When Sean McVay decided to go run-heavy in the second half of Sunday’s game against the Cardinals, the Rams took over. They shut out Arizona the rest of the way, 20-0, playing a more physical style of football than they did in the first half.
Matthew Stafford loved it, Kevin Dotson did, too. And Rob Havenstein wanted McVay took keep the run plays coming.
On the “Coach McVay Show” Monday, D’Marco Farr pointed out to the coach how Havenstein pulled a page from Andrew Whitworth’s book with his “keep it going” hand motion during the game. McVay noticed that, too, and he absolutely loved it.
“It’s so funny, I called Whit after the game and told him, I said, ‘Bro, you would’ve been so proud of Big Rob. He was giving me one of your deals.’ I told Rob I loved it,” McVay said.
D'Marco and I both got a kick out of seeing RT Rob Havenstein give the @AndrewWhitworth hand signal to "run it again" in Sunday's second half.
Apparently, the @RamsNFL head coach enjoyed it, too. Enough to call Big Whit after the game. 😂 pic.twitter.com/3ZwsLo17CD
— J.B. Long (@JB_Long) October 17, 2023
McVay is a players’ coach who always listens to what his guys have to say, and that was one instance where he trusted the offensive line and ground game to keep imposing their will against the Cardinals, knowing they wanted to continue running it. The result was eight straight run plays to open the second half, gaining 60 yards and leading to a touchdown.
“Those are the things that, hey, it’s about the players,” McVay said. “Always has been, always will be. I love that kind of stuff. When they were feeling it, they were able to get in a rhythm, they were able to set their pads and they certainly executed. I did love that when he was doing that. That came pretty early after those first couple of runs ended up hitting on that first drive of the second half.”
Whitworth and McVay had a great relationship, both on and off the field, and the veteran left tackle was always willing to share his thoughts with the coach. Havenstein has taken on more of a leadership role in the offensive line room, especially after being voted a captain, so it’s fitting that he’d pull one of Whitworth’s moves on Sunday.