New Rams offensive wrinkle as OC Mike LeFleur is calling the offensive plays

The LA Rams may not have many starters on the football field in Week 18, but the team is not without a few surprises. In the first offensive possession of the game, the LA Rams failed to run once. The Rams ran four offensive plays that generated net 12 offensive yards. But the way the Rams did so is not how you might expect.

On the first play of the game, Rams starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo threw a beautiful pass to wide receiver Demarcus Robinson for 23 yards. The next three plays were an incompletion, a one-yard completion on a wide receiver screen to Tutu Atwell, and a sack that lost seven yards. That is not how I expected the game to start out.

On the second possession, rookie RB Blake Corum did get one carry, and ground out five rushing yards. Unfortunately, Garoppolo has been cold in the opening offensive possessions. He has only completed two of five passes. And that means that the game will fall on the defense once more.

Rams punter Ethan Evans has punted twice, both for over 50 yards. But on the second punt, rookie WR Jordan Whittington lost containment, allowing Jaelon Darden to put up a return of 17 yards.

The Seattle Seahawks are targeting TE Noah Fant in this one, and he is responding. He has caught both passes thrown his way for 44 yards. That is double what the Rams offense has gained in this game. Hopefully, the early offensive struggles by the Rams will give way to a smoother offense later in the game. With backups on offense, this team is not built to play catch-up.

The Rams rushing offense has yet to be given much work, and I think that could be a huge weapon for the team in this one. But will the team trust the offense to run the football now trailing by seven points? I would like to think so, But this is a game of backup offensive players, and I've no clarity as to what the team is willing to put on the football field.

End of Q1

Seahawks 7
Rams 3

As always, thanks for reading.

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