What changes will Sean McVay make after the bye week?
For the first time since leaving for the bye week, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay spoke to the media on Monday. While most of what McVay had to say revolved around injury updates, the Rams head coach also discussed the possibility of making changes.
The bye week as always been a time for self reflection and allows for time to do some self-scouting. McVay said as much in his opening statement. Said McVay,
“The bye did come at a good time for us where had a chance to reflect, get recharged, get refreshed, get rejuvenated in a lot of instances where we say, ‘Let’s look at this film, let’s take a step back, let’s give our guys a vision of how we’re going to move forward, [and] how we’re going to do it with the right spirit.”
With that said, the big question here is what did the Rams learn from their time of reflection? In 2021, the Rams were a heavy drop back passing team. Following the bye week, the offense leaned more on Sony Michel and the run game and it resulted in a Super Bowl run. Last year, the Rams only touched the surface of their gap/power run scheme before the bye week. After the bye, they leaned into it and it resulted in one of the best rushing offenses int he NFL during the second half of the season.
After starting 1-4, the Rams clearly have some changes that need to be made. They can’t continue to roll with what they’ve been doing as that’s how they got to 1-4. The red zone offense is one of the worst in the NFL, the defense has been inconsistent, and a case can be made for changes to be made from a personnel standpoint at linebacker.
While the Rams started to make some changes against the Packers, it wouldn’t be surprising to see other moves made. Against the Packers, the Rams benched Tre White, played Quentin Lake more as a two-deep safety, and played Jaylen McCollough as the dime linebacker in specific situations. Josh Wallace even got some snaps in the star. Without saying too much, McVay hinted at personnel changes on Monday. The Rams head coach said,
“There’ll be some. I’ll talk to you guys about that. There’ll be some different things that we’ll look at. I do think where it’s available, competition brings out the best in guys. [It] might be some different things you see offensively that we will explore to see guys compete and then defensively it’s the same sort of thing [or] looking at ways to get guys involved. Those are definitely things that you’ll see.”
When it comes to changes on offense, it will be interesting to see what McVay means by seeing guys compete. The Rams finally utilized Blake Corum in the offense against the Packers. It would not be surprising to see more of him in the offense. While that takes away from Kyren Williams, it’s also an opportunity for two players to bring out the best in one another.
Additionally, you have to look at the tight end position. Davis Allen has hardly been utilized but should be a threat in the red zone. Is he someone that could take away from Colby Parkinson in certain situations?
Lastly, wide receiver gets really interesting. Demarcus Robinson showed that he is a solid WR3, but not much else. Without Kupp in the lineup, it has been TuTu Atwell and Jordan Whittington who have stood out. When Kupp potentially returns this week, it would not be surprising to see Whittington in the Puka Nacua role while Atwell takes some time from Robinson.
McVay didn’t wasn’t as specific on defense. Is Jake Hummel someone that we see in place of Christian Rozeboom on defense? Ahkello Witherspoon is a player that the Rams have had on the practice squad and could be brought up into a more permanent role. Either way, there need to be continued changes on that side of the ball.
We’ll have to wait and see what specific changes that McVay is referring to on Sunday as due to gamesmanship it is unlikely that he reveals too much. However, as long as changes do happen, that’s what matters.
