With a wide receiver trio of Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks, it’s difficult to take any one of them off the field for any significant number of snaps. In order to get another tight end on the field, though, that’s exactly what the Rams have to do.
Sean McVay showed a willingness to stray away from his comfort zone (11 personnel) against the Seahawks last week, utilizing two-tight end sets with Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee frequently in the first quarter. As a result, Cooper Kupp’s snaps were limited despite his huge impact on the offense.
It didn’t necessarily work the way the Rams hoped as they failed to score a first-quarter touchdown once again, but McVay isn’t giving up on using 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends).
“A lot of it is specific to, ‘OK, what’s the specific gameplan based on the opponent and what do we feel like the different things are.’ I saw a couple of those different things, too. We know some of our tendencies that we end up having in those personnel groupings, but that’s really the first time of the season that you’ve done it – you don’t have any tendencies until after that game,” he told reporters Thursday. “It is something that we look at, but I would say that being able to get Gerald and Tyler on the field a little bit more with some of the different things that we can do. It’s definitely something that you can expect to see us expand on.”
It was one of the best games by Everett and Higbee, posting 10 combined catches for 183 yards. Everett had a career-high seven catches for 136 yards by himself, making several big plays down the stretch.
It’s no secret that the Rams have two quality, starting-caliber tight ends on their roster. That’s not something many teams can say, but the issue is Los Angeles also has three receivers who are hard to take off the field.
It’s worth watching how McVay handles the personnel groupings moving forward, but anytime you take Kupp, Woods or Cooks off the field, it makes the offense less explosive.
