Let's talk about Rams roster, and how the team fumbled the plan so far

(1) - Do Rams really need 4 identical running backs?

In the past two seasons, the LA Rams boasted bigger north-south bigger-bodied backs like RB Sony Michel (5-foot-11, 215 pounds), Royce Freeman (6-foot-0, 238 pounds), Cam Akers (5-foot-10, 217 pounds), and even Zach Evans (5-foot-11, 211 pounds). They are gone, all of them. But it's not for a lack of roster space. The Rams are carrying four running backs on the active 53-man Rams roster.

So what's the problem? All four running backs are almost identical in height, weight, and running style. And that poses a problem. Why? Let's detain who this team has on the roster right now:

• Kyren Williams | 5-foot-9 | 202 pounds | 202 - 822 yards, 9 TDs
• Blake Corum | 5-foot-8 | 210 pounds | 29-106, 0 TDs
• Ronnie Rivers | 5-foot-9 | 192 pounds | 10-51, 0 TDs
• Cody Schraeder | 5-foot- 9 | 214 pounds | 0-0, 0 TDs

Are the Rams wrong in wanting to roster three Kyren Williams clones? Hey, if the team could guarantee that Corum, Rivers, and Schrader could all live up to Williams's example, that would be wonderful. The thing is, they can't.

For starters, nobody is getting a share of the workload. Without reps, there is zero change that anyone can develop into anything more than a great teammate who is okay with sitting on the bench. And that is a problem for the three other running backs and the team overall. But there is a more nefarious objection to this running back room.

If the team needs to soften up an extremely physical defense, who gets sent onto the football field? If the team needs a bigger back to gain the two or three yards needed to move the chains or plunge into the end zone, whose number is called? The answer is, of course, Kyren Williams. Williams can run, but he is starting to cough up the football at an alarming rate. No matter how many rushing yards he churns out, if he fumbles before scoring, it is all wasted effort.

The Rams current roster doesn't have a low-gear type of running back. There is nobody on this team to turn to when the running back gets run over in the manner that Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean bowled over Kyren Williams on his way to sacking QB Matthew Stafford. And that's a problem.

If the Rams ground game was an automobile transmission, the options would be third-gear, fourth-gear, and overdrive. This offense does not have a power back who can be counted on to pancake big-bodied blitzers who have a head of steam on their way to the quarterback. And it's wrong for the Rams to ask small running backs to handle every possible scenario.

Cody Schrader will never smell an offensive snap. Ronnie Rivers will only see action again if Kyren Williams is injured. Even rookie Blake Corum, a Day 2 drafted running back, is still waiting to get some meaningful use in a football game.

The Rams are 5-6. If the reason used to justify the decisions made to this point has done no better than five wins in 11 games, it's time to try some new strategies. If for no other reason than to develop young players to contribute in the future, the team has to do a better job of using the available talent on the roster or finding the talent needed to win.

As always, thank you so very much for reading.

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