The emergence of this Rams WR made Kupp expendable, and it's not who you think

It's time to turn and face the strange, Los Angeles Rams fans. That's right. Ch...ch...changes are coming to the team at a pretty rapid pace, and I'm not clear that the team will settle into a predictably slower pace for some time. You see, the team spent money foolishly in 2024. That's right. The team had the most expensive offense in the NFL in 2024 but did not even finish among the upper half of teams in terms of offensive output - also known as points scored.

Whenever that happens, you can brace for changes to the team. In spite of a veteran offense that was still dependent upon the two remaining weight-bearing walls in QB Matthew Stafford and WR Cooper Kupp, the team simply did not have much offensive horsepower.

When it comes to the LA Rams roster, we have to step back a bit. So many things are flying at us all at once that it's tough to segregate and focus on one matter at a time. Even now, with the matter decided to the point where it's all over but the shouting, Rams fans remain confused and dismayed by the team's lightning-swift decision to move on from veteran WR Cooper Kupp.

Whether you agree with the decision, I'm confident that this was not as swift as you might initially think. The Rams offense sputtered much of the time in 2024. While that may start some fans down the path of who was to blame for the offensive struggles, I'm more concerned about why some of the best offensive coaching minds in the NFL were so lackadaisical about correcting the problem. Was it a matter of too many holes in the dyke to plug at a time? Or was there something more subtle at work?

To understand that, we need to revisit some areas for clues.

Much like the old Sesame Street video game of 'one of these things is not like the other . . .', the Rams offense ran along on its course but something changed. Perhaps the better perspective is more aptly worded 'someone changed.'

But with the team sputtering in 2024, perhaps it's best to dial back the view to 2023. After all, the team averaged 23.8 points per game that year. While not amazing by any means, the offense was good enough to rank eighth in points scored. In 2024, the offense averaged 21.6 points per game (helped by an opportunistic defense), that was only good enough to land as 20th in terms of points scored.

The difference was across the board. In 2023, the Rams had 26 passing touchdowns and 18 rushing touchdowns. In 2024, the Rams had 22 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing touchdowns. In 2023, six wide receivers scored at least one touchdown. In 2024, only four wide receivers crossed the plane. In 2023, four running backs found the end zone. In 2024, only one running back scored.

So it was less a question of getting less production from key contributors. The challenge lay in getting fewer contributors in 2024 to score, resulting in a precipitous drop in scoring by the team as a whole. Well, that is a clue, and one that I don't think many had expected to find. So let's see what else we can unearth . . .