When it rains, LA Rams gotta pour on Kyren Williams and Royce Freeman
By Bret Stuter
The LA Rams will be on the road this Sunday, playing in Baltimore, Maryland to take on one of the best teams in the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are a tough and gritty NFL team, the type of team that used to give the Rams fits because they play fundamentally sound football, and play with a physicality that allows them to dominate the line of scrimmage.
Well, that is what used to give the Rams fits. But in Week 13, the Rams faced a fundamentally sound and physical Cleveland Browns team and won that game. Now, the Rams have to prove that they can repeat that effort on the road and a hostile football field.
Oh, and in during a torrential downpour too.
He's not wrong. Per Accuweather.com, the weather in Baltimore, Maryland is going to be very wet and very windy. The good news for the LA Rams is that it will not be precipitating the white stuff, even though the game will be played in December 2023. But the Rams will face all of nature's fury all the same. Check out this for a weather report of an ugly day for football:
- Temperature - High 63 degrees
- Winds - SSE 23 MPH, gusting to 45 MPH (tropical storms sustained winds of 38 MPH)
- Rain - Heavy at times. Lasting 7 hours
- Precipitation - 0.73 inches
- Probability of rain - 95 percent
- Probability of thunderstorms - 29 percent
While the Rams would love to pass to a victory, if this weather holds, the Rams have got to factor in the wet football, heavy rain and winds, and overall sloppy conditions on the football field.
How can the Rams beat the Ravens and Mother Nature in Week 14?
Regardless of the reasons for his disappearing act, Week 14 is setting a ideal stage for the Rams to run veteran power back Royce Freeman to set up running back Kyren Willieams. The Rams are going to need plenty of Clydesdales to pull the wagon this week, and a combination of Freeman and Williams will just about do the trick.
Forget about outsmarting the other team with gadget plays. Forget about trying to outflank the opponent in a mud wrestling contest. The weather will only play a huge role in this game if the Rams are oblivious to its impact.
The Ravens are built to wrestle in the mud, run the football, and turn this game into a rout if the Rams attempt to out-finesse the Ravens. This is a game for 12-personnel, for putting a helmet on a helmet, and for playing a possession passing game to keep the chains moving, and running the football all day.
Wet and windy can numb the extremities pretty quickly. The Rams passing game is not a staple when the wind is gusting to over 40 miles per hour. The Rams have to be smart, plan for short routes that can turn into big gains, and play within the limits of a deluge.
While it's obvious what the Rams should do, it's not always obvious what the Rams will do. And therein lies the rub. As long as the Rams' offense can master moving the chains and scoring points on a sloppy football field, the Rams can win this one. The Rams defense can keep the Rams in this game. Let's hope the Rams are ready for the rain.