LA Rams RB Cam Akers is stunned at latest wave of NFL rumors

I: Wakeup call to perform better

Of course, so far we have cited rather complex reasons for this sudden coach's decision to sit Cam Akers out in a must-win Week 2 contest. But there is a simpler reason, and according to the principles of Occam's Razor, we have to give the simplest explanation the nod in the face of incomplete and insufficient facts.

The simplest reason for the sudden inactive status for RB Cam Akers could simply be the fact that LA Rams head coach Sean McVay is giving the proud veteran a necessary wake-up call. This is a young roster, and one of the driving forces for the return of McVay to coach the team this year is his belief that he needed to apply tougher love and higher standards to everyone's performance.

And 22 carries for 29 yards is not a great start to the 2023 NFL season.

Some of the best head coaches in the history of the game were masters of motivating players without confrontation or conflict. Former New York Jets head coach Bill Parcells, a true legend of motivating players, once placed an empty gas can in the locker of linebacker Brian Cox to suggest that Cox was running on fumes. That gimmick worked remarkably well.

LA Rams head coach Sean McVay is no longer just about designing plays with the expectation that players will execute them at their best. He is taking his own game to the 'next level,' like so many other legendary coaches, and finding the pressure points for his own players to get the most out of them. That could mean praising their accomplishments. But for others, it could mean giving them a cold splash of reality.

Whatever the cause, for now we must wait and hope that the effect was worth it.