Looks like the LA Rams have a plan, now will they run with it?

Run the football, control the clock, win the turnover battle. It seems like fundamental football. Perhaps too fundamental for the LA Rams’ need for glitzy innovative plays, I suppose, but still just fundamental Rams football. That is the basics of how to win in the NFL.

The Rams uncovered the magical elixir in a dominating dismissal of the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 13. Now that it looks like the LA Rams have a winning game plan, will they stick to it? That’s where the future of the offense, and the team, get a bit nebulous.

You see, the LA Rams beat the snot out of the New England Patriots team in 2020, by committing to a dominating power run game, with very similar results. The final score was 24-3, but the game was a complete beat down. It was so bad that the Patriots pulled starting quarterback Cam Newton out and tried to see what backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham could do.

You go back Jack, do it again

Rookie running back Cam Akers rushed 29 times for 171 yards on the ground. It appeared that the LA Rams had finally discovered a method where Goff’s offensive miscues couldn’t determine the game’s outcome. But that didn’t last into the next game when the Rams dropped one to the lowly and winless New York Jets. Oh well.

Now fast forward a year, and the LA Rams find themselves back in familiar territory. New quarterback? Check. New running back who has been seldom used to this point? Check. Suddenly, a commitment by the offense to run the football after weeks of lobbying by fans and bloggers that delivered the goods on every expectation? Check.

It’s deja vu all over again, folks. And with so many things different about the personnel, you would think that the Rams would not make the same mistake twice, would you?

Lol. We’ll see.

We know that the Arizona Cardinals, in both of their losses this season, gave up over 150 yards on the ground. That not only moved the chains, but it kept the Cardinals’ offense off the field. It’s their defense that has created so much success this season. The Rams need to game plan to beat them, not to exert their nifty play calling.

It was clear that they had scouted the offense’s tendency to throw to Cooper Kupp on third down in their Week 4 matchup. So you can bet that they already know what the Rams tend to do in their down-and-distance situations. Perhaps it’s time to throw them a wrench and give offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell a chance to call a few offensive plays?

The LA Rams lost their first matchup with the Cardinals by having a very predictable offense. They can win in Week 14 by having an unstoppable offense, instead.