How can Rams avoid leaving yards and points on the field?

How can the LA Rams avoid leaving yards and points on the football field?

[ramblinfan.com]

Bret Stuter



The job of calling the right plays at the right time is one of the most difficult responsibilities on an NFL team. But the job of calling the offensive plays for the LA Rams falls to head coach Sean McVay. While that settles the matter of where the buck stops, it does open the door wide to second guessing.

The LA Rams offense has been very productive of late. But that does not mean that the Rams have not had a fair share of questionable calls this season. The Rams opened the game on the road against the Baltimore Ravens with nine consecutive and very productive running plays. But when the Rams got to the red zone? The team had a sudden change of heart, threw three incomplete passes, and had to settle for a field goal.

The question is: Why? And no, we are not the only ones who noticed and asked the obvious questions.

Sure, it's easy to second guess the head coach on offensive play calling. It's the NFL equivalent of back seat driving. But this was not a one-off anomaly. The LA Rams seem to get into a groove at running the football, and then just abandon it with almost no reason.

Rams were very competitive in Week 14

Of course, there were plenty of questionable plays from NFL officiating once more, many of the calls simply did not get flagged and many of those non-calls failed to penalize the Ravens with yards. But even beyond that, the Rams had more points on the football field than on the scoreboard.

There is an old saying that my father loved to remind me with: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." In short, if something is working out, don't change it and don't tinker with it.

The LA Rams played a very competitive football game in Week 14, taking the Baltimore Ravens, the AFC's best team, into overtime on their football field in a driving rain. Were the Rams trying to mete out RB Kyren Williams's usage in the opening drive? Then why not intermingle some carries from power running back Royce Freeman?

At the final whistle, the LA Rams were on the short end of a highly competitive and entertaining game. But the momentum of the game found the Rams veering away from what worked at times. Still, the LA Rams have proven that this team can run with the football. Now the Rams simply have to prove a willingness to stick with it.