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Lindsey ThiryESPN
THOUSANDS of OAKS, Calif. – Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Reach up for a two-handed catch at the back of the court, then jump high to celebrate with teammates Cooper Kupp before falling to the ground.
“I don’t know what he’s doing,” coach Sean McVay said confused, and smiled. “I think at first he was doing some sit-ups or something like that.”
Beckham received a 1-meter touch in the previous victory Jacksonville Jaguars It was his second in as many games, giving his eighth scorer the first points in head-to-head games since the 2019 season.
More crunchy sound? Unnecessary.
When Beckham took to the field, he delivered a self-reviving blow, marking a career restart since the Rams signed him to a one-year, $1.25 million deal last month. before.
“It’s just from Call of Duty,” Beckham said with a smile. “Sometimes you have a hard time in life and it’s always good to pick yourself up.”
Now, if only the Rams could resurrect the offense that spent November in response to a significant setback including a three-game losing streak, loss of receiver DeSean Jackson and Robert Woods and a lot of revenue from midfielders Matthew Stafford.
“The later you get into the season, the games, you don’t have that many,” Stafford said. “You have to go out there and make them count.”
The Rams (8-4) play games The Arizona Cardinals (10-2) at State Farm Stadium on Monday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) in a game that certainly means a lot in terms of knockouts and seeds.
Midfielder rematch Kyler Murray and the NFC conference leaders, who beat the Rams in Week 4, will provide the chance to prove that their star-studded roster is the one capable of winning big and is still in contention. to make the Super Bowl. The Rams are 2-4 against teams with a winning record, including 4 consecutive losses and 6-0 against other teams.
“Without a doubt,” McVay admits, “this provides a great opportunity to measure yourself.”
It will also provide an opportunity to demonstrate that they have established an identity that strikes 12 games during Stafford’s tenure.
“What I want to be able to see is not just for Matthew, but our entire offense, just sharp, clean action and an activity where you stay on track,” McVay said. “What does it look like? It could be in the running game, it could be in the passing game, but there are a lot of different things that will be required.”
The Rams proved explosive in their 7-1 start by leaning on Stafford’s arm, averaging 6.53 yards per game as the 13s midfielder passed for 22 touchdowns and four intercept.
However, in three consecutive defeats Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers, the Rams’ inner line was pushed around, and Stafford made six turns, including throwing three interceptions returned for touchdowns. After registering a league-best aggregate midfield rating of 78.7 in his first eight games, his QBR is 35.1 in the past four.
The Rams ended their three-game slip this past Sunday with a 37-7 scoreline against the Jaguars 2-10 in the return runs. Sony Michel. which he rarely gets in 12 seasons with Detroit Lion.
But there is no guarantee that the formula will be used in the future.
“Hopefully. We all wish we had more opportunities in our profession,” Michel said of the possibility of a standout running game coming up. “But my thinking is to continue what I’ve been doing.”
As far as what the Rams’ offense will be, it will likely continue to depend on Stafford while he gets more comfortable with a reworked reception corps and with Darrell Henderson JrRecent health and injury are uncertain. He has been facing a thigh injury and was placed on the reserve/COVID roster on Saturday.
Once known for his mastery of action play with wingers Jared Goff, McVay has moved away from what was once the bread and butter of the Rams, with their play action rate dropping from 32% over the past four seasons to 23% with Stafford.
Instead, McVay set up Stafford with a flurry of passing options out of an empty squad 21% of the time – up from 11% with Goff over the past four seasons.
“We’re just trying to do what we feel we’re best at,” Stafford said, when asked if a conscious decision had been made at the start of the season to move away from action play and rely more on his arm or not.
The Rams opened the season with a legion reception that included Kupp – who leads the NFL with 100 receptions, 1,366 meters in reception and 11 touchdowns – Woods, Jackson, Van Jefferson and Tutu Atwell.
They substituted with Kupp, Jefferson and Beckham after Atwell and Woods were substituted for injury, and Jackson was released.
“You have a lot of moving pieces,” said Kupp, who has increasingly become the focus of defensive formations, emphasizing limiting his productivity. “It just goes to the details and does what we ask, every play is about you intending to do your job to the best of your ability – good, bad or bad – moving move on to the next part and do it again.”
Although Woods injured his left knee in the ACL at the end of the season on the same day Beckham signed him, their completely different skill sets prevented the Rams from inserting Beckham in Woods’ place.
“If it were as simple as that,” said offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell, “we would definitely go home a lot earlier at night.”
Second-year pro Jefferson has switched to Woods’ role instead and has caught nine passes on 17 goals in 134 metres, and two touchdowns in the past two games – including a touchdown. 79 meters in loss to the Packers.
“He’s doing well,” Stafford said of Jefferson. “Van has a lot of talent. He has the right work ethic, the right mindset.”
Meanwhile, Beckham was forced to learn how to attack and play at breakneck speed.
“Right now, you simplify it so you can play it, you can line up fast and know what you have to do,” said Beckham, who has caught nine 127-meter passes and two touchdowns in three games. , speak. “But as time goes on, you want to know what people are doing, that way it can help you do your job even better.”
Stafford said the offense, and specifically the game over, is still in progress.
“It’s about the details and the implementation from everyone involved,” he said. “The more detail we can get and the better execution we have as a unit, the more successful we are.”
On Monday night, McVay wanted to be able to give an answer when asked about the identity of a possible future offender.
“Hopefully when I’m talking to you guys [reporters] After the game, we said, “This is the identity we want to show,” McVay said. “And it will lead to a good outcome for us.”
Resurrection mode, joined.
