The Coach
The Rams looked like a totally different team on Sunday Night Football but it was a team we are all pretty familiar with. Sean McVay went back to what made the Rams a success when he showed up, he went back to Todd Gurley. It’s almost as if someone withing McVay’s circle was listening to the latest episode of Bleav in LA Football.
Gurley received the most touches he’s had yet in 2019. A combination of 25 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown with three receptions for 36 yards gave Gurley his best offensive output all year. Isn’t that interesting? Giving Gurley the ball equals offensive production, how about that?
The defense held up their end as well by holding the Bears offense to only seven points. They allowed fewer than 200 yards passing and fewer than 75 yards rushing. The Bears have a top 10 defense so it was expected that the Rams wouldn’t be scoring at will. The Rams leaned on Gurley and Malcolm Brown and it worked out well.
The Rams ran it 31 times compared to only 18 pass attempts from Jared Goff. While this was a different team than we have been used to in 2019, it is one we are traditionally accustomed to. We need to see more of Gurley and the ground game moving forward.
The Don
Defense. Defense. Defense. This Rams defense is truly stepping up and is the reason why I am so excited about this team. They have been built for a deep run and this team in general has been built for the playoffs. But let’s get to the concern of the organization.
Sean McVay is an offensive guru and set the league on fire just a few years ago. All of a sudden, his offense has grown stagnant and there have been accusations of him no longer being able to coach, the offense that is.
While he has had plenty of coaching missteps and miscues, there is no denying the ability that he has to turn things around.
Sunday nights matchup against the Chicago Bears was the perfect opportunity.
17 points may not be enough to prove the doubter’s wrongs, but he demonstrated an ability to adapt the offense to what they need to be in order to win.
The offense was not what it once was, but they were what they needed to be. They moved the ball and showed flashes of excellence. And they got back to their roots…running the ball with Todd Gurley.
Whether or not it was a scheme change that helped or simply the offensive line playing better, it would be unfair to not at least mention Bobby Evans, who played very well in his first career NFL start against a very formidable pass rush.
I want to watch more film and we will break it down much more in our next episode of Bleav in LA Football, but on the surface, I was very happy with the offensive adjustments that I saw from Coach McVay. Like I said in the beginning, 17 points is nothing to scream home about, but there were improvements, and it started with his adjustments and giving the rock to Todd Gurley 25+ times.
Love it. Now let’s keep it rolling.
