LA Rams: 5 reasons to believe defense will play well in Week 7

Reason 5: Time of Possession will not be so lopsided

The LA Rams can move the football the length of the field in less than one minute. But should they? That’s been a point we’ve pointed out throughout the 2021 NFL season so far. After all, the faster that the Rams score, the faster the opponents get the football. That means more opportunities for the opposing team’s offense to score. While some won’t, some will.

Many casual football fans are linear in their understanding of the defense. Things like teams that have already had their BYE week are overlooked, as is the number of snaps or targets or carries by a player. They look at raw numbers as the gold standard of a player’s proficiency.  It’s not just how many yards a player or team racks up, but how many plays it takes to get those yards.

The Rams are starting to take notice, perhaps?

According to teamrankings.com, the LA Rams time of possession (TOP) is an atrocious 28:56 in 2021. That is only good enough for the 23rd-ranked team. Why is that so bad? Well, teams that do not win the time of possession battle place their defenses at an alarming disadvantage. No team with a lower TOP has a winning record.

But there are some signs of improvement. Over the past three games, the Rams TOP has improved to 30:05, good enough for 18th-place on the list. And based on their last game, with a TOP of 32:22, the Rams are at 14th place on the list. Just for comparison purposes, the Rams finished last year at 31:29, good enough for Fifth-place.

The longer the offense has the football, the shorter amount of time that the defense must play. That can either come from a defense that plays plenty of three-and-outs, or an offense that chews up the clock by a solid mix of running and passing plays to move the chains.  The Rams offense seems to be getting more adept at creating longer drives that chew up the game clock and give the defense time to catch their breath.