If you had a mind to categorize Josh McDaniels approach to running an offense, well, good luck. The St. Louis Rams' new offensive coordinator brushed off questions of what kind of offense he runs, saying that the real goal of his approach is to be "balanced and aggressive."
Aggressive? Has anyone told him he's working for the Rams now? Ok, ok, I kid. More than the pedigree, the most exciting thing about McDaniels is that aggressive potential he brings to the Rams offense, something they sorely lacked in 2010. Here's the new OC:
Staying balanced means forcing the defense to play both the run and the pass. The best teams that I have been a part of have always finished in the Top 10 or 11 in the running game and were very similar in the passing game.
As mentioned yesterday, McDaniels' offenses have also been among the top ten in terms of rushing attempts per game, meaning that the shelf is the last place you'll find Steven Jackson in 2011.
Fans are dying to see a more aggressive attack from a Rams offense that was limited by a lack of experience and playmakers in 2010. They still managed to win 7 games, 6 more than the year before, having a good quarterback to pair with a running threat like SJax, backed up by a strong defense. Finding players to round out the attack is the Rams primary offseason goal.
And what about the current Rams players, most notably Sam Bradford, and the impact of changing offenses? McDaniels said all that talk is somewhat overstated.
The terms 'system' and 'language' and all of the flashy terms that are used in football today sometimes there can be a lot more made of them than there really needs to be. Players are really pretty tough when it comes to learning. They can figure out what you want them to figure out.
The task at hand now is evaluation. Not only will they put each player under the microscope, the new OC even plans to study what worked well for the Rams offense this year and incorporate that into his game plan.
It's going to be an interesting offseason...unless the owners stick to their guns and scuttle the whole season, but that's a topic for another time.