LA Rams Sony Michel, my bell-cow, runs better the more he runs

The LA Rams may not have warmed up to running back Sony Michel very quickly this season. Like many of the new offensive weapons, the willingness of the team to welcome them to the football field is a bit of a redshirting process. Unfortunately, it’s taken the LA Rams 13 weeks to unleash Michel’s powerful running upon the NFL.

Now that they’ve done so, you have to wonder what was the holdup?

The LA Rams have made some incredibly wise and insightful moves. But the team has shown a bit of reluctance when an opportunity to embrace a talented player to this offense occurs. So much so that it has hurt the team quite often.

What do I mean? In Week 16, LA Rams starting quarterback Matthew Stafford had a horrific game. He threw 21 of 36 times for 197 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. And yet, the team won the game by the score of 30-23. How could that be so?

Unstoppable Sony

Well, the LA Rams ran the ball. Sony Michel was practically unstoppable, rushing 27 times for 131 yards and a touchdown. That was a huge difference in the game. Not only did it help to settle down a very struggling Matthew Stafford, but that running kept the Rams’ offense on the field and the defense off the field.

That is how the offense is designed to work, and how the offense gelled so effectively under the Todd Gurley era. Gurley could run for huge gains, and that served to keep the defense honest. Unfortunately, when the LA Rams set up their running back depth chart, the team shot itself in the foot. How so? Let me explain.