Sean McVay introduced a new wrinkle to the Rams offense on Saturday against the Packers, experimenting with a new formation that put Cam Akers at the center of the action. Three times in Green Bay, McVay put Akers in the wildcat formation, allowing him to take the direct snap while Jared Goff was split out wide.
The first two attempts went for carries of 2 yards and for no gain. Then Akers finally broke through with a 7-yard touchdown run out of the wildcat formation. It was surprising to see McVay break it out in this big of a game, but he explained the reasoning after the game.
It came down to getting the ball into Akers’ hands as much as possible. And as the Rams enter the offseason, it’s something they will try to build on ahead of next season.
Asked about using Wildcat even more next year, Rams head coach Sean McVay said it’s something they can build on during the offseason. He wants to get the ball in Cam Akers’ hands as often as possible.
— Eric Williams (@eric_d_williams) January 17, 2021
Entering Saturday afternoon, the Rams had only used the wildcat formation once under McVay since 2017. It wasn’t a play design that we ever really saw from him, but this game called for desperate measures.
It was also a way to keep the Packers on their toes. Akers is a former high school quarterback who can really sling it, which is surely something Matt LaFleur and the Packers were aware of. By putting Akers in the wildcat formation, it may have forced the Packers to respect the possibility of a trick play, which unfortunately never came.
This is something to watch next season because McVay seems to like the idea of having Akers taking direct snaps.
