Rams, Colts, Panthers undergoing offseason identity change

Rams, Colts, Panthers undergoing offseason identity change

By Gregg Rosenthal

"That's horse---- what we just put out there!"

The lowest moment in a Rams season stuffed with disappointment resulted in former offensive coordinator Rob Boras raging at halftime of a blowout loss to the Falcons, for NFL Films to capture in "All or Nothing" for posterity.

"Now let's find out what we're about these next 30 minutes!" Boras seethed. "Are we going to respond or we going to put our heads down and pout? Who's f------ pissed?"

Running back Todd Gurley was the only man to answer, issuing a stream of invectives to no one in particular that he was tired of the "sorry-ass offense week after week." After the game, Gurley told reporters the Rams looked like a "middle school offense" and players were "going through the motions." Head coach Jeff Fisher was fired the next day.

Changing identity in the NFL can happen that fast. The Rams sought a transformation when they moved to Los Angeles, but the dreary offense was all too familiar. Fisher's teams didn't finish in the top 20 in points, yards or efficiency (according to Football Outsiders) once during his five seasons at the helm.

Enter Sean McVay, the precocious choice to take over as Rams coach and construct a professional offense for Gurley to thrive in. McVay may as well have "Opposite of Jeff Fisher" tattooed on his forehead. From McVay's motormouth press conferences to his versatile offensive approach, the young coach provides a facelift for an organization that desperately needs it.

And the Rams aren't alone in undergoing an extreme makeover this offseason -- the Panthers and Colts are making major renovations of their own. For these three teams, it's the season for natural selection: Adapt or die.

Let's take a closer look at the changing identities of three NFL franchises:

Los Angeles Rams: Sean McVay is the anti-Jeff Fisher

The Rams are seeking stability while installing their fourth different offense in as many seasons. As Gurley recently put it, they can't get any worse.

Sean McVay's approach in Washington was deceptively simple: Flood the field with capable pass catchers and allow Kirk Cousins to distribute the ball like a point guard to the best mismatch. The Redskins' scheme was loaded with short, high-percentage throws, along with creative ways to get receivers open deep. Their vertical passing game was among the league's best despite Cousins not having a huge arm.

Last year's No. 1 overall pick, Jared Goff, has superior physical attributes to Cousins, but there's no telling whether Goff has the mental makeup to thrive as an NFL quarterback. McVay's hire was about giving Goff a fighting chance. Passing the football under Fisher was a reactive enterprise. The quarterback's job was to avoid losing, to be as aggressive as the score dictated, to wait for the overrated defense and running game to save the day. Fisher coached like he was running the 1985 Bears team he once played for.

These Rams don't have the personnel yet to dominate, but McVay allows them to modernize and be respectable. I witnessed Gurley being moved all around the formation during the team's June minicamp in an effort to unleash his receiving skills. Gurley joked recently to Sirius XM NFL Radio that he hoped the Rams offense would be more "Todd-friendly." Ironically, the key to that might be for the Rams to avoid being so Todd-centric. McVay won't send Gurley running into a brick wall on second-and-8.

Gurley's effusive praise of the team's new coaching staff could be interpreted through the lens of what last year's staff lacked, depending on your level of cynicism. Gurley has mentioned the staff's attention to detail, creating advantageous one-on-one matchups and evolving into situational masters.

McVay understands that the best offensive identity is to never stop evolving.

"We want to do a good job as coaches figuring out our players and then we'll adjust the system accordingly," McVay said in June. "We've got a lot of different things that we can do, but it's about figuring out what these guys do best. Having an identity and making sure that you have some complements off that identity."

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