LA Rams: 3 reasons team is playing percentages on Robert Woods trade

Factor III: The mission changed parameters

Life is not a continuous flow. Rather, it comes with chapter breaks. At one point in almost every child’s life, a bicycle is the primary form of transportation. But after being licensed to drive an automobile, many do not ride a bicycle again. Or if they do, it’s to exercise or to entertain. But the original use, to get from point A to point B, is obsolete.

The LA Rams offense is transforming. The offense that began the 2021 NFL season was not the same offense that won their final four consecutive games to win Super Bowl LVI. In fact, with the exception of quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Cooper Kupp, plus the offensive line, the Rams ran their offensive plays through a completely new set of skill players.

Was that simply an anomaly, a situation of playing the hand the Rams were dealt? Or did that symbolize a transformational event? Or was it even more? Did the Rams’ success trigger that past practice of building the team around a winning quarterback? In other words, does the front office simply now have a better understanding of their quarterback, and is now able to get closer to the mark with new players than last year?

Smurfs don’t cut it in Stafford’s offense

Let’s face it. That small and speedy wide receiver experiment failed miserably in 2021. The LA Rams signed veteran DeSean Jackson and drafted Tutu Atwell. Both were smallish speedy receivers who were hoped could unlock Stafford’s arm. But neither receiver are physical. Stafford, for all his arm strength, loves to throw jump balls to his receivers and let those guys come out with the football.

Robert Woods is a different type of player. He will mix it up blocking, running, he runs crisp routes that get solid separation. But he did not improve with Stafford’s arrival. Quite the opposite, in fact. So much so that we began to wonder what happened that limited Bobby Trees in the Rams offense. Perhaps he too became the bicycle that the LA Rams no longer ride.

In any case, the LA Rams are ultimately a business, and this trade was one of the less popular but team-opted necessities to field a contender in 2022. No Hekker, Weddle, Whitworth, and now Woods. The Rams are definitely changing folks. Whether that mean getting better or worse? We’ll have to reserve our judgment until we see how the team plays in 2022.