The Run Game... what happened?

[RamDino]

Fellow posters... I know the Rams run game took a hit when Akers went down early in the season. And Henderson was dinged up in usual fashion throughout the year, Xavier Jones was lost early in the year, and Jake Funk also got injured for a while. In hindsight, the Rams never really got the running game going last year, finishing 27th in game average I believe. Thank God for Sony Michel putting up some decent performances late in the year when the team really needed him

And even with Akers back, the Rams were completely shut out in the playoffs. I thought Akers would show some rust when he came back, and he did, although it was truly a gutsy performance by this young man. I am looking forward to seeing him in action next year, but so far he has not shown any real consistency.

My first question is why did the team struggle so much throughout the year? Obviously the injuries were the main reason, but one of their "top backs" was always available. They just couldn't do much of anything. I realize McVay will always be thinking about the next big pass play, but the team has always had a decent running game.

My second question is why was the Ram's run game so bad in the playoffs? Akers was back. They really didn't use Michel much. But for God's sake they were getting stuffed on almost every running play. It was pathetic to be quite honest. I'm not sure any other team would have run the table with those results.

My last question is how are they going to improve this year? I guarantee they will draft another running back, and it may be in an earlier round than we think. Is Sone Michel coming back? Do the Rams want him back? My guess would be they aren't going to offer him much, and he will be gone.

Is it the line? I thought the Rams had a good line last year, and now Big Whit has retired and Corbett is gone. We all believe that the team will draft another O-lineman in the draft, and that may happen fairly early. But right now the line appears to be worse than last year.

The bottom line is that the team needs to improve the run game next year. What is Snead and McVay's plan?

 

[Ballhawk]

Mostly the blocking broke down but if you watch the games you will see our backs miss cut back lanes more often than not.
We may need a back that is good at hitting the cut back when it's open.

 

[bubbaramfan]

The answer is obvious. It falls on the OL.

 

[den-the-coach]

The answer is obvious. It falls on the OL.

2022-23 is going to be interesting because one of the knocks if there was any on Kevin Carberry as an OL Coach at Stanford was that their pass blocking was extraordinary, whereas, the run blocking at Stanford under his watch was ordinary.

Rams are bringing back Noteboom, Allen & Shelton, even though I believe the Rams will invest in the draft with either their 3rd or 4th round selection in a Guard that has the ability to run block and he will start come September Morn, that has not been establish yet.

The unit hopefully will improve and maybe with a few more double Tight End sets, giving the Rams ability to be more effective in the run game. Also the backs needs a more consistent push too. All of us want to see this more, much like it was when Todd Gurley was at his best or even C.J. Anderson in the playoffs against Dallas. Again, I will be interested to see who the new RG is, because Havenstein is the best run blocker on the unit and if they are able to find a road grader next to Big Rob, running right might be the ticket to ride this football season.

 

[TexasRam]

The run game was pretty good in the playoffs in my opinion.

Cam was getting big runs in the Cards game. Then we played Bucs and Niners who both can be impossible to run against. Cam had a few big runs vs the Bucs but fumbled twice.

In the Super bowl the Bengals committed to shut down the run once OBJ went down. As good as our Oline was in pass pro (#1) they were mediocre run blockers. Add the injuries to our TE group and RB room and it starts to add up.

 

[rdlkgliders]

As a team here is our playoff run 3.7 vs AZ 2.4 VS TB 2.5 VS SF 1.9 VS CIN
Oline, Concept, Schematic, Execution all problems.

SM 24 - 80 3.3 through the playoffs is gone he and Cam had subpar post seasons Cam's best game was 3.2 against AZ
Henderson didn't play much and had mostly the same issues. Henderson can find yards before contact and Akers should be able to get some positive gains after contact but neither are going to find success in the tough game the way we sit.
Cam 67 - 172 = 2.56 through the playoffs

 

[JYB]

Fellow posters... I know the Rams run game took a hit when Akers went down early in the season. And Henderson was dinged up in usual fashion throughout the year, Xavier Jones was lost early in the year, and Jake Funk also got injured for a while. In hindsight, the Rams never really got the running game going last year, finishing 27th in game average I believe. Thank God for Sony Michel putting up some decent performances late in the year when the team really needed him

And even with Akers back, the Rams were completely shut out in the playoffs. I thought Akers would show some rust when he came back, and he did, although it was truly a gutsy performance by this young man. I am looking forward to seeing him in action next year, but so far he has not shown any real consistency.

My first question is why did the team struggle so much throughout the year? Obviously the injuries were the main reason, but one of their "top backs" was always available. They just couldn't do much of anything. I realize McVay will always be thinking about the next big pass play, but the team has always had a decent running game.

My second question is why was the Ram's run game so bad in the playoffs? Akers was back. They really didn't use Michel much. But for God's sake they were getting stuffed on almost every running play. It was pathetic to be quite honest. I'm not sure any other team would have run the table with those results.

My last question is how are they going to improve this year? I guarantee they will draft another running back, and it may be in an earlier round than we think. Is Sone Michel coming back? Do the Rams want him back? My guess would be they aren't going to offer him much, and he will be gone.

Is it the line? I thought the Rams had a good line last year, and now Big Whit has retired and Corbett is gone. We all believe that the team will draft another O-lineman in the draft, and that may happen fairly early. But right now the line appears to be worse than last year.

The bottom line is that the team needs to improve the run game next year. What is Snead and McVay's plan?

Broke down in the playoffs because it faced better run defenses, which is always going to be the case.

 

[dang]

Fellow posters... I know the Rams run game took a hit when Akers went down early in the season. And Henderson was dinged up in usual fashion throughout the year, Xavier Jones was lost early in the year, and Jake Funk also got injured for a while. In hindsight, the Rams never really got the running game going last year, finishing 27th in game average I believe. Thank God for Sony Michel putting up some decent performances late in the year when the team really needed him

And even with Akers back, the Rams were completely shut out in the playoffs. I thought Akers would show some rust when he came back, and he did, although it was truly a gutsy performance by this young man. I am looking forward to seeing him in action next year, but so far he has not shown any real consistency.

My first question is why did the team struggle so much throughout the year? Obviously the injuries were the main reason, but one of their "top backs" was always available. They just couldn't do much of anything. I realize McVay will always be thinking about the next big pass play, but the team has always had a decent running game.

My second question is why was the Ram's run game so bad in the playoffs? Akers was back. They really didn't use Michel much. But for God's sake they were getting stuffed on almost every running play. It was pathetic to be quite honest. I'm not sure any other team would have run the table with those results.

My last question is how are they going to improve this year? I guarantee they will draft another running back, and it may be in an earlier round than we think. Is Sone Michel coming back? Do the Rams want him back? My guess would be they aren't going to offer him much, and he will be gone.

Is it the line? I thought the Rams had a good line last year, and now Big Whit has retired and Corbett is gone. We all believe that the team will draft another O-lineman in the draft, and that may happen fairly early. But right now the line appears to be worse than last year.

The bottom line is that the team needs to improve the run game next year. What is Snead and McVay's plan?

I’d love to add a road graded OG. That and a 3rd RB would lock in the offense.

 

[So Ram]

Fellow posters... I know the Rams run game took a hit when Akers went down early in the season. And Henderson was dinged up in usual fashion throughout the year, Xavier Jones was lost early in the year, and Jake Funk also got injured for a while. In hindsight, the Rams never really got the running game going last year, finishing 27th in game average I believe. Thank God for Sony Michel putting up some decent performances late in the year when the team really needed him

And even with Akers back, the Rams were completely shut out in the playoffs. I thought Akers would show some rust when he came back, and he did, although it was truly a gutsy performance by this young man. I am looking forward to seeing him in action next year, but so far he has not shown any real consistency.

My first question is why did the team struggle so much throughout the year? Obviously the injuries were the main reason, but one of their "top backs" was always available. They just couldn't do much of anything. I realize McVay will always be thinking about the next big pass play, but the team has always had a decent running game.

My second question is why was the Ram's run game so bad in the playoffs? Akers was back. They really didn't use Michel much. But for God's sake they were getting stuffed on almost every running play. It was pathetic to be quite honest. I'm not sure any other team would have run the table with those results.

My last question is how are they going to improve this year? I guarantee they will draft another running back, and it may be in an earlier round than we think. Is Sone Michel coming back? Do the Rams want him back? My guess would be they aren't going to offer him much, and he will be gone.

Is it the line? I thought the Rams had a good line last year, and now Big Whit has retired and Corbett is gone. We all believe that the team will draft another O-lineman in the draft, and that may happen fairly early. But right now the line appears to be worse than last year.

The bottom line is that the team needs to improve the run game next year. What is Snead and McVay's plan?

Well you can’t have it both ways. You say that a RB will be drafted before some of us think. That is your thoughts,but until Sony Michael signs with another team before the draft who really knows?

We can play the guessing game, but if you look back to training camp & there was no Cam Akers or Sony Michaels. Add HENDO was not 100% either.

 

[TheTackle]

There was way too much defensive holding going uncalled! It was beyond belief in the Super Bowl. It’s impossible to get off and create movement and then the LBs can shoot gaps without being washed up

 

[Faceplant]

Injuries to our TEs certainly didn't help. Not to mention the loss of Bobby Trees. He was an integral part of our run blocking scheme.

 

[RamsOfCastamere]

IOL has been week run blocking all year. We're too small to push big DL anchors out the way.

Then we started having success running when we used Noteboom as the 2nd TE. But Whitworth got hurt, and the he and Higbee got hurt, so we didn't have the opportunity to use that strategy .

Also, after Akers came back, we started forcing him the ball and he was too eager and kept running into the backs on lineman like he did early 2020 before settling down.

 

[BonifayRam]

The answer is obvious. It falls on the OL.

I would agree but still think the fact that all the Rams RB's who were signed present in the 2021 TC & preseason were injured. 3 of those 5 had serious surgeries in 2021 & placed on IR & the other two missed more games than they played due to injuries with both of them also being placed on the IR.

Running Back

We have two injury prone but exciting running backs in the stable. The good thing is that you can find a good to great running back in the later rounds, see what Shanahan has been able to find. I’m not worried about the position and I definitely don’t want us spending good money to keep Michel.

ramsondemand.com

Carberry is sure to be reevaluating & investigating back what went wrong with his run blocking in the 22 gms the Ram played.

David Edwards's best positions are primarily @ RT & then "Swing OT Reserve".
Coleman Shelton's best positions are primarily center & then Swing Interior Reserve".

Sure appears to me Carberry should strongly consider a full "changing of the guards" for 2022 if you want to even try to run the ball.

 

[Tano]

one guy did an analysis of our running plays against Cincy and how they were playing it and the defense they ran was effective against McVay's type of running plays.

He stated that the Rams should have seen this and called a different type of run play but McVay didn't do that until closer to the end of the game where Akers had his best runs.

 

[Merlin]

As a team here is our playoff run 3.7 vs AZ 2.4 VS TB 2.5 VS SF 1.9 VS CIN
Oline, Concept, Schematic, Execution all problems.

SM 24 - 80 3.3 through the playoffs is gone he and Cam had subpar post seasons Cam's best game was 3.2 against AZ
Henderson didn't play much and had mostly the same issues. Henderson can find yards before contact and Akers should be able to get some positive gains after contact but neither are going to find success in the tough game the way we sit.
Cam 67 - 172 = 2.56 through the playoffs

Sounds about right.

I have a theory here that the Rams simply prioritized pass pro this offseason. Nobody wanted a more potent run game more than I did this offseason but their decisions on who to bring back seemed to prioritize that other phase. Boom looks solid in pass pro at LT, at least in the snaps he's had, but we're gonna get dropoff in the run game there. Same deal with Allen, it was mentioned by the Rams that the QB wanted him, so I get that, but he's going to need to improve for our run game to improve.

There is a hole at RG that will be filled internally. I still feel like it's time to move Edwards over to the right side so that our backup LT can play LG (I presume that player is Jackson too) without screwing his feet up. But either way we're not going to see significant improvement by the bigs in the run game in 2022. That is unlikely, given the way they assembled the pieces.

So back to the Rams prioritizing the pass pro I think that's going to be their focus. All that said, at least McVay kept things balanced against a very physical Bengals front and weathered their BS in the big game. Him sticking to the run like he did was really weird to see. He definitely learned that this OL needs some balance to play their best and he called the runs required to do that.

But all that aside I still hope to see our run game improve. And our RBs are not without blame in that equation. So RB (which tends to slide in drafts and end up as BPA conversation in a lot of those rounds where Snead will be hunting for players) is likely in play for us. Akers hopefully regains his old slipperiness this offseason just with time coming back from that injury. Maybe he and Hendy can stay healthy this year who knows, but either way looks to me like fresh blood for both competition and depth is required at the position. And since the Rams don't want to pay a RB in their teambuilding structure my assumption is the draft is the way to go to get that depth and competition. So I've been looking at the RB class quite a bit of late.

 

[Neil039]

Is it Tutu‘s fault? This is a thread full of debate over there…smh.

Combination of injuries at RB and OL overwhelmed in the interior OL by large def tackles (IMO)

 

[Kupped]

I think it's all the reasons. RB talent.. run scheme.. run execution.. good defenses and defenses specifically geared to stop run game.

I'm not sure what it will look like next year, but hope it's more dynamic.

 

[Oregonram]

Here is something I have never seen analyzed..if it has, I apologize. How many times did a defense cheating into the gaps get burned by a Stafford to Kupp, Higbee pass? If you could look at that, it may justify getting precious little on your run plays in order to keep a defense honest…of course gashing them would be better, but attempting the run is important

 

[Merlin]

Injuries to our TEs certainly didn't help. Not to mention the loss of Bobby Trees. He was an integral part of our run blocking scheme.

TE is definitely a big element in all this, given the way teams shut down the Rams' outside zone calls by stacking that edge. From that perspective the Rams can definitely improve a ton at TE2 by bringing in a TE who can really move guys in the run game. And btw there will be some in this draft that can do that and generally the blocking types can be had where we pick so there is room there for the Rams to find that guy if that's the plan.

It would suck to go into the 2022 season knowing the run game will cease to exist if Higs misses time. TE is a need for us for sure. So I think it's in play in the draft.

 

[BonifayRam]

Is it Tutu‘s fault? This is a thread full of debate over there…smh.

That would tend to lead me to think it's obvious that nobody in ROD wanted to discuss specifically a 2021 nonfactor & future 2022 nonfactor 2nd rd selection dinky WR.