Like many of us, I hesitated to read or post anything after last night's debacle.
Some of my thinking:
Sean McVay has a Mike Martz level of arrogance when it comes to play calling. He is enamored of Matthew Stafford and those huge downfield passes and splash plays, so much that as many have noticed, teams are all over it and daring him to run. Just like NE in both Super Bowls against the Rams. Like Martz, McVay cannot help himself. While he is so much better of a leader and head coach than Mike Martz, this Achilles heel is not going away and effecting his ability to adjust and ultimately his legacy. Is he arrogant? Defiant? It has to be addressed.
Where as Martz would leave his QB's out to get killed and throw picks more, McVay is making his team so one dimensional. As much as I want to type the Rams OL is soft, it is not. They ran it NINE times last night. Stafford is pressing, the WR/TE's are pressing, and the OL is on their heels most of the night. They are not a road grading OL, but they are also not able to handle a pass rush that is so sure the Rams are passing.
Of course being down big the last two games magnified this, but his play calling is a major, major issue. In fact, the biggest issue affecting this team. I remember the BUF loss on the road last year where the Rams came back to actually take the lead and McVay ran as well as passed. They scored touchdowns on like four straight possessions and it was a mix of plays.
In the Super Bowl season of 2018 the Rams were 11-1, went to 11-3, and McVay went back to running with CJ Anderson when Todd Gurley started his descent, they were balanced and got all the way to the Super Bowl where...McVay did not take what the defense gave him. Belicheck dared him to run more and he did not. Three points; zero snaps in the red zone the entire game.
He refuses to change because of Stafford. And Stafford is excellent, but he is not a super elite QB. He is prone to bad decisions.
Louis Riddick made an excellent point on Twitter today that the Rams need to get back to play action and stop all these empty backfield sets. It is not working. Teams know he is passing. Very little play action so I guess, he can show everyone he can draw up great plays and beat you any way. Ego. Arrogance.
I do not know who tells McVay to really make changes. Is Andrew Whitworth in his ear? It is a problem. A real problem.
Yes, this defense was trucked last night and had their toughness threatened and they were utterly embarrassed. But again, they are not a big D meant to stop the run; they are meant to attack the QB when playing with a lead.
In other words, McVay is sabotaging this team, perhaps because of his ego, maybe because of all the pressure of the "win it all" and "@#$%& them picks" bravado.
Until he reins in his ego, starts going back to play action, running the ball more and being a chameleon like Belicheck has thrived on for over twenty years, the Rams will be a disappointment.
I am starting to think Sean McVay is limited and may never win a Super Bowl for the Rams, as great as these five years have been.
He has to adapt. He has done it before and he needs to do it again.
Will he do it again?
The season and many legacies are on the line. I am pessimistic as we sit here today.
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/2021 11:54AM by Ramsfsninmd.
