Just like ’20 Miami game, LA Rams abandoned 12-personnel too soon

The LA Rams are not a novice NFL team, some sudden new entry into the NFL playoff discussions this year who have no idea what they are doing. This is presumed to be savvy battle-tested troops who have endured regular seasons and post-season play to the point that diagnosing what the opponents are doing should come second nature.

Once more, in a game where the running game began far more effectively for the offense than the passing game, the Rams abandoned the run and tried to pass their way to victory. And when the game was clearly going the way of the Tennessee Titans defensive line along the line of scrimmage, the LA Rams never thought to go with a far more robust two tight end offensive formation.

Apparently, old habits die hard.

Throughout the game, I scanned the football field for any signs of two tight ends but saw nothing. And today, my fears were confirmed when I checked the snap count on Lineups.com for the Rams offense to determine just how often the team sent tight end Kendall Blanton onto the football field.

Just two plays. Out of 76 offensive snaps, just two times did Blanton line up on the football field. That’s inexcusable.

While the perception is that the LA Rams offensive line has somehow plummeted from first to worst in a matter of minutes, the reality is that nobody on the coaching staff did a single thing to help them out. Even rookie wide receiver Ben Skowronek saw action on three plays. How would the strategy of placing Skowronek into the teeth of the Titans defense help turn around the offense in any way possible?

Two tight ends, perhaps?

The Rams have used their 12-personnel package with deadly efficiency. When facing the New England Patriots in Week 14 of the 2020 NFL season, the Rams used two tight ends for over 50 percent of the offensive snaps. And the Rams won that game handily by running the ball against a very physical New England Patriots defense.

In December 2019, the Rams used the 12-personnel package to revitalize their offense. Not only did Tyler Higbee prove to be an effective receiver, but the Rams running game enjoyed a tremendous boost.

Okay, so the Tennessee Titans won the game against the Rams convincingly. Let’s be honest though. The LA Rams entered the game with a script and did not color outside of the lines. That is not going to win the tough games, because eventually and ultimately, the best defensive coordinators will analyze trends and tendencies and stumble into the right defensive strategy. Doubt that the Rams stuck to a losing game plan?

When that happens, the Rams panic. It’s not a slow methodical analysis of what the defense is doing whatsoever. The response has been similar for the past three years. If the defense can put pressure on the Rams quarterback by outplaying the offensive line, then the Rams fall back to a pass-heavy playbook.

But the worst part is, that the Rams ignored the need for more blockers, and sent more receivers onto the field. In a game where the entire offensive line struggled, there was no help coming.

Miami one more time?

In one more example of what not to do, the Rams reverted to the very thing that drove the organization to part ways with former quarterback Jared Goff. The Rams encountered a physical Titans’ defense that created turnovers when the Rams tried to pass and dictated that the Rams convert everything into a short-field passing attack.

If you thought that the Rams Week 9 contest appeared to be very similar to the 2020 Week 8 loss against the Miami Dolphins, it was. Eerily, and freakishly, nearly identical. So much so that I had to look up the box stats to ensure I wasn’t imagining things.

In both games, the Rams quarterbacks threw one garbage-time touchdown and two interceptions. In both games, the LA Rams offense struggled in the passing game while the running game was generating positive yards. In both games, the pressure got to the quarterback. In the case of Jared Goff, he threw it away. In the case of Matthew Stafford, he took the sacks.

In both losses, the Rams defense played well enough to win the game. In both cases, the Rams abandoned the running game far too soon. In both contests, the Rams averaged 4.5 yards each time a running back carried the ball. In both games, the passing game netted just 6.1 yards or less per completion.

And in both games, the Rams applied the same old strategy, pass only.

Can it be fixed? Of course. The Rams emerged from the Miami Dolphins game in 2020 and won four of their next five games.  But to do so, the Rams cannot refuse to adapt to what the defense is giving them.  That is up to the team’s head coach, Sean McVay.