The Run Game... what happened?

[PARAM]

First 7 games of the season:

Team vs Chi: 23 for 74 (3.2); RBs: 17 for 72 (4.2)
Team vs Ind: 29 for 101 (3.6); RBs: 23 for 99 (4.3)
Team vs TB: 24 for 76 (3.2); RBs 21 for 73 (3.5)
Team vs Arz: 23 for 121 (5.3); RBs 17 for 110 (6.5)
Team vs Sea: 29 for 118 (4.1); RBs 28 for 119 (4.3)
Team vs NYG: 34 for 131 (3.9); RBs 30 for 120 (4.0)
Team vs Det: 19 for 47 (2.5); RBs 17 for 49 (2.9)
Team vs Hou: 31 for 165 (5.3); RBs 28 for 143 (5.1) *Whitworth out , Noteboom at LT
Team vs Ten: 21 for 94 (4.5); RBs 18 for 75 (4.2)
Team vs SF: 10 for 52 (5.2); RBs 9 for 51 (5.7) *Woods missed game, out for season
Team vs GB: 20 for 68 (3.4); RBs 19 for 69 (3.6)
Team vs Jax: 27 for 128 (4.7); RBs 26 for 126 (4.8)
Team vs Arz: 21 for 89 (4.2); RBs 20 for 79 (4.0) * Higbee missed game, *Havenstein missed (Noteboom at RT), *Allen missed (Shelton at C)
Team vs Sea: 29 for 123 (4.2); RBs 24 for 115 (4.8) *Higbee missed game, *Havenstein missed game (Evans at RT)
Team vs Min: 33 for 159 (4.8); RBs 28 for 148 (5.3) *Whitworth out (Edwards at LT), *Allen injured on 1st play (Edwards to G, Shelton C, Alaric LT)

Team vs Bal: 20 for 73 (3.7); RBs 19 for 74 (3.9)
Team vs SF: 27 for 64 (2.4); RBs 26 for 46 (1.8)

WCG vs Arz: 38 for 140 (3.7); RBs 32 for 118 (3.7)
DIV vs TBay: 30 for 73 (2.4); RBs 25 for 52 (2.1) *Whitworth missed game, Noteboom at LT
CCG vs SF: 27 for 64 (2.4); RBs 26 for 46 (1.8) *Higbee missed all but 13 plays (4 runs).
SB vs Cin: 23 for 43 (1.9); RBs 19 for 30 (1.6) *Higbee missed game

I stand corrected. 11 shitty games out of 20 for team production in the run game. 8 shitty games for RB production, 4 in the postseason. The RBs ran well all season with few exceptions. Losing Higbee hurt a lot as evidenced by the CCG and SB. But what was the reason for the crappy numbers in week 18 vs SF, WCG vs Arz and DIV vs TBay?

 

[RamDino]

Will Cam Akers be able to carry this team like we saw at the end of 2020? We still need another solid running back even is Sony Michel comes back.

And the line is going through changes. Overall, the line was good last year, but they could certainly use another good guard. If he's already on the team then great. But this feels a bit like last year. In Mcvay I trust I guess.

And if Higbee is the correct answer this shows the need to add another great blocker to the TE position.

And there are only so many draft picks...seriously.

Rams are gonna have to roll the dice somewhere and it just might be on the line as I believe corner and linebacker, inside or edge, is more important.

 

[dieterbrock]

DB where did I say that? I said early on it was inconsistent. wk 8 through wk 16 it was running on all cylinders. Week 17 through the playoffs it wasn't, unless you think 3.7 is awesome....the attempts were there and that kept defenses honest. We don't really need a run game, just the threat of one. No goalposts moving.

You're really working hard to have an argument here, not sure why.
In any event, no straw men needed, your numbers were incorrect on Higbee, and I clarified them. All I've said is that the run game suffered immeasurably once Higbee went down, the numbers back that up completely.

 

[dieterbrock]

Will Cam Akers be able to carry this team like we saw at the end of 2020? We still need another solid running back even is Sony Michel comes back.

I suppose that is the idea, though I doubt Sony will be back (which I dont agree with)
Sony and Hendo were a pretty decent combination, combining for 1,533 yards rushing and 9 TD's at a 4.3 YPC and another 300 yards and 4 TD on 50 rec. That's pretty good production and only 1 fumble
So if Akers can return to the form that was rather beast like in 2020, no reason to think he cant take those numbers to a higher level

 

[PARAM]

You're really working hard to have an argument here, not sure why.
In any event, no straw men needed, your numbers were incorrect on Higbee, and I clarified them. All I've said is that the run game suffered immeasurably once Higbee went down, the numbers back that up completely.

I guess you didn't see my last post in this thread. Your numbers weren't that far off with Higbee....72 for 226 @ 3.14. Point is, yes the run game with respect to the RBs was good all year. And yes, they missed Higbee in the postseason.....but 3.14 with him ain't tearing it up by any stretch.

 

[dieterbrock]

I guess you didn't see my last post in this thread. Your numbers weren't that far off with Higbee....72 for 226 @ 3.14. Point is, yes the run game with respect to the RBs was good all year. And yes, they missed Higbee in the postseason.....but 3.14 with him ain't tearing it up by any stretch.

I'll repeat, The post season run game was great against the Cardinals (1st half 23/105) and though it wasnt great with Higbee against Tampa, it sure fell off a cliff without him
But keep trolling man

 

[PARAM]

I'll repeat, The post season run game was great against the Cardinals (1st half 23/105) and though it wasnt great with Higbee against Tampa, it sure fell off a cliff without him
But keep trolling man

Trolling? Get over yourself. You constantly make 'little errors' when attempting a point......3.25 with Higbee (3.15), 104 in first half of Arizona (94).....then get offended if it's questioned. Why?

 

[rdlkgliders]

Some of the things that impacted the run game IMO:

Ol needing to gel in the early part of the season.

Injuries and Cam recovering in the RB group. There is an unspoken chemistry between OL and the ball carrier. It is subtle and nuanced yet impactful.

And then there is the balance,
When we throw the ball well; or get up on teams it frees us up to run better.
Some of the games we ran well was a combination of being the superior team and throwing the ball effectively.
Once you start facing tough defenses that can take away one of your strengths the game changes.
I just hope that A Rob can pick up the blocking part of the WR's responsibility on our team. If he does that will be a big part of our success next season.

 

[dieterbrock]

Trolling? Get over yourself. You constantly make 'little errors' when attempting a point......3.25 with Higbee (3.15), 104 in first half of Arizona (94).....then get offended if it's questioned. Why?

You are deranged man.
You're all butt hurt because I corrected you?
My goodness.
Get help brother, you're coming unhinged
Like I've said over and over, the run game went to shit in the playoffs once Higbee went out. Yes, my "stats" were off by 1 carry, while yours were off by 3/4 of a game. Good grief....

 

[PARAM]

You are deranged man.
You're all butt hurt because I corrected you?
My goodness.
Get help brother, you're coming unhinged
Like I've said over and over, the run game went to shit in the playoffs once Higbee went out. Yes, my "stats" were off by 1 carry, while yours were off by 3/4 of a game. Good grief....

Dr Phil???

BTW, you didn't corrrect me. You submitted faulty stats and that ain't correcting. At best it's arrogance. At worst it's out right lying.

You said:
"Higbee only played a little more than 1 Q of the 49ers game and they were successful on the ground before he went out. (5.67 YPC)"

He played 13 snaps and was injured on a 0 yard run from our 3. We had 17 yards on 4 carries with Higbee (4.25). Small sample size especially considering the runs were 3, 14, 0 and 0 yards. 1 good run out of 4? Impressed you I guess. The previous 39 rushing attempts (by RBs) the Rams gained 82 yards (2.1 ypc) and if you count the first half of the Arizona game, the previous 57 attempts (by RBs) gained 170 (3.3). Now I don't know about you but 2.1 and 3.3 ypc ain't real fucking impressive. The run game was shit from the Baltimore game through the playoffs (RBs had 144 att for 384 yds 2.67 ypc) and Higbee only missed 1 and 3/4 of those games. So it wasn't JUST losing Higbee, even if you want to point to a 4 carry stretch where we averaged 4.25!!! Something else was wrong. I wanted to discuss what that could have been. But you'd rather play Dr. Phil, correct people with inaccurate numbers and claim they're just looking to argue. Fuck you DB. Discuss things rationally or behave like a know-it-all All Star. Your choice.

 

[Merlin]

I suspect Markway is going to get a real chance to fill that blocking role. Problem is his value in the pattern won't allow for him to be on the field all that much, but that's ok the run game will factor in more in certain games where the Rams find themselves facing off vs playoff opponents who have a good rush.

Rams do such a good job of coaching up the median type players they plug in around the good ones. I'd love to hear their thoughts on their TE room, that would be enlightening I am sure. Either way though my main concern right now is TE, specifically who has the job if Higs misses time.

 

[Merlin]

Here's our current OL outlook:

Looks like they're at 9 right now in that OL room to me. Maybe 8 if they're iffy on Brewer. At most you're talking 10 for that room in a given season, so if they do draft someone it's probably one player and likely an OG. Likely an OG because their tackle value seems a lot higher than their guard value looking at that list.

 

[PARAM]

Either way though my main concern right now is TE, specifically who has the job if Higs misses time.

I'd expect them to grab somebody in the draft. There a number of good TE's available when the Rams pick at 104 or 142.

 

[BonifayRam]

Rams News: Darrell Henderson will be an asset to LA in 2022

Los Angeles Rams News and Links for 3/30/22

www.turfshowtimes.com

 

[So Ram]

An iOL of Corbett/Allen/Edwards jabebag happened. Against physical, tenacious fronts, they couldn't move anyone.

Who is your starting 5 upfront?

 

[So Ram]

Rams News: Darrell Henderson will be an asset to LA in 2022

Los Angeles Rams News and Links for 3/30/22

www.turfshowtimes.com

DH had a game saving catch in the SB. He is a solid electric RB.

Cam Akers The Rams don’t even really know how he’ll be with Matthew Stafford? He pass protection is not there.

I also think Jared Goff didn’t get enough credit for play action being so tight.

 

[Blue Boy]

Why the running game went downhill - especially at the end…

I’ll add my 2 cents… Bear with me then… It will all come together…

1. 23-Akers lost for most of the year… (and then 27-Henderson lost for part of the year…)

2. 25-Michel is a good straight ahead runner but far less explosive…

3. The Rams used significantly LESS play action in 2021 than in 2018…

4. Defenses tried to stop 9-Stafford in the same way they stopped Goff in 2018… And when they did that, 9-Stafford made them pay for it… << see attached article >>.

Matthew Stafford over Jared Goff: Will Los Angeles Rams' QB gamble pay off with Lombardi Trophy?

Has Matthew Stafford significantly upgraded Los Angeles' offense from the Jared Goff days? Will the Rams' QB gamble pay off with the ultimate prize, a Lombardy Trophy? Keegan Abdoo takes an in-depth look at the QB swap.

www.nfl.com

5. The Rams lost Johnny Mundt during the year - their blocking TE… And in the playoff 89-Higbee… TE’s being a key to their double-team blocking scheme… (It’s why the 88-Hopkins block on 4th down in the 4th quarter was SO HUGE…!)

6. And McVay stayed with the run - even when it wasn’t working in the Super Bowl… This was huge… It kept the Bengals D honest… Forced them to stop the run and stay mostly in zone… and made it possible to make big plays in the passing game…


I have attached another article from a few years back… What it highlights is that while the average YPC is about 4.0… The MODE VALUE - i.e. the most commonly occurring value in a range of numbers - is about 2.0 YPC… Most individual carries result in 1 or 2 or 3 yards… It’s the explosive, breakaway runs that bring the averages up over time…

Too Deep Zone: Two Yards at a Time

The NFL rushing average may be over four yards per carry, but that figure is skewed by a few dozen big plays. After sorting through three years of data, Mike Tanier discovers that the average running play only yields 2-3 yards and learns that a surprisingly large percentage of runs go absolutely...

www.footballoutsiders.com

So just like in 2020 the passing game resulted in about 5 plays in excess of 40 yards.… This year (2021) - for various reasons - we lacked the breakaway runs in running game…

Effectively, teams tried to take away the Rams running game and for 9-Stafford to beat them…

And he did. (Flame on…!!!)

Blue Boy

( Sorry, but I haven’t posted in a long while… If I didn’t do the links properly, Modes please correct or point me to the instructions for using the ‘positing icons’…)

 

[dieterbrock]

BTW, you didn't corrrect me. You submitted faulty stats and that ain't correcting. At best it's arrogance. At worst it's out right lying.

Did you not say,

The 3 games Higbee played in the postseason.....97 att (32/g) gaining 283 yds (94/g) for 2.9 avg.

Thats false
Now who's lying?
I guess its time to put you back on ignore

 

[oldnotdead]

Just go back and look at the SB. Look at how many times had they played with a legit FB things would have been different. Look at that run by Henderson that got stuffed and created the 4th and one on that last drive. A FB would have allowed Hendeson to make that yardage. Too many times it was that last LB that made the tackle.

McVay can't keep ignoring the fact that pseudo-FBs aren't the answer. TE and WR don't block the same as a true FB. A true FB hits the hole like a LB or DT and would blow it open. WRs and TEs basically block by impeding the defender not moving them out of a hole. Why do you think he stuck with the outside zone for so long? In that type of play, a FB isn't needed.

If Sean doesn't want to draft a FB then he should convert a defensive player like a LB to play the position part time. I'm telling you they already have a player in Jonah Williams whose bull rush style is exactly what you want and he has shown good hands as a receiver with his 4.6 speed he's as fast as Allen Robinson. He could also be the answer to a blocking TE. Before his draft he was considering a change of position to TE.

I've seen these types of conversions before and it works if you have the right player. The Chargers wanted a road grading OG so they converted DT Kris Dielman who became a 4 time Pro Bowler and who opened a lot of holes for Tomlinson.

 

[ottoman89]

Who is your starting 5 upfront?

Right now?
LT NOTEBOOM
LG ALARIC JACKSON
C BRIAN ALLEN
RG DAVID EDWARDS
RT ROB HAVENSTEIN