McVay’s Rams Are Just as Dangerous as Last Season/Benoit

McVay’s Rams Are Just as Dangerous as Last Season

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Stocked on offense and defense, these Rams are still among the teams to beat in the NFL. But can this team evolve enough to keep opponents on their toes?

By ANDY BENOIT August 27, 2019

The 2019 NFL season is just weeks away, so Andy Benoit makes a few predictions for each NFL team. Today he analyzes the Los Angeles Rams, who finished 13–3 and first in the NFC West last year.

The ground game expands. Twenty-five-year-old Todd Gurley is still a quality runner, but the Rams will give chunks of his touches to third-round rookie Darrell Henderson to combat wear and tear on Gurley’s much-discussed left knee. The explosive Memphis product brings more dimension to the screen and misdirection games—and L.A.’s updated scheme, in turn, presents more dimension for the backs. Head coach Sean McVay remains committed to his outside zone foundation, which not only works in and of themselves, but propagates the team’s lethal play-action game, where QB Jared Goff is at his best. However, the Bears and Patriots last winter showed that outside zone can be hampered by heavy, condensed defensive fronts, and to combat these increased looks that the Rams are sure to get, McVay installs a few wrinkles, lending more unpredictability to his rushing attack. The only question is whether the well-coached but suddenly youthful interior O-line can keep up, as second-year pros Joseph Noteboom and Brian Allen are new starters, and ascending right guard Austin Blythe is still a work in progress.

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[www.si.com]