How McVay’s 4th Quarter adjustments helped saved the game

Sean McVay’s Super Bowl Blueprint Failed. The Rams Won Once He Finally Abandoned It.

The Rams offense was out of answers late in Super Bowl LVI. But McVay, Matthew Stafford, and Co. learned how to adapt in the nick of time.

www.theringer.com

 

[Merlin]

It's a minor thing but I find it annoying that fate required the loss of OBJ in that game. If that hadn't happened maybe McVay would have really had that moment I think he wanted, with his offense running circles around his opponent in a huge win. I mean it's normal I think to want that if you're him. To see your offense just roll that opponent there at home in LA in front of all those stars. And they would have IMO if they had Odell the full 60 because Cincy could not handle both him and Kupp. Neither could SF btw.

But this is just the beginning. This team even with the losses they are going to take in FA are going to have a top roster again. Stafford will be even better in this offense. They just gotta get the line and secondary right and we'll be back in business.

 

[TexasRam]

Agreed. The game was heading for a route and could have been before the OBJ injury. Not only was OBJ playing lights out but there is no doubt they had a huge game plan for him due to Kupp drawing attention.

It would also probably have forced the Bengals to throw earlier being behind big. Donald and Von and co. would likely create some turnovers or defensive TD's in that scenario. That looked like the likely outcome until the OBJ injury. Would have broke the sack record and put it out of reach for years.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Ditto. Such a shame OBJ went down. Our receiving options took such a beating this season; Tutu, Harris, Woods, OBJ, Higbee, Blanton…

Maybe this fuels McVay and Co for round 2... Get another SB win and show off the fireworks of his offense.

 

[FrantikRam]

Yea man McVay and Stafford deserve a ton of credit here.

Hopkins, Skow, Jefferson and the Bengals DL shutting down the run.

Crazy.

 

[AZRams]

Like Orlovsky said last week, McVay needed it to be playbook over gameplan. Players over plays.

Be ready to change up and do what it takes.

 

[thirteen28]

This is a great article, and this experience will prove to have been invaluable for McVay's future. He exorcised the ghost of his previous Super Bowl appearance where he failed to adapt and came up with a great counterpunch precisely when it was needed most. He's obviously not going to forget this experience, and in future games where things go sideways, where the Rams get bogged down, he'll call on this experience and make the necessary adjustments to win the game.

Simply put, this drive was the point where McVay went from being a very good coach to an elite coach. Very good coaches can design and offense, a scheme, a gameplan that looks great when things are going your way. The elite ones can adapt, in the biggest moments, when your scheme and your gameplan are stymied by the opposing defense.

This drive gave the Rams more than just a Super Bowl win. With McVay drawing on this experience, it will give the Rams more wins down the road when we inevitably run into some adversity.

 

[IE Rams]

Yeah, I found this article very refreshing. McVay really addressed my only complaint with him, in his inability to adapt, as if he was too invested in his game plan. No more of that if this game was any indication.

On top of that, I think he learned as big a lesson in this game as he did in his first SB (which I still can't re-watch).

Much respect to him.

 

[Merlin]

One other thing that I think is important here... Before the Super Bowl there was an interview of Kittle on the Eisen show where he talked about how physical the Bengals' defense was. He said they would give us problems and he was right. How did he know? Well, he knows our weakness is physicality.

Now TE was a huge issue for us in that game but Higs was out. So looking past that the key here is the OL in turning that around. Assuming they keep Odell the WR group looks outstanding. At the very least it looks strong enough for another run. But this is an offseason with 3x FAs potentially departing the OL. Two of those OL (Allen and Corbs) had issues dealing with physicality on the interior so to me represent the best way to get better.

Question is how do the Rams assemble the pieces. Which ones do they prioritize. I would love to hear their interior conversations re: LT as they look at FA ahead vs the benefits/drawbacks with Boom.

 

[AZRams]

One other thing that I think is important here... Before the Super Bowl there was an interview of Kittle on the Eisen show where he talked about how physical the Bengals' defense was. He said they would give us problems and he was right. How did he know? Well, he knows our weakness is physicality.

Now TE was a huge issue for us in that game but Higs was out. So looking past that the key here is the OL in turning that around. Assuming they keep Odell the WR group looks outstanding. At the very least it looks strong enough for another run. But this is an offseason with 3x FAs potentially departing the OL. Two of those OL (Allen and Corbs) had issues dealing with physicality on the interior so to me represent the best way to get better.

Question is how do the Rams assemble the pieces. Which ones do they prioritize. I would love to hear their interior conversations re: LT as they look at FA ahead vs the benefits/drawbacks with Boom.

Can you find that type of line play in the 3rd-5th rounds?

 

[SWAdude]

Could you imagine what a blowout this would have been with Higbee, Woods and OBJ?

They got to get back together next year to give that another try.

 

[Merlin]

Can you find that type of line play in the 3rd-5th rounds?

You sure can. Rams need to adjust what they look for. They need to prioritize physicality and playing through the whistle. Still gotta develop the players when you're drafting OL midrounds. But bring in the guys who have what you're looking for.

Allen was a big upgrade over Blythe but still not good enough. This is a championship team. They have a QB who is going to be dealing in year two, so getting those pieces up front optimized is important. Guy like Allen, undersized fit-type for the zone scheme, needs to be a thing of the past IMO. Guys that move well, sure, but make sure they have a base level of power capability, and avoid the undersized dudes.

This goes back to the OL discussion of how they decide to prioritize things. Re-signing Boom, Allen, and Corbs for example is only going to give us the same unit that is prone to being overpowered, but at a higher price point. So if you're gonna spend on the unit, then spend for what you're looking for.

 

[Steve808]

Can you find that type of line play in the 3rd-5th rounds?

Free agency. But Super Kupp was a 3rd rounder. Just saying'

 

[wolfdogg]

Can you find that type of line play in the 3rd-5th rounds?

Yeah, if only there was a decent center available when we drafted tutu in last year's draft. Hmmm