3 reason why Rams must embrace a spoiler role for remainder of 2024

The LA Rams are not feared by opponents in 2024, nor should the team be. Despite a lot of optimistic euphoria about the team's offseason, the results of the team's shopping trip among veterans up for the highest bidder through the 2024 NFL Free Agency Market has left the team a bit poorer, both in available salary to spend and in the level of available talent on game day.

We can debate the hypothetical conjecture of how good this team may have been had the team remained at full strength. But the team's inability to tackle, defend the run, or score in the Red Zone suggest that the problems encountered so far are deeper, more fundamentally founded, than a backup playing instead of a starter.

This team fixates on the use of the same few players, even as evidence builds a strong case not to do so. Injury-prone players garner the lion's share of the work. At least, until they fall to injury and the team is scrambling to find instant replacements under the gun.

• Week 1, Sept. 8: at Detroit Lions | 5:20 p.m. | NBC - Sunday Night Football - Loss
• Week 2, Sept. 15: at Arizona Cardinals | 1:05 p.m. | FOX - Loss
• Week 3, Sept. 22: San Francisco 49ers | 1:25 p.m. | FOX –  Win
• Week 4, Sept. 29: at Chicago Bears | 10 a.m. | FOX - Loss
• Week 5, Oct. 6: Green Bay Packers | 1:25 p.m. | CBS –  Loss
• Week 6: BYE
• Week 7, Oct. 20: Las Vegas Raiders (2-3) | 1:05 p.m. | CBS  
• Week 8, Oct. 24: Minnesota Vikings (5-0) | 5:15 p.m. | (Thursday Night Football) - Amazon Prime Video | 
• Week 9, Nov. 3: at Seattle Seahawks (3-2) | 1:25 p.m. | FOX
• Week 10, Nov. 11: Miami Dolphins (2-3) | 5:15 p.m. | ESPN –  Monday Night Football
• Week 11: Nov. 17: at New England Patriots (1-4) | 10 a.m. | FOX - 
• Week 12, Nov. 24: Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) | 5:20 p.m. | NBC - Sunday Night Football
• Week 13, Dec. 1: at New Orleans Saints (2-2) | 1:05 p.m. | FOX  
• Week 14, Dec. 8: Buffalo Bills (3-2) | 1:25 p.m. | FOX   
• Week 15, Dec. 12: at San Francisco 49ers (2-3) | 5:15 p.m. | Thursday Night Football - Amazon Prime Video*
• Week 16, Dec. 22: at New York Jets (2-3) | 10 a.m. | CBS - 
• Week 17, Dec. 28/29: Arizona Cardinals (2-3) | TBD | TBD    
• Week 18, Jan.4/5: Seattle Seahawks (3-2) | TBD | TBD 

• Predicted final record?  TBD
• Current record 1-4

So what is left for this team? Perhaps the best thing to do is to accept the Rams current state, and simply plan to be huge thorns in the sides of any team remaining on the schedule. It's clear that the team has been unsuccessful at marching onto the football field and trading blows with teams that hope to be in contention.

it's time to embrace a spoiler role this season, and here are three reasons why.

(3) - Rams are already significantly invested in young players

The Rams are a young roster. In fact, the team is the second-youngest roster in the NFL right now. Despite that fact, and the fact that young players need experience, the team insists on sticking with more experienced veterans. But after falling to 1-4, why?

If the goal is to be more competitive, that hasn't panned out so far. And if the goal is to improve, what better way to fast track that surge than to give valuable playing time to the young bucks on the roster who would benefit most by in-game experience?

(2) - Rams have a tough schedule remaining in 2024

The only team left to face on the Rams schedule with a similar or worse record in the New England Patriots. That means that the team is almost certainly to be considered as an underdog for the rest of the year, until the team starts to win. But let's be clear. The Rams won five games in 2022 after the team lost far more starters for the season.

I'm not convinced that five wins is easily within reach of this team right now.

The lone victory in 2024 has come at the expense of the San Francisco 49ers (2-3). That was a fantastic victory, but does nothing to establish the Rams as a team to be contended with this season.

(1) - Time to accept the 1-4 record

We can rationalize the losses by this team as withing one score. But then by rights we have to do the same with the lone win. Some argue that the team has done enough to win more games. In fact, I have made the argument as well at times. But there comes a time to roll up the sleeves, understand the reality of the situation, and take stock over what must be done.

While 1-4, the team has faced teams with a combined record of 10-11. So whatever we may have expected from the initial 2024 Rams schedule, the team has been beaten down by a rather mediocre group of teams.

While it could simply come to pass that the Rams opponents were at their peak when they appeared on the schedule, the more likely explanation is that the Rams roster, thanks to a myriad of changes, has not congealed. The offensive line and the secondary have had new iterations practically every week. And the team's receivers, while finally hitting some form of continuity, is still trying to transform auxiliary players into primary offensive weapons.

Conversely, the opposite is true for the team's running backs.

Head Coach Sean McVay is fantastic in a perfectly constructed roster that suits his game plan. But when the team loses WRs, he is stubbornly reluctant to flip to 12 personnel formations. When the defense is struggling, the offense is not easily switched over to a ball control offense. And if the team is facing injuries with key starters, the team makes no plans to compensate to help out the backups thrust into a primary starting role.

It's not as though the team cannot game plan effectively with a less than 100 percent healthy roster. The team had an ideal game plan to face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 3. In 2020, McVay altered everything about the team to create the perfect beat down of his nemesis, the New England Patriot, with an outstanding performance by RB Cam Akers.

If the Rams were insightfully blessed over the quality of players, how is it that the team is so eager to reunite with players who have parted ways with the team? DB Darious Williams, DB John Johnson III, and DE Jonah Williams are just the most recent examples of players who the team has reunited with after letting them walk away in free agency.

Not every personnel decision by this team has led to an outstanding outcome. As such, it's time to start pivoting from disappointment to potential. It's time to give younger players a greater workload. The future of the team is indeed bright. The team needs to embrace that future now.