Observations after Rams lose to Cardinals: There’s no excuse for Wolford, Perkins as backups

[www.turfshowtimes.com] Observations after Rams lose to Cardinals: There’s no excuse for Wolford, Perkins as backups
Another pitiful loss leaves questions that demand answers

By BrandonHansen@brandonfox28 Nov 14, 2022, 2:00pm CST

Arizona Cardinals v Los Angeles Rams
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
The L.A. Rams’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals this week feels like one of those games where heads will inevitably roll. It’s abundantly clear at this time that vast changes need to be made. The offense somehow managed to sink even lower. The defense again allowed easy completions all over the field and allowed a backup QB to look calm and efficient.

Just about every position group in this game played poorly so let’s get into my observations of the Rams in Week 10’s 27-17 loss to the Cardinals, sinking L.A.’s record to 3-6 with no light at the end of the tunnel.

• John Wolford should have never been the backup QB for this team. It has been blatantly obvious every preseason that he lacks accuracy, arm strength, and size. He missed routine throws all day to a maddening degree. And when Bryce Perkins entered the game for the cute little packages, it was a guaranteed QB keeper and a loss of a down. This staff has zero excuse for trotting out two noodle arm passers who shouldn’t even make an XFL roster.

• The RBs actually seemed to have more running room this game but it didn’t matter considering Sean McVay abandoned the run. I assume this is because of the top tier efficiency of Wolford’s pass attack. Why no Kyren Williams until garbage time? He can’t possibly be worse than what the Rams have had so far.

• Cooper Kupp gets injured as a result of Wolford’s air mailed passes and is likely to miss multiple games. Van Jefferson remained invisible. Tutu Atwell again inactive despite the offseason hype train. Ben Skowronek minimal impact. Allen Robinson somehow looked the best of this unit this week but is still far from living up to his contract. This group could really use a guy like Odell Beckham Jr but the chances of landing him now are zero.

• Tyler Higbee had a solid rapport with Wolford and the designed TE screens were some of the only plays that worked all afternoon. Credit Higbee for a solid outing.

• The offensive line seemed to play much better without Bobby Evans. Why was it so hard to finally reach this conclusion? Ty Nsekhe played well at fill in for LT, particularly in the run game. I assume they stick with this lineup going forward.

• Sean McVay’s play calling was awful in this game. Abandoning the run and throwing the ball with a backup QB having accuracy issues was nonsense. The outcome should’ve been expected but it seems McVay has lost his edge with a struggling offense. Maybe he assumed the Perkins packages would be more effective. They weren’t.

• Defensive line lacks juice. We’ve seen it every week and they gave Colt McCoy too much time most of the day. Aaron Donald has seemed to regress a step or two and hasn’t been the consistent game breaker he was in years past. Justin Hollins isn’t a starting caliber EDGE player. Period.

• I felt Ernest Jones and Bobby Wagner were good against the run as they have been all season but a liability in coverage against Arizona over the middle.

• I’ve essentially given up trying to evaluate most of the cornerback play on this team because the soft zone coverage allows for easy completions no matter who is playing the position. I will, however, give David Long some well-deserved criticism considering he accounted for an entire scoring drive at one point with a varied display of missed tackles and poor coverage.

• The Rams’ safeties are mediocre at best with no standout playmaker. Outside of the occasional big Nick Scott hit, they rarely show up in big moments during the games.

• Raheem Morris refuses to shy away from the soft zone Swiss cheese defensive ethos and I have zero clue as to why captains like Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald defend this coach in the media. It’s a bad, ineffective way to play defense that allows for any offense to move the ball with ease and stay ahead of the sticks. It hurt the Rams again in this game.

As I touched upon at the beginning of this article, it feels like it’s high time to evaluate every coach and every player on this team. With this loss, the season is likely over and the playoffs would require a miracle turnaround that the Rams have shown no ability to conjure.

Any player on the final year of their contact should see reduced playing time. It’s time to see what players have value and should be staying come next season.

It may also be time for Coach McVay to fire some coaches and have a scheme discussion with his defensive coordinator.

It’s also not too late to cut Wolford and Perkins and bring in someone else off the street because it literally cannot get worse at the backup QB position.

I cannot believe this team is 3-6 and in the basement of the division. It’s the staff’s fault for neglecting offensive line, thinking our backup QB position was adequate, and putting star players in a scheme that hinders success. Unfortunately, it’s time for accountability. It’s time for the leaders of this team to get angry and to demand changes. That’s Ramsey, Donald, Stafford. Time to speak up. And it’s time for this coaching staff to be shaken up and reworked in hopes of finding answers.

There are simply too many good players for this team to be this bad. It cannot be tolerated any longer.