[aeneas1]

could something that started so promising, so great, be over so quickly, before we know it?

pederson took over as the eagles head coach and in his second year had them in the super bowl, he was the toast of the town, the it guy, and followed that up by leading the eagles to two more more postseasons, making it 3 postseason trips in his first 4 years on the job, and now, just like that, he's gone, he lasted just five seasons.

mcvay did the same, super bowl trip in his second year on the job, 3 postseasons in his first 4 years as the rams head coach, and will enter his 5th season in 2021, what's ahead? unlike pederson, it seems clear that mcvay is employed by a much more stable owner and front office, so patience with him would probably win the day if things went horribly south in 2021.

but for how long? especially if some of the 2021 new hc hires do remarkably well? staley for example?

mcvay got the super bowl with an offensive player of the year in gurley + goff, and got to the divisional round with goff, what happens if both are gone and the rams fail to reach the postseason, and look mediocre in the process? how long does mcvay have to produce another top tier offense before his genius tag is revoked? before the rams and rams fans start doubting, start losing patience?

i was thrilled with the mcvay hire, and am still a big mcvay fan, but have been less and less impressed with every passing game... while lefleur put on an offensive clinic this weekend, including easily freeing adams in the endzone using motion, mcvay tinkered with the wildcat instead of rolling goff out, running jets, throwing to akers, throwing to tight ends, etc.

is mcvay simply a franchise qb away, a mobile franchise qb away (apparently), from regaining his genius? is he a franchise qb and an offensive player of the year away? does everything "need to be perfect" for him to succeed offensively?

22 offenses managed to score more points than mcvay's gang in 2020, as in two thirds of the league, offenses that included the likes of foles, trubisky, mullens, beathard, fitzpatrick, tua, dalton, etc., and offenses that didn't feature a qb that had been to 2 pro bowls - somehow their oc's were able to squeeze more points out of them than mcvay could squeeze out of goff, why? how?

during the last couple of weeks mcvay has stated that akers is special, that he needs to get the ball in his hands as much as possible because good things happen, and he reiterated these sentiments when asked about the wildcat, yet as recently as the third week in december, when asked about rams rbs, he would not commit to akers as the rams #1 back, and through week 11 akers had not seen more 33% of the rams offensive snaps... had henderson remained healthy, would mcvay have even noticed how special akers is?

anyway, gonna be an interesting 2021.

[CanuckRightWinger]

Hey aeneas1,
I respect your observations and statistical expertise a lot.

Regarding the 2020 Rams Offensive points deficit, I have been on the "it's Jared SloppyHeaver Goff's turnovers, bad decisions, immobility, poor vision, etc etc" bandwagon.....
despite your convincing (and backed-up) arguments that it may well be McVay's inability to re-tool and re-adapt to NFL DCs decoding his overall offensive scheme, that turns out to be the REAL CULPRIT in our 2020 Rams Points Scored shortfall.

....and I admit, that I have noticed even in 2019, in the Ram games that ramsrams and I watch together over the Canadian phone network every week,......this specific McVay phenomenon we called "Sean McVay's RedZone Constipation."

Even though I have noticed the Red Zone deficiencies AND those crazy & ineffective WR Wide Screens for a coupla seasons now.....I kept saying "this Goff guy is only effective if he has a perfect pocket, elite receivers, and a great running game (for his PlayAction to work)"....so that LACK OF A PERFECT POCKET was the problem for Goff in 2019 I theorized.
Moreover, I felt that Kromer was the real culprit for actually putting Noteboom and Allen in as Saffold and Sullivan replacements.....WHEN CLEARLY NEITHER NOTEBOOM NOR ALLEN WERE READY TO REPLACE THE 2 DEPARTED RAM OL VETS, SAFFOLD AND SULLY.

That is how I saw the world especially after our win in Seattle last week. IE. IT'S GOFF's INABILITIES TO BE EFFECTIVE DUE TO WEAK RAMS OLINE!

BUT....
I have to now report, after seeing the Rams O getting shutdown by a pretty middling Packers D two days ago, that your continued beating of the drum that IT'S McVAY's STALE OFFENSIVE SCHEME STUPID! has admittedly got me worried now.

I am worried because if it REALLY is McVay's scheme that's the problem, and that McVay has NO ANSWERS.....then our Rams' 2021 prospects in a very very tough NFC West, suddenly look in jeopardy.
.....and frankly that is just too scary for me to 100% fully embrace.

I am going to stick with IT'S THE WEAK OLINE STUPID bandwagon ....
coupled with MAYBE GOFF IS IN McVAY's DOGHOUSE FOR GOOD REASON bandwagon.

Just FYI aeneas1.

+++++++++++++++++++++

To quote Mark Twain:

De Nile is more than just a river in Egypt.

[PARAM]

What changed that made McVay's offense in 2019-20 unlike McVay's offense in 2017-18? Some fans point to that Detroit game when Detroit "exposed" by employing a different defensive look to stymie them. But the Rams still won 30-16. The next week the Bears totally stymied the Rams offense but that was Goff in bad weather, conditions he was allegedly unable to excel. The next week it was the Eagles beating the Rams in L.A.. Hey they still got to the Superbowl because Dallas and New Orleans didn't get the memo. But New England held them to 3 points and maybe McVay's psyche hasn't recovered.

We won the first 3 games in 2019 but since the close win in Cleveland to get to 3-0, we are just 17-14 counting the postseason. We have lost to McVay's "mentor", Kyle Shannahan 4 times out of 4. Now we've lost to his protege, LaFleur, ugly in a huge game. Thankfully we beat Zac Taylor's Bengals last year or McVay's shattered ego might be even more devastated. We've extended Gurley and got rid of him the next season. We've extended Goff and now there's talk he and McVay are at odds. We got rid of Phillips and his replacement looked like the real genius in 2020 and now he is gone to the cross town rivals. There is some serious butt hurt in La-La Land.

There have been some questionable play calls this year. None more so than the second SF game. Sitting at 7-3, needing a win to remain tied with Seattle for the NFC West lead, we trailed 17-3 late in the 3rd quarter. We drove to SFs 22 (on 6 straight pass attempts), but only kicked a FG. After a fumble return TD on SFs first play our D stopped their next series and on our first play Akers went 61 yards, then 6 yards, then 1 for a TD to take a 20-17 lead. After exchanging punts, SF tied the game with a FG and the Rams got the ball with 3:11 left in the game. Needing just a FG, having 3 timeouts in our pocket and a run game that had reeled off 78 yards on 6 carries, McVay calls 5 straight pass plays. Nary a run in the series and we end up punting with 2:10 left in the game and SF gets the ball at their 20 with 3 timeouts. Had he called some run plays in our last series, it would have forced the niners to use some timeouts, so even if we didn't get the FG, they would have been in a less favorable position. Instead, they march down, while we call timeouts and we lose anyway, as McVay is outcoached by Shannahan for the 4th consecutive time.

There was more questionable playcalling over the entire season but that series stands out because it cost us that game, then he called out Goff and never alluded to his shotty playcalling. Goff responded against Arizona and Tampa but we lost to the Jets and Seattle relegating us to the Wild Card slot. Now he's upset and angry because his protege eliminated the Rams. So he's going to put every position in competition for 2021. That's fine but he should also look for an OC to call plays so his ego doesn't make his system less than efficient. He designed it. He can implement the game plans and then step back and let the OC call the game, without having to live up to a genius-boy wonder label. Because if he doesn't change, he may end up like Pederson. You can't sign guys long term, then get rid of them taking huge cap hits because Mr. Kroenke will only tolerate that so long. Especially without a SB title to show for it.

[majik]

Yeah, the Pederson comparison directly applies with the comments about Goff “we are evaluating every position” comment. Pederson got canned because he wanted to go forward with Hurts while the owner (Jeffrey Lurie) wanted to move forward with Wentz. While Wentz was awful this year, the injuries hitting the Eagles offense were overwhelming and Wentz lost confidence and has regressed.

The one thing McVay needs to evaluate is his insistence on calling plays and the glacial time it takes the Rams at times to call a play and execute it before the play clock expires. While Goff has certain limitations (that a true Center could greatly help), he seems to to thrive when the Rams go up tempo. McVay seems reluctant to do that because of his tendency to overthink what great play to call next. The Rams at times this year have gone up tempo having the defense on its heels only to go to the full 40 second clock huddle (especially in the red zone).

[snackdaddy]

I think what we are seeing is the NFL cycle for most coaches. Unless you have a sure fire Hall of Fame quarterback there will be plenty of ups and downs.

LaFleur looks great right now. He's got Aaron Rogers. Mike McCarthy looked great with Aaron Rogers. When Rogers went down McCarthy looked very pedestrian. Looked like that in Dallas too.

We're seeing how great Belichick looks without Brady. Very pedestrian. Reid was pretty good but not a championship coach till he got Mahomes.

If you're lucky enough to find that rare talent at quarterback you will be a top tier head coach the fans love for years. For everyone else, its cross your fingers that you might have one of those special years with what you have.

[Hacksaw]

I think what we are seeing is the NFL cycle for most coaches. Unless you have a sure fire Hall of Fame quarterback there will be plenty of ups and downs.

LaFleur looks great right now. He's got Aaron Rogers. Mike McCarthy looked great with Aaron Rogers. When Rogers went down McCarthy looked very pedestrian. Looked like that in Dallas too.

We're seeing how great Belichick looks without Brady. Very pedestrian. Reid was pretty good but not a championship coach till he got Mahomes.

If you're lucky enough to find that rare talent at quarterback you will be a top tier head coach the fans love for years. For everyone else, its cross your fingers that you might have one of those special years with what you have.

I agree snack. Staley will probably look good since they have Herbert. The others you mentioned too.
Is / was McVay a product of his coaching staff? Only great compared to Fisher? Is he unable to out scheme the NFL now that they caught on to his tendencies? I'm a bit rattled like he seems to be.

[snackdaddy]

I agree snack. Staley will probably look good since they got Herbert. The others you mentioned too.
Is / was McVay a product of his coaching staff? Only great compared to Fisher? Is he unable to out scheme the NFL now that they caught on to his tendencies? I'm a bit rattled like he seems to be.

McVay caught the league by surprise with his innovative 11 personnel and all that pre snap movement that confused defenses. He also had a great running back and line that protected a quarterback who is very accurate when given time. Then as always, the league figured him out.

Can he adapt and evolve? I don't know. I do know he is very football smart. But sometimes guys like that can outsmart themselves. Those wildcats were not a good idea. That works best when there is a threat a guy might throw it. The defense did not have to worry about the pass.

[ziggy]

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2020/12/23/rams-offense-kurt-warner-jared-goff-problem/

I think McVay has too big a brain and can control all aspects of the play. When the execution fails or the opposing team figures it out, then it looks terrible.

He has responded by adding more wrinkles to the play. However, that is not the solution. I think he needs to add a dimension to the play after it breaks down. Have 1 or 2 options if things go all heck, we can do this...

I’ve seen Goff play off schedule, up tempo, and he can be quite good. He’s also been bad, but that happens to everyone— even the greats.

That legendary game against Kansas City was a lot of just Goff slinging it and not over scheming. When Goff plays uptempo I think there’s an element of looseness that leads to success.

[CanuckRightWinger]

Good post snack!

However, regarding Cam Akers ability to throw the ball.....he was an AllState HS (running) Quarterback Champ type in Mississippi, and competed head-to-head with the other Mississippi HS powerhouse where one Darrell Henderson was the star RB.

I saw in one of the postgame pressers where Akers had practiced throwing outa that WildCat formation in preparation for the Packers game! True story.

[Hacksaw]

Can he adapt and evolve? I don't know. I do know he is very football smart. But sometimes guys like that can outsmart themselves. Those wildcats were not a good idea. That works best when there is a threat a guy might throw it. The defense did not have to worry about the pass.

That's the big question. It's been a long while now and it has been a slow work in progress. Perhaps it's all as simple as needing 5 fresh Andrew Whitworths across the line. Perhaps Canuck has been correct that Aaron Kromer isn't that great a line coach. I personally think the former would help greatly and put Kromer in a better position.
Akers can apparently throw the ball. I was also wondering if the Wildcat had something to do with Goff's thumb. Cant see him being a receiver though.
A lot of questions and our team is not in a comfortable state of being.