What’s wrong with LA Rams RB Cam Akers? Optimistic expectations

LA Rams running back Cam Akers is not someone who will end up in a highlight reel from the first weekend of NFL action anytime soon. He had three carries, for zero yards.  He never got into a rhythm, but was this a chicken or the egg paradox?  Did his lack of any positive yards limit his play to just three carries? Or did his lack of opportunities to three carries all but make it impossible for Cam Akers to run the football effectively?

In short, 41 passes and 18 runs is no way to keep the defense guessing.

Even worse, was tossing 26 of those 41 passes to either WR Cooper Kupp or TE Tyler Higbee.  Toss in the 13 carries by running back Darrell Henderson Jr., and the Rams’ 59 offensive plays channeled 67 percent through 3 players.

I don’t want to appear to be a Monday Morning quarterback, nor to relish in the first opportunity to toss out an “I told ya so!” at the first sign of trouble, but much of what the LA Rams put on the field in their Thursday Night Football was exactly what so many fans feared most of all.

Poor running.
Poor blocking.
Offensive playcalling was far too predictable.

Now, where did it all break down?

After the game, several fans who watched the game asked me: Is LA Rams running back Cam Akers okay? Two claimed that he seemed too timid. Two others said that he seemed to lose his explosiveness. Three more said that the Rams never gave him a chance to run with the football.

Who is right? Or, heaven forbid, did they all capture a sliver of truth to a bigger problem? Did that Achilles Tendon injury impact Cam Akers’s NFL future? Well now, that’s a sobering thought. Maybe we’d best sit down and think this one through a bit more.