Allen Robinson’s Rams debut was a dud. It wasn’t necessarily his fault, but he caught just one pass for 12 yards. The problem is he was targeted just twice in the entire game despite playing all but two snaps on offense.
Sean McVay said after the game that he needs to get Robinson more involved, an expected response from the coach. He didn’t explain how exactly that would happen until he met with reporters on Wednesday leading into this weekend’s game against the Falcons.
McVay said he plans to call more plays where Robinson is the primary receiver, intentionally giving him opportunities to help the offense.
“I think being able to have some more intentionality about that,” McVay said. “Being able to call some plays where he’s the primary. Whatever I say is going to be an excuse, but it wasn’t good enough on my part in terms of the types of things that we were getting off to allow our players to be able to get into a rhythm. You credit Buffalo, they did a great job. But I think it’s just having a more specific approach to things that accentuate his skillset, similar to what I was answering earlier about what I think Arthur’s done a great job with his players offensively. That’s what I’ve got to do a better job of. Allen is certainly somebody that needs to be more involved and get more opportunities.”
The Rams signed Robinson to a three-year, $46.5 million contract this offseason, their big free agency splash of 2022. After trading away Robert Woods, Robinson became the No. 2 receiver alongside Cooper Kupp.
He was hardly that in Week 1, however. Ben Skowronek got three times as many targets as Robinson in the opener. Robinson, being the pro that he is, has predictably responded the right way, which McVay appreciates.
“Oh, he was amazing,” McVay said of Robinson’s response this week. “He’s such a special guy. I think the first thing you do is you acknowledge like, ‘Hey man, I appreciate your patience and your understanding, and this is where we’ve got to do a better job and I’ve got to do a better job.’ But he didn’t have one…there was no flinch. There was no hesitation. I think he’s the epitome of a pro’s pro. But I think for us to be the best version of ourselves, as far as our offense is concerned, him only getting that one target, you can look at it as a couple but it’s really that one. You’ve got to get him more involved.”
There has understandably been a lot of consternation in the football community about Robinson’s limited role in Week 1, wondering if he’s no longer a premier receiver. He’s not listening to what people are saying, however, and is focused on simply getting better.
“Honestly, I don’t really get caught up in all that,” Robinson said. “It’s gonna be always outside noise. Me being a vet, you can’t let that cloud your overall judgment. So for me, it’s just about figuring out how I could be better, or what I could do differently, and then coming into this week and improving.”
Kupp is still going to get the majority of targets in this offense, but there’s plenty of room for Robinson to contribute, too. He should see an increase in opportunities this weekend against a Falcons defense that certainly isn’t on par with the one the Rams faced last week.
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