LA Rams McVay and Goff must end Belichick haunting their career

Imitation is the greatest form of … plagerism

That loss set into motion a myriad of forces and events that would change not only the LA Rams, but the rest of the NFL as well. One of the first signs of the Rams rapid success in the NFL was the rapidity that other teams made great efforts to imitate, replicate, or just plagerize the Rams sudden success within their own offense.  NFL teams began to poach LA Rams coaches.

Three of the first NFL head coaches hired in 2019 all had ties to LA Rams head coach Sean McVay: Matt Lefleur (head coach of Green Bay Packers), Kliff Kingsbury (head coach of Arizona Cardinals), and Freddie Kitchens (former head coach of Cleveland Browns). Suddenly, the NFL offensive mindset changed. Offensive-minded coaches were now the hot hire in the NFL.

Commit or not?

Winning in that manner forced the Rams to commit to the players that got them there. After extending running back Todd Gurley, defensive lineman Aaron Donald, and wide receiver Brandin Cooks, the Rams emerged from their Super Bowl appearance under pressure to extend franchise quarterback Jared Goff. They did so, but failed to extend left guard Rodger Saffold, and failed to resign center John Sullivan.

That decision to invest in Goff, but not in his offensive linemen, certainly hit a snag in 2019. Players who received lucrative extensions saw their production drop dramatically.  Meanwhile, the Rams offensive line, one of the best in 2018, never saw their financial situation improve, and fell to one of the least compensated units in the NFL in 2019. The Rams formula for success was finding the going tough on the football field, under the salary cap, and on the injury front. Something had to change. to evolve.