Head Coach Sean McVay and his Los Angeles Rams are 4-1 through the first quarter of the 2021 season. It has been a very solid start for McVay and his new quarterback Matthew Stafford at the helm of a very high powered offense in the toughest and deepest division in the NFL. With a month's worth of games under their belt, it's time to grade all 3 phases of the Rams play as they move forward in the fall season.
Offense: B
McVay wasted absolutely no time this season settling his offense in. The huge chunk play passing attack has been the hill the Rams want to be king of and there's no hiding that whatsoever. As a result, Stafford is ranked #1 in the NFL for Net Yards Per Passing Play at 8.8, only ahead of Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray and Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson who are tied at 8.1. Stafford has really been everything this offense has needed to be successful. He's showing poise and patience along with mobility and keeping his eyes downfield in order to make big completions to his receivers. Whether it's Van Jefferson, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Tyler Higbee or DeSean Jackson, Stafford has done an amazing job through the first 5 games spreading the wealth. L.A. ranks third in passing yards per game with 310. Each of those targets for Stafford have at least one touchdown on the year. Kupp is leading the pack with 5. The Offensive Player of the Month has been a legitimate Offensive Player of the Year candidate with his sure hands as well as incredible blocking on running plays. The running game has been consistent for Los Angeles, when McVay decides to put the ball in his running back's hands. Back Darrell Henderson has been a very sound staple of the offenses running game this season as he has 294 yards and 3 touchdowns. Accompanying that is a beautiful 4.9 yards per attempt. The Rams also have a 23.2% overall team DVOA, a metric used by football outsiders that takes every single play during the season and compares each one to a league-average baseline.
The success of this offensive unit is a credit to the unspoken heroes of the group: the offensive line. The group has played immaculately the first five weeks, giving up the least amount of sacks in the league so far with four. According to Pro Football Focus, the offensive line averages six hurries and nine pressures on a per game basis. That amount of comfortability was never a constant for Stafford during his career in Detroit. It's showing how much it truly matters to a QB's success when they have that amount of protection. The line equipped with 39 year old phenom Andrew Whitworth protecting Stafford's blindside at the left tackle position, David Edwards at left guard, Brian Allen at center, Austin Corbett at right guard and longtime Ram right tack Rob Havenstein. Make sure to watch these big men work when the offense is on the field as they look to stay elite into the middle part of the season.
Defense: D
The ultimate disappointment so far this season is the defensive unit led by new Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris. Now, the bar is set high for Morris, who is taking over for now Chargers Head Coach Brandon Staley, who had the Rams defensive unit ranked #1 in the NFL last season. The Rams are 2nd in the league with 108 pressures, according to PFF, which means the defensive line led by defensive tackle Aaron Donald is doing their job and doing it well. The Rams D is ranked 5th in sacks with a total of 14.
The main reason for the grade is how disappointing this group has been given the talent they possess. With generational talents like Aaron Donald and corner back Jalen Ramsey on the same unit, it's almost an impossibility that this team fails, but when they do fail, it's on the backs of their supporting cast. Ramsey can cover any team's number one wide receiver but it's up to the rest of the secondary to pull their weight. Now, it could be a matter of scheme on Morris' part. The Rams secondary has shown looks of soft coverage and emphasizing keeping the offense in front of them. When a defense is specializing in that kind of coverage scheme, they should never get beat deep, and they've taken their licks with deep balls this season that last year seemed like an impossibility.
With the loss of CB Darious Williams, it's time for young players like corner David Long Jr., safety Taylor Rapp, and team captain Jordan Fuller to step up in coverage. It may be a little too early to truly panic about this unit as defenses tend to hit their stride in the later months of the season but from what we've seen so far, this unit and Morris need to start holding their end of the bargain for this team to be a force in the playoffs.
Special Teams: C
Last but not least we have the special teams unit led by coordinator Joe DeCamillis. Punter Johnny Hekker is still one of, if not the very best punters in the game and has shown no signs of slowing down. Hekker was thought to have been out of L.A. during a heated preseason competition for the job with now Packer punter Corey Bojorquez, but a restructure of his contract keeps him with the team at least for another season.
Kicker Matt Gay had a rough go of it in the matchup against the Seahawks, where he missed a PAT as well as two kickoffs that went out of bounds in a bizarre gaffe. Other than that Gay has been solid with a 90.9% field goal percentage, just missing one to make him 10 for 11 on the year.
The return game is what worries me for the Rams special teams unit. DeCamillis has been putting a mix of rookie running back Jake Funk and rookie wideout Tutu Atwell back for return duties this season. Funk has looked very solid in his 3 returns so far, averaging 23.3 yards per return. Atwell is where I grow skeptical. Tutu hasn't done much on punt returns or kick returns through 5 weeks. The 5'9" receiver from Louisville has all the makings for a speed threat on special teams but it just hasn't shown. The worst play of his young career was the opening kickoff in Seattle on Thursday Night Football, where he tripped on the turf and coughed up the ball that would ultimately go out of bounds. A play that could have pitted the Rams defense within their own 25 if it had been recovered by Seattle. Atwell still has a lot to prove and as long as he isn't muffing the punts on a regular basis, he should be just fine and trusted to keep his return gig.
Overall Grade: B-
There is a lot to like about this Rams team and their chances moving forward in the season. If they're just getting warmed up and they have a 4-1 record to show for it, then that's forward progress toward what they can achieve in these later months. With a cupcake schedule looming, expect the Rams to win some games handily as they move ahead toward powerhouse matchups with the Titans, Packers and rematch against the Cardinals.
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