Rams News: Run it back for the LA Rams running game

Begin at the end

So how can we form a good grasp of the Rams 2020 offense with so little information to go on? For starters, let’s examine the projections of national sports media ESPN in terms of the 2020 running offense.

But we also know that the Rams paid a high cost in 2019 for valuable lessons learned. The offensive line was overmatched practically out of the blocks last season.  That disrupted the Rams’ entire offense and upset the timing on the passing game as well as the rushing lanes for the offense. It was not until December 2019 when the Rams finally devised effective counter-measures, going with two-tight-ends out of desperation, and finally forcing defenses off the line of scrimmage. Those lessons will likely help the Rams move the ball on the ground this year.

In their latest 2020 projections of fantasy football running backs, ESPN has the following predictions for the LA Rams current running backs:

Name                           Carries    Yards    TDs   Rec  Yards   TDs    Total points
Darrell Henderson         141       582       5       40    323       1        165.34
Cam Akers                        173      720       7       18     142       1        148.41
Malcolm Brown                 31      128       2         9        72       0           39.53
John Kelly                              0           0        0         0          0        0             0.00
Totals                                 345    1,430   17       67     537      2          353.28

That compares to the 2019 totals of 334 carries, 1,268 yards, 17 TDs,  37 rec, 260 yards, 2 TDs. So they are in the ballpark of comparison to the previous year. But some things simply seem out of place.

We know that the LA Rams offense loves to run the ball and that 2019 was a huge anomaly. In 2019, the Rams passed far more often than in previous seasons. They did so because the team reduced the workload of the featured back Todd Gurley by eliminating running plays from the offense.  With rookie Cam Akers playing for the Rams in 2020, what happens if we simply restore those rushes to his workload, and see what happens?