4 no-cost fixes to Rams that can happen in time for a Week 3 upset victory

When you're hot, you're hot. When you're not, you're not. Right now, the LA Rams are not. With a last place defense and an injury-riddled offense, the team has never looked, or seemed, this bad, in the entire tenure of HC Sean McVay. That's not disparaging speculation. The team has gotten off to anj 0-2 start into a new NFL season for the first time since 2011.

And with so many starting players injured right now, the Rams are unlikely to improve their fortunes before their Week 6 BYE.

As of right now, the absolute best that the team can hope for is a 3-2 record heading into that BYE. At the absolute worst, the team will limp into their Week 6 BYE with an 0-5 record, and be commanding the best chances of making the Top Draft pick of the 2025 NFL Draft.

But success is not so far away for these Rams. Not just yet. While the team is battered, this is a team that had better depth that usual. As such, there are reservoirs of untapped talent all over the Rams roster. All the team needs to do to turn the free fall into a steady climb is to make changes at key positions, both in personnel and in game planning, and see what happens. I believe that success is never so far away in a game of inches.

Which changes could carry such a significant impact with the team? Simple. The team has to go where their talent lies, and stop insisting that the team can do the same offensive plays and the same level of defense with backup players on the football field.

What do I mean? Let's dive right in and you will see just how close the Rams are to playing much better.

(4) - Put more defensive linemen on the football field

Until the Rams defense can shut down the run, the team cannot win. I know that the team has experimented with a 4-1-6 and and 5-1-5 defensive formations. But the Rams are allowing 197 rushing yards per game. While that is based on just two games, the fear is that it could get worse before it gets better. And this defense, more than anything else, as to discover some way to slow down opposing teams merely running the ball down their throats.

With two nose tackles and four defensive linemen on the roster, the Rams have to add to the beef on the defensive front. If that means playing both nose tackles: Bobby Brown III and Neville Gallimore, adding a third defensive end, or activating either DT David Olajiga or Cory Durden from the practice squad, the team needs more oomph up front.

You know the San Francisco 49ers are going to feed the Rams defense a steady diet of running plays.

So plan accordingly. Stuff the run. Make the 49ers passing game be the featured offensive strategy. The Rams cannot allow teams to control the game clock, the scoreboard, and the game tempo, by running at will.

(3) - 15+ carries for Kyren Williams and Blake Corum, respectively

The LA Rams rushing offense is horrific right now. The team is averaging just 68.0 rushing yards per game. While the team has only rushed 43 times, 26th most frequent among 32 teams. But in terms of effectiveness, the Rams are the 31st out of 32 team in terms of putting up rushing yards. Does any NFL defense have reason to respect the Rams running backs?

The top 10 rushing offenses in the NFL have all done one thing that the Rams have absolutely failed to do. They have committed to running the foortball. That's right, it's as simple as rushing 31+ times per game, and that has launched those ground games into the top 10 NFL rushing offenses without exception.

Can it be that simple? In a word, yes.

Of course, the Rams will not break free for a 50 yard dash at first. The team simply is not experienced enough at running to count on big gains. But the more this team runs, the better the team becomes. If only the team had a power running back, this would jump off the page. As it is now, the team simply has to commit to no less than 15 runs by each running back, and lean into the most effective runner for more during the game.

(2) - Run 12 personnel sets at least 25 percent of offensive plays

The LA Rams have four healthy wide receivers right now. But the team has been running 11-personnel 99 percent of the time. How does that make any sense? With so few carrying so much of the offensive burden, it's no wonder that the team's two top wide receivers are already banged up. How long can the team count on the remaining receivers to stay healthy?

Even as TE Davis Allen fights through a back injury, the team has two healthy tight ends in Colby Parkinson and Hunter Long. The team simply has to get crackin' at using more tight ends in this offense. For starters, the team should target at least 25 percent of their offensive plays in their 12-personnel package. After all the team added TE Colby Parkinson to infuse a tall target on routes.

And the team has an abundance of tight ends at the moment.

This offense must get creative around the need to compensate for the absence of WRs Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacus running routes. The team has to get more players involved in that effort. Right now, the team has done next to nothing to help players face overwhelming odds in the first two games. With player injuries showing no signs of abating, the entire team can simply not afford to turn a blind eye in their direction any longer.

(1) - Start rookie Omar Speights at ILB

While we cannot undo the Rams decision to part ways with sure-handed tackler Ernest Jones at the inside linebacker position, the team can try to learn from the mistake of entrusting the heart of this defense to ILBs Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom.

Neither Reeder nor Rozeboom are effective at stuffing the run. Neither. And right now, the Rams defense must do a much better job of doing so. If not, the team has a ticking time bomb on the back of veteran starting quarterback Matthew Stafford. Let me explain.

The Rams are inclined to go pass-happy as soon as the team falls behind on the scoreboard. And as long as the team allows offenses to run 5.5 yards per carry, the Rams will be playing from behind all season long. The reason? While there are several contributing factors, neither Reeder nor Rozeboom rush forward to greet a running back in the hole. Instead, they move laterally, yielding an extra two or three yards on the play, and then running the risk of riding the ball carrier for another yard, or two, or three.

While rookie ILB Omar Speights is new to the NFL, what he loses in terms of misreading a play, he more than makes up for by attacking the ball carrier in the hole, and his sure tackling crumples them right there.

With an additional defensive lineman, and a pitbull at the inside linebacker position who loves to tackle, the Rams will slowly turn the corner on that run defense. But it's like anything. The team has to make changes to expect different results.

As always, thanks for reading.