5 low budget instafixes to get the LA Rams back on victory track

Okay, here we go again. The LA Rams have fallen to a record of 1-3, and once again stand at the crossroads of a deeply disappointing season or reclaiming a chance to compete in the postseason. But with each loss, the odds of earning a berth in the upcoming NFL Playoffs diminishes. And that means that perhaps it's time to remind the team that not all improvements involve outlays of cash.

We dared to cite no-cost improvements after a Week 2 drubbing at the hands of the lowly Arizona Cardinals. While not all suggestions were incorporated the Week 3 gameplan, some did seem to pique the team's curiosity enough to warrant some experimental use. Two suggestions that the team did not adopt in Week 3 was the option to start rookie ILB Omar Speights and run rookie RB Blake Corum 15 times.

But two options were deployed. The Rams did tinker with the defensive line rotations. And the team did use 12 personnel at least 25 percent of the time.

Since the Rams seemed to adhere to some of the suggestions we thoughtfully provided, its time to double down and set up the team for a new set of helpful hints to carry them through a challenging Week 5, and throughout a tough October schedule.

(5) - Stop using Troy Reeder/Christian Rozeboom exclusively

While I understand the interest in playing two veterans at the inside linebacker position to start the season, I have viewed the presence of both ILB Troy Reeder and Christian Rozeboom as training wheels for the group. After all, neither player has had a particularly successful NFL career. In fact, they both seemed to have peeked long before expected.

And the problem is compounded when both play side by side in this defense. They are passive competitors, neither showing any ability to detect what the offense is doing until after the running back makes a break for the hole. And even after the play is obvious to everyone, they are hesitant to do more than sit back on their heels and wait for the ball carrier.

That was not the case when either rookie ILB Omar Speights or Elias Neal played in the preseason.

I'm not suggesting that preseason is as competitive as the regular season. Nor am I suggesting that the coaches simply swap out parts like a bad mechanic until the defense is 'fixed.' But I am seeing two inside linebackers who are not doing the job in run defense. They are passively making first contact five to six yards downfield, are often taken out of the play by blockers, and even when they get arms on the ball carrier, struggle to bring him down.

There has to be at least one inside linebacker on the team who has no hesitation of meeting a running back in the hole. It's up to the coaches to find him, and get him onto the football field.

(4) - Blake Corum must get 20+ percent of carries in October

The Rams offense right now, it terms of scoring, is made up of RB Kyren Williams, K Joshua Karty, and all others. All others at the moment have generated just one touchdown in four games, and that score came from WR Cooper Kupp, who is injured and already ruled out of playing in Week 5. So what does that mean for the offense?

Sadly, this is all quite alarming.

Against all conventional wisdom, the Rams offense is routing all rushes through RB Kyren Williams. While even the biggest power backs run the risk of injury in that scenario, Williams has proven to be far less durable. In looking back over his first two seasons in the NFL, we can see ample evidence of injuries that have limited his availability in the past. Now that he is almost entirely this offense's scorer, the team cannot afford to lose him to injury.

And yet, that seems to be the plan.

Williams has carried the football 73 times in four games. Admittedly, that is hardly a rate that leads to burning a player out mid-season. But therein lies the rub. This offense, sans their three top receivers, has been passing at a rate of 58 percent. But eight of the team's rushes were handled by rookie RB Blake Corum in the Week 2 blowout loss at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals. Removing those runs, the depleted Rams aerial assault is still getting 60 percent of the team's offense.

In the lone victory, a Week 3 upset over the San Francisco 49ers, the Rams passed 26 times, and ran 26 times. Ironic, eh?

This team has a long-standing tradition of benching offensive rookies. And yet, when an occasion of injury forces the team to use them, they often perform quite well. In 2023, injury forced the team to play rookie WR Puka Nacua. In 2024, injuries have forced this team to play rookie IOL Beaux Limmer and WR Jorden Whittington. Both are exceeding expectations.

Unless the team abandons this fixation of running Kyren Williams exclusively, defenses will learn to key on him in any Red Zone situation. And until the team gives rookie RB Blake Corum a chance to run the ball, the pattern of sticking with Williams exclusively becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Ramp up the rookie. Start using him on 20 percent of the runs in October. That translates into 19 runs if applied to September. This offense can afford to do so.

(3) - Until Nacua and Kupp return, use 33+ percent 12-personnel package

I'm not sure why this team is so hesitant to make use of an effective and beneficial offensive sub-package, but the team has a stubborn resistance to any thought of deploying their 12-personnel in this offense. If the goal is to 'do what's best for the team,' then this team has a host of reasons to deploy two tight ends frequently.

The only win in 2024 has come during the one game that the offense made use of their 12-personnel package. And that is not some random event.

By using two tight ends, the Rams naturally veer to the inherent strengths of this roster. With four running backs, three tight ends, and five wide receivers, the Rams roster is currently stacked to play two tight ends frequently. That's not some subjective conclusion. It;s simply a mathematical reality. In 11 personnel, the offense deploys three wide receivers, one tight end, and one running back.

As you can see, that does not align with the current depth chart whatsoever.

As soon as the team flips to two tight ends, one receiver sits out. That allows the team to use two wide receivers, two tight ends, and one running back. But isn't that just as out-of-balance? Not exactly. Here's why:

Two tight ends benefits the ground assault because there are simply more blockers (bigger bodied blockers) on the football field to negate defenders, With more bigger blockers, rushers have more opportunities to run to daylight.

But another benefit of using two tight ends is how that allows speedy wide receivers like Xavier Smith and Tutu Atwell to test the back end of secondaries. It's clear that the offense has effectively integrated WR Tutu Atwell into this offense in the absence of Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. But if he is deployed as a receiving option with two tight ends, defenses are confronted with an impossible quandary.

If defenses load the box with eight defenders, Atwell burns them on a deep route. If defenses play two-deep coverages, then the team can run for big gaines. But if the defense opts to go nickel and load the box with defensive backs, the offense can throw effectively to either tight end to move the chains.

And I'm quite certain the defense is not opposed to any choice made by the offense that leads to a significant advantage in time of possession.

(2) - Rams need to start Cobie Durant and Darious Williams ASAP

The Rams roster will begin to take on a new look soon. With four games in the history books, players added to Injured Reserve have satisfied the four-game minimum, and can start the process of returning to the active roster. Doing so is not a one-step process. The team must announce the names of players to be returned to the active roster.

That officially permits those players to practice and train with the rest of the team. From that point, the team has a 21-day window to officially restore designated IR players to the active roster. Right now, the team plans to restore DT Larrell Murchison and DB Darious Williams.

While there is open debate right now as to whether DT Larrell Murchison is worth bringing back to the active roster, there is no doubt that the return of DB Darious Williams to the active roster is something that fans are eager to welcome. So far, the Rams secondary has been undisciplined and rather ineffective. But due to the early injuries to Darious Williams, John Johnson III, and Derion Kendrick, the defense has been painted into a corner in terms of alternatives.

With Darious Williams on his way back, the defense has its first opportunity to improve dramatically.

Rams may need to consider wholesale secondary changes

While the defense is stronger against the pass than the run, the group struggles against both. Can the return of Darious Williams fix that? Perhaps. But more extensive changes may need to take place.

The Rams defensive backs are not particularly effective so far. While some grace period of coordinating and communicating is to be expected, this group has struggled not only at pass coverage, but in basic discipline of not committing thoughtless penalties that give opposing offenses a brand new set of downs.

And that continues through the first four games of the season. Just check out the comparison in the social media below:

But even as the Rams prepare to welcome Darious Williams back to the active roster, I believe that they must also take action to get Ahkello Witherspoon actively involved. Tre White is clearly struggling so far. But if the team can demote White to a nickel cornerback, and make use of Darious Williams, Ahkello Witherspoon, and Cobie Durant as the primary cornerbacks in this defense, that could be the secret sauce to giving this team the necessary defensive edge to start winning some games.

(1) - Rams offense needs to think outside the box

The LA Rams won in Week 3 by thinking outside the box. A fake punt successfully moved the chains. Unexpected use of two tight ends was clearly something the San Francisco 49ers defense did not adequately plan to defend against. The team even attempted to have WR Tutu Atwell pass the football. It fell incomplete, but it was incredibly effective as it signaled the 49ers defensive backs that they could not simply play with abandon.

While it's easy to cheer on the plays when they work, the offense has been far too predictable in three games so far this season. And those three games have resulted in losses.

This offense, even battered, bruised, and injury-depleted, is far too loaded with talent to be stuck in the same old ruts that give any advantage to defenses that simply casually review the trends and video footage of the team's recent games. Excluding Week 3, this offense introduced nothing new in three games, despite the wide array and number of different players suiting up to play. And that is a problem.

Let's think outside the box for a moment

Witnessing the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, I watched with glee as the Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff catch a touchdown pass from WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. While I would not advise sending Rams QB Matthew Stafford out on any routes, the play did trigger some imaginative ways for this offense to think outside the box:

• Two running back formations - The Rams almost never deploy two running backs on the same play. Historically, even when the team has used two players in the offensive backfield, one has been a wide receiver. But what prevents the team from screwing with defensive coordinators around the league by showing two running back formations? The Rams can use the look to pitch to either side, run between the tackles with either runner, or even throw to a wide receiver with running backs in protection.
• Give Stetson Bennett a try in the Wildcat - The Rams currently carry three quarterbacks on the roster. While we know that Jimmy Garoppolo is the veteran segue who steps in if starting QB Matthew Stafford is injured, Stetson Bennett is a bit less defined in this offense right now. Why not change that? If the offense can create a play for WR Tutu Atwell to throw a football, why not design a play tree that allows the team to hike to Stetson Bennett, and give him some pass, handoff, and bootleg options? No defense is expecting that. And it give opposing DCs one more thing to worry about.
• Three tight ends - The Rams roster boasts three healthy tight ends right now. So, why not make use of those talented tight ends, even when not on short yardage downs? The offense can still send WR Tutu Atwell deep, and depending on the defense's response to three tight ends, the play can pivot between pass and run. I'm not suggesting that the team use these outside-the-box formations as some version of staple. Simply put, introducing new wrinkles prevents defenses from setting their plans to closely to what the offense will do.

The Rams offense is not hitting its potential. The team ranks 18th in total yards gained, and 23rd in total points scored. Even while the passing offense is ranked eighth in yards gained, the rushing offense is 28th ranked in yards gained. To sit back and relax in some misconception that this offense is doing enough to win games is a huge mistake.

It's time to give some things a try. Whatever the team had planned for 2024 went out the window as offensive linemen and wide receivers fell to multiple injuries. The offense needs more than the same old eight-track offensive play calling to score points and win.

It's time to think outside the box. As always, thanks for reading.