8 critical keys for LA Rams debut preseason game

Offense

The LA Rams won’t be playing their starters, so a lot of the special features about this 2021 offense will simply not show up in the first preseason game of the season. After all, if the goal is to rank the players according to their NFL readiness, the last thing that the coaches should do is toss in a few complex plays for one group and stick to all vanilla for another.  So the plays will be a bit ho-hum at times, but there will still be nuggets of gold to pan for whenever the offense takes the field.

Los Angeles Rams

I. How varied are the Rams running plays?

One of the first areas of interest is how will the Rams plan to run the ball this year? While the team may not have Darrell Henderson in the game, there will be opportunities to see how the team plans to use him as well as the other running backs by seeing what they do in this one. The team has emphasized the need for a more explosive offense. But this will remain an offense that is heavily invested in the running game until the team proves that it isn’t any longer. Who will run the jet sweep? Who will plunge between the tackles? Will the Rams running game attack the perimeter. Answering these questions will give you a good picture of what the 2021 rushing offense will look like.

II. Do the Rams use many 12 packages on offense?

One of the key features to the offense this year will be the way tight ends are used. And if the Rams are out to attack the perimeters, they will likely place two tight ends onto the field. In the past, the Rams have found Johnny Mundt to be a very effective offensive weapon against the Chicago Bears. So the question is, will the Rams deploy Mundt in this one to warm him up for the Bears, or bench him as a proposed starter for two tight-end formations? Either way is okay because we’ll have plenty to watch from Brycen Hopkins, Jacob Harris, Kendall Blanton, and Kyle Markway. Markway is a key player to observe, as he could be at risk for the team’s first cuts on August 17.

III. Will the Rams push passes deeper than usual?

While the arm of Matthew Stafford won’t be on display, the LA Rams most certainly have some speedy receivers on the roster. That could actually be something that the Rams coaches want to see from their backup quarterbacks Bryce Perkins and Devlin Hodges. With the currently configured roster, the Rams may need their third-string quarterback to enter the game, whether to clean up a game with the Rams holding a significant lead or to relieve an injured or positive COVID-19 tested quarterback. Since Brandon Staley and Sean McVay worked closely together last year, I can definitely envision post-game constructive feedback between the two coaches. That could mean that McVay trials some deep passes to store in the vault for future use.