Putting the Rams passing game under the microscope

Sep 20, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Kenny Britt (18) celebrates with Rams tight end Jared Cook (89) after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Redskins during the second half at FedEx Field. The Washington Redskins won 24 – 10. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

St. Louis has struggled on third down all year long converting on only 10 of 33 attempts. On third down the Rams have thrown short right more often than any other part of the field. This would make sense, as it is the part of the field that has presented the most success for the team so far. However, throws short right have produced the lowest average yards gained at just 4.4 yards per play. This undoubtedly contributes to the poor third down conversion rate.

Throwing short left has provided the highest yield in yardage for the Rams at almost nine per play. There’s just one problem, as eluded to earlier, the Rams are the worst team in the league in terms of completion percentage when passing to this area of the field.

If St. Louis has any hope of keeping up with Arizona on Sunday they will need to take the cap of this offense and let Foles throw the deep ball early and often. On first down, the Rams have thrown deep ten times for 121 yards, including and average of 16 yards per play over the middle. Deep balls on first down have been completed almost 50 percent of the time and completing one out of every two isn’t bad when the long balls can open up other facets of the offense.

The Rams also need to do a better job protecting Foles if they want to take more shots down field. These types of plays need time to develop and Foles isn’t exactly flight of foot.

Next: Changing formations and reducing penalties will help Foles