Will LA Rams rookie RB Cam Akers recharge the offense?

What Akers will fix

Okay, so what does getting Akers back do for the offense. Well thankfully, several important things. The Rams would love to keep RB Darrell Henderson’s workload this season to 100-120 or so carries.  Perhaps Malcolm Brown around a similar number. That should place the ball into Akers’s hands around 200 carries.

While he is nowhere near that number just yet, he will rapidly increase his workload as long as he remains healthy. After the break, he should be routinely carrying the ball 20 or more times, which will give the Rams the chance to keep both Henderson and Brown fresh for a playoff run.

Back to basics

Getting Akers back will allow the Rams to run him more against more physical defenses. After a tune-up against the Washington Football team this week, the Rams will face a very stout 49ers defense,  After the bye week, the Rams will face both the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, two of the stingiest rushing defenses in the NFL this season.

But the return of Akers would open the possibility of lining up two running backs in the backfield.  And it will allow the Rams to get back on track with a run-first offense. For the first time this season, the Rams called more passing plays against the Giants than running plays. Getting Akers back for game day, if nothing else, should restore the Rams back to a running offense.