FanPost

Food For Thought: Offense Full of Speed and Power

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I seem to rather enjoy thinking outside of the box. Because of that, it is what I share with you all the most. My thoughts that some may not be thinking or are thinking but not saying. Right now is going to be one of those times that I share a different opinion that steers the opposite direction of what others are thinking. Allow me to welcome you to my newest series, The Food For Thought Collection. Where I simply throw out other possibilities that goes against everything that has been talked about the most, and sheds light on the other side of the consensus idea. This does not mean this is what I desire, expect, or encourage. It is simply what it is, another viewpoint.

What if the Jeff Fisher and Les Snead decided to take offense to another level. Our defense is good enough to go the playoffs the way it is right now. I actually am on record saying that "if the Broncos had our defense they would have won the Super Bowl". One thing that is for sure with us is that, we know we can and will run the ball. The problem is, so does everyone else. There are only two ways to avoid being stopped dead in your tracks with this basic philosophy and that is having two dimensions (power and speed runs), or creating balance and airing it out.

The Broncos are one way of looking at it. They are very one dimensional. They threw the ball 65% of the time and 75% of those throws are screens, crossing routes, or pick routes. They lack both a running game and solid defense. Not a dominate one, just needed a solid one. Another example of one dimensional gone wrong would be the Chiefs. Their defense is legit. Super Bowl caliber without question. But they only run halfback screens and zone runs. It is far too easy to stop their offense.

The Rams are falling in line with these two teams. They lack a creative offensive mind on offense -which is fine when you have balance- and they lack balance. We lived and died by the power run this year, and it cost us quite a few games. Even before going with a run heavy approach, we were still stubborn with our running plays. Remember week one against the Cardinals? We refused to put Daryl Richardson on the perimeter where he is at his best. "No, lets just keep running him into this wall in-between the tackles."

Well, what if we decided to balance things out and went with more speed and more power all over the offense? Creating a big massive offensive interior so that we can continue with our power but be even better, but also have guys quick footed enough to pull and be great at the next level as well as in space. And how about adding more speed and more size to our skill positions?

Rk Team G Pts/G TotPts Att Att/G Yds Avg Yds/G TD Lng 1st 1st% 20+ 40+ FUM
1 Philadelphia Eagles 16 27.6 442 500 31.2 2,566 5.1 160.4 19 65T 133 26.6 19 5 5
2 Buffalo Bills 16 21.2 339 546 34.1 2,307 4.2 144.2 15 77 113 20.7 11 5 12
3 San Francisco 49ers 16 25.4 406 505 31.6 2,201 4.4 137.6 18 51 115 22.8 20 3 7
4 Seattle Seahawks 16 26.1 417 509 31.8 2,188 4.3 136.8 14 43 116 22.8 11 1 6
5 Washington Redskins 16 20.9 334 453 28.3 2,164 4.8 135.2 14 45T 112 24.7 16 1 11
6 New York Jets 16 18.1 290 493 30.8 2,158 4.4 134.9 12 69 105 21.3 14 2 7
7 Green Bay Packers 16 26.1 417 459 28.7 2,136 4.7 133.5 17 67 119 25.9 11 5 7
8 Minnesota Vikings 16 24.4 391 423 26.4 2,081 4.9 130.1 23 78T 106 25.1 16 5 9
9 New England Patriots 16 27.8 444 470 29.4 2,065 4.4 129.1 19 47T 110 23.4 12 2 10
10 Kansas City Chiefs 16 26.9 430 442 27.6 2,056 4.7 128.5 17 46 110 24.9 13 1 8
11 Carolina Panthers 16 22.9 366 483 30.2 2,026 4.2 126.6 14 56 122 25.3 10 2 3
12 Oakland Raiders 16 20.1 322 437 27.3 2,000 4.6 125.0 16 93T 90 20.6 18 3 7
13 San Diego Chargers 16 24.8 396 486 30.4 1,965 4.0 122.8 9 51 104 21.4 7 2 5
14 Tennessee Titans 16 22.6 362 462 28.9 1,894 4.1 118.4 16 39 103 22.3 11 0 8
15 Denver Broncos 16 37.9 606 461 28.8 1,873 4.1 117.1 16 45 107 23.2 9 1 10
16 Chicago Bears 16 27.8 445 404 25.2 1,828 4.5 114.2 13 55 102 25.2 13 5 4
17 Detroit Lions 16 24.7 395 445 27.8 1,792 4.0 112.0 15 39 106 23.8 8 0 19
18 Cincinnati Bengals 16 26.9 430 481 30.1 1,755 3.6 109.7 14 35T 101 21.0 5 0 7
19 St. Louis Rams 16 21.8 348 426 26.6 1,752 4.1 109.5 10 65T 82 19.2 11 4 6

The Rams Finished the season ranked

  1. 19th in yards per game
  2. Tied for 17th in ave per carry
  3. Tied 10th in runs for 20+ yards
  4. Tied 23rd in TD runs

Not exactly the amazing numbers that some may like to think we had rushing the football. In fact after week 12 against the Bears, teams realized the Rams were only going to run power with Zac Stacy and every so often run play action and throw to either the full back running to the flat or a speed out. Over the final five games the rams rushing totals were as so, 137 att, 501 yds, and 3.65 ypc. And with out the two runs by receivers -Tavon Austin vs Arizona 56 yds & Stedman Bailey vs Tampa Bay 27 yds- that ypc drops to 3.09.

The Receiving game was not much better -I won't mention the passing because we know what happened there- but it was in fact worse.

Rk Team G Pts/G TotPts Rec Yds Avg Yds/G Lng TD 20+ 40+ 1st 1st% FUM
1 Denver Broncos 16 37.9 606 461 5,572 12.1 348.2 78T 55 68 13 293 63.6 4
2 New Orleans Saints 16 25.9 414 446 5,162 11.6 322.6 76T 39 67 15 244 54.7 1
3 Detroit Lions 16 24.7 395 371 4,650 12.5 290.6 87 29 62 10 221 59.6 4
4 Atlanta Falcons 16 22.1 353 445 4,541 10.2 283.8 81T 26 44 9 227 51.0 8
5 Green Bay Packers 16 26.1 417 366 4,538 12.4 283.6 83T 25 65 11 201 54.9 3
6 San Diego Chargers 16 24.8 396 378 4,478 11.8 279.9 60T 32 60 6 230 60.8 4
7 Chicago Bears 16 27.8 445 373 4,450 11.9 278.1 80T 32 53 11 215 57.6 5
8 Philadelphia Eagles 16 27.6 442 310 4,406 14.2 275.4 70 32 80 18 197 63.5 3
9 Cleveland Browns 16 19.2 308 379 4,372 11.5 273.2 95T 26 52 14 200 52.8 2
10 New England Patriots 16 27.8 444 380 4,343 11.4 271.4 81T 25 49 8 225 59.2 2
11 Cincinnati Bengals 16 26.9 430 364 4,318 11.9 269.9 82T 33 57 15 205 56.3 6
12 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 23.7 379 377 4,306 11.4 269.1 67 28 61 10 207 54.9 3
13 Arizona Cardinals 16 23.7 379 363 4,291 11.8 268.2 91T 24 49 9 205 56.5 3
14 Dallas Cowboys 16 27.4 439 375 4,226 11.3 264.1 82T 33 48 7 213 56.8 8
15 Houston Texans 16 17.2 276 371 4,183 11.3 261.4 66 19 53 9 198 53.4 5
16 Washington Redskins 16 20.9 334 355 4,057 11.4 253.6 62T 20 39 6 198 55.8 5
17 Miami Dolphins 16 19.8 317 357 3,966 11.1 247.9 67 24 47 11 205 57.4 0
18 Indianapolis Colts 16 24.4 391 350 3,952 11.3 247.0 73T 23 45 10 191 54.6 2
19 Baltimore Ravens 16 20 320 363 3,914 10.8 244.6 74 19 45 14 189 52.1 1
20 New York Giants 16 18.4 294 325 3,875 11.9 242.2 70T 18 54 7 176 54.2 4
21 Jacksonville Jaguars 16 15.4 247 349 3,751 10.7 234.4 67T 16 44 6 176 50.4 6
22 Tennessee Titans 16 22.6 362 328 3,710 11.3 231.9 77T 22 48 10 172 52.4 4
23 Minnesota Vikings 16 24.4 391 325 3,645 11.2 227.8 79T 18 54 7 173 53.2 3
24 Oakland Raiders 16 20.1 322 298 3,629 12.2 226.8 73T 17 48 8 168 56.4 2
25 Kansas City Chiefs 16 26.9 430 333 3,561 10.7 222.6 71T 24 45 7 179 53.8 5
26 Seattle Seahawks 16 26.1 417 267 3,508 13.1 219.2 80T 27 52 10 160 59.9 4
27 Carolina Panthers 16 22.9 366 292 3,379 11.6 211.2 79T 24 33 7 169 57.9 3
28 Buffalo Bills 16 21.2 339 299 3,373 11.3 210.8 59T 16 46 9 149 49.8 5
29 St. Louis Rams 16 21.8 348 301 3,360 11.2 210.0 81T 22 41 5 165 54.8 3

The rams finished with some mediocre stats as well as some pathetic ones

  1. 29th in yards per game
  2. Tied for 25th in yards per catch
  3. 29th in catches 20+ yards
  4. 32nd in catches 20+ yards
  5. Tied for 20th in TDs

Needless to say this was a sorry showing from a talented group. But what if in the upcoming draft the team put a twist on things? What if the offense dominated a defensive minded coaching staffs draft? One thing one would think in regards to specializing in one area of the game is that you know how to beat yourself. So surely this staff knows how to beat even the best of defenses. I wonder how the team would perform if our play calling was 50/50 pass/run, and 50/50 power/speed plays, as well as with a draft like this;

  • Trade pick two to the Browns for 4, 26, next years 2nd
  • Trade pick 13 to the packers for 21, 53, next years 2nd
  • Trade 26 to the Broncos for 31 and 95
  • Trade 4t, 5th, and 7th to Atlanta for 68
  • Trade 6th and next yr 2nd to buffalo for 73
  • Resign Roger Saffold

1A. Sammy Watkins WR Clemson

1B. Kelvin Benjamin WR FSU

1C. Cyrus Kouandjio OT/OG Alabama (basically a Saffold clone, very valuable)

2A. Xavier Su'a-Filo OG UCLA

2B. Pierre Desir CB Lindenwood

3A.Terrence Brooks FS FSU

3B. E.J. Gaines CB Missouri

3C. De'Anthony Thomas RB Oregon

3D. Aaron Murray QB Georgia

6. George Uko DT/DE USC (William Hayes type of potential)

7A. Jerry "Boo Boo" Gates SS Bowling Green

7B. Johnathon Brown OLB Illinois

7C. Reggie Jordan TE/FB Missouri Western

*This is not so much about a mock draft or who we should take. It is more so about WHAT we should take. Think the pick and not the player*

Basically what this draft would bring to the table is more speed and explosiveness on offense with guys like Sammy Watkins, De'Anthony Thomas, and Reggie Jordan. While Kelvin Benjamin brings power, physicality, and an immediate red zone threat (think Brandon Marshall and Dez Bryant rolled into one but bigger). And And Cyrus and Xavier would bring strength, athleticism, stability and MAJOR depth to the offensive line. All the while filling every need on defense.

This would allow the Rams to play a more balanced brand of offense with 50/50 pass/run, and 50/50 power/speed plays. Also an offense like this would be able to compete with any style of defense. It has the size and strength to hang with defenses like Seattle, the speed beat a defense like Arizona, and the balance to beat a 49ers defense. This ladies and gentlemen is what I like to call a defensive coordinators worst nightmare. And in theory (and I have not done the math here, Dubbs please by all means be my guest) it would cost the Rams about $12 million to sign. $12 million and the Rams are suddenly the deepest team in the NFC West with the potential to beat anyone.

Remember the fastest and easiest way into the playoffs is by winning your division. And when you consider the toughest division in the NFL is the NFC West, well when you win that you are instantly considered the favorite to win it all.