This former LA Rams All-Pro discusses sitting starters in Week 18

Thanks to the LA Rams catapulting from a pedestrian 1-4 start to the 2024 NFL season to a 10-6 record with one game to go, the team has clinched the NFC West Division title. While we can debate the merits of playing the starters in Week 18, the Rams are unlikely to start key players regardless of fan sentiment. The offense has several starters who need a week off, from starting QB Matthew Stafford to injured RT Rob Havenstein.

And that appears to be the direction the team is taking in strategizing for Week 18. So what is at stake? The Rams could fall from the third-seed to the fourth-seed if the team loses in Week 18, while the NFC South Division leaders, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, win their final game of the season. But that will only change the opponent in the Wild Card Round of the 2025 NFL Playoffs

The Rams will still host Round 1 of postseason play, and will likely have to travel to play all other games leading up to Super Bowl LIX.

“I get worried when teams are hot and they take the week off”

But former LA Rams All-Pro left tackle Andrew Whitworth is not convinced that sitting players for the final week of the regular season comes with no downside. Keep in mind that he played the final five years of his 16-season NFL career on the LA Rams for HC Sean McVay.

You might think that having played for Coach McVay and making the playoffs in four of his five years with the Rams, Whitworth would be all-in on any and every strategy employed by his former team. And overall, he is. But as he discusses his first season with the Rams, he opens the door to the counter-argument that NFL teams that are hot risk cooling off by sitting a week:

Whitworth makes the argument that the 2017 version of the LA Rams may have been a better team than the 2018 version of the Rams that made it all the way to Super Bowl LIII. As he describes, the 2017 LA Rams roster was red hot, and was beating everyone by a wide margin. The Rams opted to sit players in Week 18 against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18. The Rams lost the final game in 2017 by a score of 34-13.

The starters returned in the Wild Card Round of the 2018 NFL Playoffs, only to lose to the visiting Atlanta Falcons by a score of 26-13. The Rams were the better team except for two areas. The team coughed up the football twice, losing both fumbles to the Falcons. And the Rams lost the Time Of Possession battle by a full 15 minutes.

So clearly Andrew Whitworth is onto something.

To sit out, or not to sit out: That is the question

The 2017 Rams roster were playing in Coach McVay's offense for the first time, and that week off certainly did not seem to help the team in terms of offensive readiness. The team scored just 13 points on average over the final game of the season and the NFL Playoffs. But as Whitworth also stated, he still thinks it was the right decision.

But what of rookies playing in the NFL? What of defenders still learning and fine-tuning their roles in DC Chris Shula's new defense in 2024? Ah, there's the rub. It's not easy to skip a week when acclimating and settling into the scheme remains a work-in-process. There may be valid reasons for the Rams to start some rookies, even if they are starters, just to ensure that they continue to remain on track of steady development and progress.

You can make a valid argument no matter which side of the issue you stand. As the LA Rams make the decision who plays and who sits for Week 18, it's important to accept that there are multiple correct answers.

While so many accept what the Rams do without question, it's important to acknowledge that those who do not always agree have valid reasons to disagree. I mean, if Big Whit is worried, that should validate any fan who shares his concern.

Let's correct the record - Editor's update

When reviewing the video extract of Andrew Whitworth's discussion of the LA Rams 2017 season, I failed to note the contrast of that season with 2024, and got hooked on one sentence that he stated:

"I get worried when teams are hot and they take the week off."

Andrew Whitworth

The truth is, I missed the condition that Andrew Whitworth was making in that statement. "When teams are hot," was about a hot offense, something that does not necessarily apply to the Rams right now. And he also made the statement that he still believes sitting players is the right one. As I sipped my morning coffee, clearly the main point made by venerable retired LT Andrew Whitworth sailed over my head.

A matter he was kind enough to point on on social media:

There was never an intention of making this a contentious topic, simply stating that there are some downsides to sitting players. I want to ensure that I am not spinning what Andrew Whitworth intended to say in a new direction.

Feedback is sometimes vital, and feedback was given in this case. I'll chalk it up to a valuable lesson learned.

As always, thanks for reading.

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