LA Rams News: Offense returns most snaps from 2019 in NFC West

LA Rams News: The offense returns the most snaps from 2019 roster in the NFC West

Love it or hate it, the LA Rams brought the band back together for one more season. Well, on the offensive side of the ball at least. While we have been touting that as a strong advantage for the LA Rams in this zany, crazy, mixed-up, bizarre, and uncanny 2020, we have been one of the few to lobby the point.  Are we simply ahead of the curve?  Perhaps, as others who are heavily involved in analytics and trending are concluding. That’s what the latest report from Over the Cap reveals, thanks to author Jason Fitzgerald.

After all, it makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?  While other teams are shaking hands and learning the names of teammates, the LA Rams offense is already working the first set of offensive plays from the playbook.  Only the Rams running back Cam Akers and perhaps to a lesser extent Van Jefferson factor in to have significant roles in the offense in the first month of the season.  Per the OTC article, the Rams return 87.4 percent of the 2019 offensive snaps in 2020 players.  That means that the team is about 1.4 players shy of offensive players from a year ago.

NFC West comparison

How do the other NFC West teams compare?  Believe it or not, the Arizona Cardinals are second with just 77.5 percent of 2019 offensive snaps returning in 2020 players. That translates into over 2.5 players shy of offensive players from a year ago. Next up is the San Francisco 49ers who are just 74.3 percent of 2019 offensive snaps returning to the team for this season. That places the 49ers into nearly a 3 player deficit from a year ago.  But the largest impact, and one almost nobody had dared to mention, is the Seattle Seahawks who return just 65.8 percent of their 2019 offensive snaps. That means they will be shy the equivalent of 3.8 players from last year’s offense.  Unfortunately for them, many of their best offensive linemen are gone this year.

Of course, that trend reverses on defense, where the 49ers and Cards return most of their defenders from a year ago. Only the Seahawks return fewer snaps on defense this year than the LA Rams. I’m good with the Cardinals defense coming back. That defense stunk, and they focused mainly on offense this year. While the 49ers defense is good, they are on film now, so offenses will exploit them much like the Chiefs did last season.

While this is just one more bit of evidence that the LA Rams are smoldering for a fast-burning come back in 2020, it adds to the compelling position that the Rams are indeed a team capable of climbing back, rather than a team plunging to the basement of the NFC West as so many have portrayed.