LA Rams Sean McVay hopes new OC Mike LaFleur can help snap 49ers' winning streak

For years, the LA Rams have been less than successful in their NFC West Division battles. That is particularly true whenever Rams HC Sean McVay faces off against San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan. When that happens, the victory has gone the 49ers' way, at least as long as the two teams face off in the regular season that is. But Rams HC Sean McVay isn't going anywhere, and it's a safe bet that 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan isn't either. So the LA Rams have to figure out a way to even the odds against their NFC Western Division rivals.

The difference in those contests has been pretty simple. The team that runs the football well tends to win the game. And when the 49ers face the Rams, the 49ers rushing attack puts up more yards on the football field. Whether it's due to the fact that the 49ers remain committed to the run, or that the 49ers gain more per run, the outcome is the same on the final scoreboard.

With the LA Rams roster changes, the fact that the LA Rams hired a new offensive coordinator named Mike LaFleur has been pushed to the back burner. But I'm bringing that small fact back to the forefront. Why? Well, Mike LaFleur could be the secret to the Rams finally beating the 49ers on a regular basis. At the time, we wondered how veteran QB Matthew Stafford might flourish under the Rams' OC. But perhaps that was never the plan at all.

Just like the Seattle Seahawks hired Rams passing game coordinator Shane Waldron as their new offensive coordinator to help bolster their passing game and overall offensive effectiveness, the Rams hope to do the same by grafting a former member of Kyle Shanahan's coaching staff onto the Rams coaching staff this year.

Did LA Rams offensive physicality just level up?

New proof in the pudding? Well, the LA Rams drafted IOL Steve Avila (6-foot-4 336 pounds) and OT Warren McClendon (6-foot-4 306 pounds) already, and both are big burly powerhouses. Add to that the fact that the Rams' running back room added RB Zach Evans (6-foot-0 215 pounds) and Tiyon Evans (5-foot-11 210 pounds) and you get the sense that the LA Rams are trying to become a more physical rushing offense.

Will it work? Well, the Rams have exhausted all options in the passing game to no effect, so it can't hurt. And with Mike LaFleur's significant experience as a 49ers coach, the Rams will benefit from a key offensive coach who knows how to beat the 49ers.

While the LA Rams players will need to execute the game plan effectively before we can say whether or not any new strategy is effective, it does seem that the Rams are taking the battles at the line of scrimmage a bit more seriously this year. Will the Rams commit to running the ball? Will the Rams offense sport a more balanced offensive attack? If the Rams can do that, that will help many of the things that didn't work well for the Rams in 2022.

Perhaps a young Mike LaFleur is not here to learn how to run the Rams offense. Perhaps Sean McVay hired LaFleur to learn how to run the football?