Will the LA Rams run the ball more or less this season?

Ground game miscues?

A very telling comment made by McVay last year was that the team was trying to drive the ball down the field and taking too long to do it, and thereby enabling too many miscues. You don’t often hear NFL coaches make comments like that.

Lots of early indicators point to the Rams throwing the ball more this upcoming season, taking advantage of a strong-armed signal-caller who doesn’t need to rely on a supporting cast of running backs nearly as much. McVay has often spoken about the offense needing to become more explosive, more big plays, quick scores, and emphasizing speed and aerial attacks.

Stafford didn’t enjoy the benefit of a strong running game in Detroit, and he continued to pass well and into extremely tight coverage. So the question now is: Just how committed will the Rams be to a running game this year, even with Cam Akers as the featured running back?

Or, are the days of teams using the run in order to set up the pass part of a bygone era in today’s NFL?

After all, the team that had the most passing attempts in the NFL last year just happened to win the Super Bowl. It’s just another leading indicator that more teams are using the short pass, the check-down dump off to get first downs in short-yardage situations instead of the handoff. And Stafford can do that. But he throws a helluva downfield spiral. He can keep defenses off-balance on his arm alone.

In the end, what really matters is wins and losses – the scoreboard, rather than individual statistics. If Akers gets fewer carries under Stafford, but the team doesn’t lose two times to that team by the Bay which runs the football by a committee to set up the pass, then all is good.