Since Sean McVay was hired as head coach of the Rams in 2017, the offense has had three receivers, one running back and one tight end on the field the majority of the time. With players such as Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Brandin Cooks and Sammy Watkins, it’s easy to understand why McVay loves to use 11 personnel.
In the last few weeks, though, the Rams have changed things up a bit. Against the Bears with Woods and Cooks out, the Rams used more two-tight end sets and pounded the football with Todd Gurley. They did that again on Sunday night against the Seahawks, and it resulted in Kupp and Cooks playing very little.
Kupp played 20 snaps and Cooks played 27, which is surprising considering Johnny Mundt was on the field for 50 of the Rams’ 70 plays. It was an interesting approach that clearly worked as the Rams rolled to a 28-12 victory over Seattle.
On Monday, McVay explained what went into Kupp and Cooks’ limited playing time. There are a couple of aspects to that decision, beginning with the Rams trying to diversify the scheme and balance out the offense.
“I think a lot of it is, ‘What do we think is the best way to have a little bit of a balance on some of the early downs? What do we think is the best way in some instances to run the football?’” McVay said. “It is also predicated on, ‘All right, what does this defense do and what does that mean in terms of some of the matchups that you want to create?’
“Then, you get a chance to evaluate and see a player like Johnny Mundt step up and say, ‘Maybe these are some things that we can have the defenses have to prepare for some different personnel groupings if we think it’s the best thing for us to do.’”
Another reason for the Rams limiting Kupp and Cooks’ playing time is an attempt to keep them fresh not only throughout the season, but over the course of a game. McVay points out that all of the Rams’ receivers are asked to block often and they’re almost treated like fullbacks.
McVay believes that by reducing the number of times they’re asked to block by utilizing tight ends instead, the wideouts are sharper in passing situations with their route running and receiving situations.
“We joke around about it, but I mean some of the blocks that we’ve asked Robert Woods to take part in or Josh Reynolds and Kupp, those guys are basically like fullbacks based on some of the concepts that we do run,” he said. “While you appreciate their willingness to do all those things, over the course of a 16-game season and if you’re fortunate to play afterwards, you do want to be mindful of the toll that that takes on them to try to keep them as fresh, as healthy as possible.”
He continued: “It is partly by the game plan, but then it’s also – I thought it was good because you can see we’re a little bit fresher in some of those known passing situations where our receivers are so important to us. If they’re not having the pressure of playing every single snap, I think it does make you a little bit more sharp and crisp in some of those situations where you might be a little bit more inclined to throw the football. We’re kind of working through it, we’re figuring it out. It was something that helped us out last night and as we start to dive into Dallas, we’ll figure out if that’s part of the plan for this week.”
The Cowboys defense has been good against the pass, ranking seventh in yards and ninth in touchdowns allowed, but their run defense is really struggling. They’ve allowed at least 100 yards rushing in each of the last seven games and are third in the league in missed tackles with 104 – 25 more than the Rams have missed, for reference.
Don’t be surprised if the Rams once again go with a run-heavy attack and utilize their tight ends more than their wide receivers, especially if Gerald Everett returns from injury. It may cost the receivers some snaps, but it does balance out the offense and give defenses another wrinkle to prepare for.
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