LA Rams Week 14 offense is anybody’s guess right now

(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

Keep ’em guessing. Isn’t that one of the key ingredients for success in the NFL?  It seems to be, but it’s certainly not what you get out of the LA Rams and head coach Sean McVay’s offense. Despite the fact that he is one of the most successful head coaches in the NFL, he seldom strays from his pass-centric offensive philosophy.

But he may not have a choice this week. The LA Rams roster is getting clobbered by positive COVID-19 testing, forcing the team to face the Arizona Cardinals this week without DB Jalen Ramsey, DB Dont’e Deayon, RB Darrell Henderson, RT Rob Haventstein, or TE Tyler Higbee.

Can the LA Rams offense spin on a dime just hours before the game? Can the team draw up successful plays on the back of cocktail napkins in the plane?  If not, the Rams are heading for a beat down of epic proportions. But if this team can change a few things up on the fly?  Well, that may put the Cardinals’ defense on their heels. Right now, that could prove to be helpful to the Rams efforts, as former LA Rams quarterback Jim Everett explains:

It surfaced after Week 4 that the Arizona Cardinals defense had done such a good job of scouting the Rams tendencies that they knew where the team was going with the football before the ball was snapped. That allowed the Cardinals to focus their coverages on Cooper Kupp, giving him his worst outing of the season.

But for the rematch, the LA Rams offense is without Higbee or Henderson. That means that the Rams offense will be handled by unfamiliar players like Sony Michel, Kendall Blanton, or others. It’s safe to assume that the Cardinals defense did not spend much time analyzing those players.

Ready or not, the LA Rams must take the field in a matter of hours. Will the Rams wing it effectively enough to compete? Or will the Cardinals crush the Rams’ hopes?  For the Rams to have any chance, the team will need to design a game plan to suit the strengths of the starting lineup. If head coach Sean McVay can accomplish that, then the Rams have a chance at pulling off a major upset.

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