NFL
By George Lopez
The 2022 NFL season did not go as expected for the Los Angeles Rams. The defending Superbowl champions entered the season with expectations of defending their championship. Instead, the Rams ended their season with a disappointing 5-12 record, the most losses in a season by a defending champion. This is the first losing season and 2nd time the Rams failed to make the playoffs under Coach Sean McVay.
This season, the Rams offense took a step backward in terms of production. The Rams averaged 18 points per game (tied for 26th in the league). Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford saw his numbers decline, passing for 2087 yards with 10 touchdowns and 8 interceptions prior to being lost for the season with a concussion and spinal contusion. For the season, the Rams offense averaged 187 yards passing per game. Part of the issues the Rams faced were the different defensive schemes they faced. Most teams played deep coverage to take away the deep pass from Stafford and company, forcing the Rams to go to shorter passing routes.
The Rams offense relied too much on Cooper Kupp in their passing game. Kupp missed the last 8 games with an ankle injury yet still led the team in receptions with 75 and was 2nd on the team with 98 targets. In the offseason, the Rams signed WR Allen Robinson in free agency. Robinson was looked upon to be a replacement for Odell Beckham and was expected to be a big factor as the team’s #2 receiver. What the Rams envisioned did not pan out as Robinson had 33 receptions on the year on 52 targets prior to being lost for the season with an injury. Van Jefferson missed most of the beginning of the season and accounted for 24 receptions when he returned in the 2nd half of the season.
The Rams running game struggled for most of the season, averaging 97 yards per game. RB Cam Akers started to show flashes of the form he displayed his rookie season, rushing for a combined 345 yards in the final 3 games of the season. At times during the season, Coach McVay got away from his running game too early. Running back Darrell Henderson, who was expected to play an integral part in the Rams running game, was released during the season. Productivity from the offensive line
From the beginning of the season, the Rams were not able to find consistency with their offensive line. In the first 12 weeks, the Rams used 12 different starting offensive line combinations. Of the projected starters at the beginning of the season, only RT Rob Havenstein played the entire season. With the constant change, the Rams offensive line struggled all season opening running lanes and in pass protection, allowing 59 sacks on the year. The lack of pass protection did not allow the Rams to use the deeper passing routes that McVay likes to use in his offense. With the lack of a running game, the Rams were not able to use play-action passes, a staple in McVay’s offense, with much success.
The Rams were decimated by injuries this season. A total of 43 players missed playing time. Key players, such as Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp, were out for the bulk of the season. The lack of quality depth became evident this season as players brought in to replace injured starters as well as players they lost to free agency, were not able to give consistent production. Without first-round draft picks, the Rams would look to find quality players in the middle to late rounds. In the past few drafts, the Rams have not been able to consistently find the players that would give the team quality depth on their roster, as they released multiple players drafted by the team in the last 3-4 seasons.
The Rams have a lot of questions they will need to answer this off-season. The biggest question is will Coach McVay return next season. Reports at the end of the season started McVay will walk away because he does not to be part of a rebuild the Rams could be facing. Fuel was added to this speculation when it was reported this week McVay told his assistant coaches they could seek other opportunities with no restrictions. In terms of players, the Rams will need to overhaul their offensive line to find consistency in both pass protection and opening running lanes. A solid backup quarterback should be a priority this offseason. Of the 3 quarterbacks the Rams used after Stafford was injured, Baker Mayfield showed promise in McVay’s offense. If the Rams are able to resign Mayfield, he would be a solid backup to Stafford. Mayfield wants to be a starting quarterback making the possibility of resigning him slim. Mayfield is one of 24 free agents the Rams will have this off-season. The front office and coaching staff will need to prioritize which players they will attempt to resign. The Rams will look to reload instead of rebuild their roster going into next season and look to get back to Super Bowl contention.
