It was hardly the perfect first half of the season for the Los Angeles Rams, getting out to a 5-3 start through eight weeks. With a Week 9 bye, Los Angeles has some time to rest before beginning the second half of its season.
The coaches will use this time to evaluate the team and roster, potentially switching some things up on the depth chart. There are also several areas where they can (and must) improve in the final eight weeks.
Here are four crucial areas of improvement for the Rams coming out of the bye.
The running game
The Rams have had very little success running the ball this season, in part because of a lack of attempts. They’re 20th in the NFL in rush attempts and 21st in yards on the ground, all despite having a talented trio of backs with Todd Gurley, Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson. Heading into this season, it seemed like we were going to see a heavy dosage of the running game, but that hasn’t been the case. The Rams need to find a rhythm rushing the football, otherwise it’s all going to fall on Jared Goff to carry the offense. That’s not a recipe for success, and Sean McVay needs to find a way to get the running backs more involved.
This season, Rams running backs have just 87 yards rushing up the middle, which is the fewest in the NFL, according to Inside Edge. They’ve averaged 2.4 yards per carry up the middle, also the worst in the league.
Part of that has to do with the offensive line’s struggles, but Gurley isn’t making many defenders miss or having much success anywhere on the field.
The offensive line
Speaking of the offensive line, it’s been arguably the weakest part of this team all season. the gamble on replacing Rodger Saffold and John Sullivan with Joe Noteboom and Brian Allen has not paid off, and the Rams are finding that out the hard way.
David Edwards has been a pleasant surprise at left guard, but there are other issues on the line. Allen has been one of the worst centers in the league, allowing the third-highest pressure rate in the NFL.
Austin Blythe has been equally as bad at right guard, which is somewhat surprising. He and Rob Havenstein need to get back to the level they were playing at last season if the offense is going to improve significantly. Otherwise, it’s going to be much of the same in the second half: A lot of pressure on Goff and narrow running lanes.
The Rams must get better up front, whether it’s with the players currently starting or by making a change with Austin Corbett stepping in as a starter.
Taking care of the football
The Rams have given the ball away 12 times in eight games, which is tied for the 11th-most in the NFL. their turnover margin of zero is slightly better (tied for 16th), but it’s still nothing to write home about.
Much of this falls on Goff at quarterback. He’s thrown seven interceptions and fumbled it six times, though only four of those were lost. So of the Rams’ 12 turnovers this season, Goff has accounted for 11 of them.
That’s a terrible trend and something the team must fix. Goff has to take better care of the football, avoiding costly turnovers and carelessness in the pocket. He’s gotten better at sensing pressure, but he still has to keep two hands on the football and not try to force the issue.
Tackling
Surprisingly, tackling has been an issue for the Rams this year. Clay Matthews, Marqui Christian and Samson Ebukam all rank among the top 36 players with the highest missed tackle percentage, which is not something any defense wants to see. Even before his injury, John Johnson was tied for the 24th-most missed tackles in the league.
The missed tackles have come in key moments, too. According to Inside Edge, Rams linebackers have missed 11 tackles in the fourth quarter this season, tied for the second-most of any team. The secondary hasn’t been any better, missing 12 tackles on 39 opportunities in the fourth quarter – the highest rate in the NFL.
Some of the biggest culprits of missed tackles were Johnson, Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters, none of whom will be playing for the Rams this season (unless Johnson returns off IR). Jalen Ramsey is a sure tackler, as is Eric Weddle most of the time. Taylor Rapp is also excellent in that department, so hopefully Los Angeles will get better as a team in the second half.
