What did LA Rams learn from Super Bowl LVI for next SB win?

The LA Rams played midway into February 2022 before their season finally ended. While that was five weeks longer than non-playoff teams, the LA Rams were the only team to play such a long season, and win their final game.  That extended season has a way of taking its toll on a team. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why it is so very difficult to repeat as a Super Bowl champion the following season?

While we are all savoring the flavor of ending the 2021 NFL season with a victory in February to close it all down, there is a great deal of value in assessing the experience of the season quickly, before the knowledge fades into distant memories. After all, one of the few advantages for any team that has won a Super Bowl is that the experience is not lost on the team, and becomes a huge bit of leverage when facing similar circumstances in the future.

The Rams were by no means a dominating team. This was simply a team that played a gritty, fight-to-the-final-gun type of football. The LA Rams won their last three games by three points. That’s the type of post-season play that truly relies upon every unit, every player, and every play.

Rams adapted multiple plans to find success

Sounds like a tough path to take for a team hoping to repeat an NFL Championship season? Perhaps. But if you know what did work, and what did not work, you have a chance to make improvements to the overall team without diminishing the things that worked very well.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. But if you examine the LA Rams 2021 NFL season, you will discover that the LA Rams had to throw it back to the drawing board several times through the course of the season. When the Rams debuted for 2021, they were a high-octane, score-from-anywhere type of offense.  But over time, defenses learned how to compensate.

The Rams then kicked into a ball-control offense that ran effectively and gave an injury-riddled defense time to recharge. At the same time, the Rams discovered a very effective return specialist in Brandon Powell, a critical improvement to special teams that made a difference in several game outcomes. Even short-handed, the Rams found the determination to defeat a number of playoff-hopeful teams. In short, the Rams got hot at the right time of the season.