McVay's playcalling improved throughout 2017 as he began to implement his system which was balanced and incorporated a lot of play action. In 2018 he hit his stride both in play calling and play design and again it was balanced.
In 2019 McVay dismantled the OL and got rid of Gurley. Gurley for obvious reasons but he wasn't replaced. Behind a scrub OL and no run attack the offense was pass heavy mostly slow developing routes, exposing Goff to an absolute pummeling. But the Rams still finished with a winning record.
What I'm pointing out is the evolution of the Ram's offense. With the acquisition of Stafford, McVay basically abandoned any pretense of having a balanced offense. Now the Rams are paying the price because whereas they got decent coaching from their DC's now they have Morris who expects the offense to win the game conceding FGs in doing so.
Why is anyone surprised when looking at the trend of this team? Kroenke basically has decreed no more high priced hired guns. The emphasis is to build through the draft for the long term. The Rams fill holes through low-end trades and overlooked FA signings which is the way the Patriots do it.
McVay must return to his roots for this offense to be successful, i.e. it must be balanced. The run game only has to be efficient to move the chains and give them a run option inside the red zone. With Williams, and Freeman it looks like they have that now. The passing offense is paying the price for prematurely trading Van Jefferson. Atwell has shown so far he isn't an adequate replacement. Robinson is another Skowronek, i.e. he doesn't scare any DB and neither does Trammell. This offense would be dead without Puka now that Kupp is out.
Yet Sean continues with his slow developing plays when defenses know they will have the time to get there. McVay isn't tailoring his offense to the WRs he has. Without Kupp and with an injured Nacua, he needs to shorten up the pass routes but he hasn't. Why? Because it's a lot of work for a guy who is burned out that's why IMO. Sean is proving to me he doesn't really know how to evaluate and use young guys. He has basically possession receivers in Skowronek, Trammell and Robinson but he doesn't use them that way. Why not?
I said before the season this year would be won or lost by the coaches. This second half of the season will prove that. In his hubris Sean didn't take the 3 points when clearly he should have. It almost cost the Rams the game. He knows the Seahawks have a good long distance PK who made two kicks over 50 yds in that game. His bad coaching was saved by pure luck.
I want to see Sean return to his layered threat passing attack. Skowronek, Higbee and Trammell short (inside 10 yds), Nacua and Atwell in the intermediate and deep zones. He's also got the RBs who he doesn't throw to anymore. If he helps out the OL by incorporating a short passing option and a balanced run attack this OL is just fine.
In other words McVay needs to start fucking coaching. The same can be said for Morris who is taking the accolades earned by Pleasant.