best way to handle different things, accentuate our players’ skill sets. Whether that be the interior of the line, our backs, things like that. It’s something that we’re continuing to evaluate and that’s going to be a focal point on these next 11 games.”
The 49ers, who the Rams play next, have found their identity, and it’s running the football. They lead the league in rushing yards per game (200) and lean on that aspect of the offense rather than Jimmy Garoppolo’s arm.
That could limit the Rams’ possessions on Sunday, so don’t be surprised if there are significantly more passes than runs again this weekend for Los Angeles.
