The LA color commentator spoke with Los Angeles Sports Report giving his thoughts on all things Rams football
The Los Angeles Rams, who are currently in the thick of their much needed bye week, have had a rocky start to the season to say the least. While 1-4 is not an ideal way to begin the year, injuries have played a major factor in their lack of success. Despite the start, some, including myself, still believe in LA’s chances to turn the season around after the bye.
NFL Network analyst Maurice Jones-Drew is also one of those people. The former NFL All-Pro sat down for an interview with James Brizuela of Los Angeles Sports Report, explaining why he thinks the Rams are in a situation where they can come back to salvage their 2024-25 campaign.
“Having early bye weeks for a team that is beat up helps in the long-run. You’re going to Cooper Kupp back, you’re going to get Steve Avila back, Jonah Jackson back, you’re going to get all these guys back offensively…the biggest thing for the Rams is getting healthy, staying healthy, and I think they will make a run like they did last season.”
Jones-Drew notes last season’s run when LA started the season 3-6, went on a bye week to adjust, and came back to go on a 7-1 run with a playoff berth. While it’s not a guarantee that the Rams will turn it around just because they did last year, it does show that they have the mental wherewithal to do so. They also have the NFL’s rushing touchdown leader in RB Kyren Williams available to help, something that MJD also touched on.
“Look at how they are with Kyren now, they are a very physical team. They have committed to the running game, half of their team is out with injuries, and yet they are competing and still in games because they have a really good running back so they can run the football. So to me, that’s the most important thing for a team. It’s about getting a lead and finishing games.”
Another help to Los Angeles is the unstable NFC West. Even at 1-4, the Rams are only two games out of the division lead with a win over the leading San Francisco 49ers. While no fans want to see the 49ers win a game, their 36-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday was actually a big help to LA as far as the division standings go.
To realistically have a chance at rewriting this season, the Rams will need their defense to step up more after the bye week though. Getting back CB Darious Williams was a nice start, as the secondary played better vs. the Green Bay Packers than they did through the first four weeks.
Another plus is that LA has been getting plenty of pressure on the QB, so the problem isn’t getting in the backfield as much as it is their lack of ability to finish potential sacks or tackles for loss. If the Rams can fix some of their tackling woes over the bye week though, it could lead to a huge uptick in sacks and tackles behind the line of scrimmage, which obviously would help cover up some of their struggles at linebacker. If the running backs aren’t able to get to the second level, the Rams won’t have to rely on Christian Rozeboom and Troy Reeder to make as many attempts at tackles.
The fact is that the season is barely a quarter of the way through, and the Rams schedule really does not get much tougher after the bye week. While somethings will definitely need to change defensively to have a chance, LA is not in anyway ‘out of it’ this year. Now they just need to prove they feel the same way on the field.
