LA Rams suffer from too many Sean McVay offenses in the NFL right now

Too predictable

When the LA Rams hired head coach Sean McVay to take over the Rams team in 2017, he replaced the basic but seasoned head coach Jeff Fisher. While the strategies of McVay and Fisher were significantly different, there can be little argument to the fact that many of the Rams players who flourished in the McVay-style offense were selected and signed to the Rams roster during Fisher's watch.

Of course, the Rams signed free agent LT Andrew Whitworth, WR Robert Woods, and drafted WR Puka Nacua in 2017 to bolster and super charge the offense to the point where it was one of the top scoring units in the NFL in both 2017 and 2018, but it's a gross error not to afford credit to the players who were already on the roster as well.

One player who was ideally suited for the Rams offense was running back Todd Gurley, whose ability to run, catch, and score touchdowns consistently truly opened up the Rams offense to its true potential. With Gurley as the single running back behind the quarterback, the Rams had the idea camoflauge to mask the offensive play. If defenses crowded the box to stop Gurley? The Rams simply outflanked them by passing the football. If defenses played back to stop the pass? The Rams simply cut Gurly loose to run the football right at them.

Rams lost interest in running the football

That ability to do what the defense was ill-prepared to stop lasted as long as Gurley was an effective runner. But Gurly struggled with knee injuries, and the Rams offense struggled as a result from 2019 and after.

Since that time, the Rams have attempted to simply throw more weight into the passing game. In 2020, the Rams ran effectively, but the slow pace of scoring points frustrated McVay. In 2021, the Rams skewed the offense into a fast-strike offense, but the wear and tear on the defense that now found itself shouldering the burden of too much Time of Possession with the opponent was not acceptable. In 2022, the walls caved in, and injuries decimated the Rams roster so horrifically that veterans were signed off the streets to man starting positions simply to get the Rams through the season.

The Rams have not found a suitable substitute for Todd Gurley's role in this offense. To be truthful, the Rams haven't searched very hard either. The success of running the football depends heavily to attempting to run the football.