The Los Angeles Rams are on their bye week in Week 6 and currently sit at 1-4. Back in 2021 and last year, head coach Sean McVay was able to make changes that resulted in late-season runs. If the Rams want to turn their season around, they’ll need to switch some things up. Here are five things the Rams need to do coming out of the bye.
1. Make the change at linebacker
We’re at a point in the season where you have to wonder what the Rams really have to lose by playing Omar Speights and/or Jake Hummel at linebacker. Of course it can always get worse, but how big is the gap between Speights and Troy Reeder or Speights and Rozeboom?
As we get further into the season, offenses are just going to attack them more and more. It made some sense to start the season with Reeder and Rozeboom after trading Ernest Jones. They are the most experienced linebackers in the system. However, the Rams will have a week to potentially get someone like Speights more up to speed. Coming out of the bye week would be the perfect time to make this kind of switch.
2. Get Davis Allen more involved in the offense
There were fewer players that came into the season with as much hype from the fanbase as second-year tight end Davis Allen. Despite all of the hype, Allen has zero catches on two targets this year. Some of that may be for blocking reasons. However, up to this point Colby Parkinson has been a disappointment as a free agent signing and Hunter Long presents limited upside.
Allen showed at times last year that he can be a threat in the seam and on tight end screens. He’s currently on pace for fewer targets than last season. With how much that the Rams have struggled in the red zone, giving a player with Allen’s size more opportunity could be beneficial. The Rams will eventually get Tyler Higbee back, but until then, Allen needs to see some more reps.
3. Team needs more consistency
Through the first five weeks, using the youth excuse for missed tackles and small mistakes was valid reasoning. Players like Jared Verse and Braden Fiske were getting used to the speed of the NFL. The Rams were without Darious Williams in the secondary, forcing younger players to step up.
However, at the end of the day, this is simply a young roster. The Rams are 1-4 and are at a now or never point in the season. Either the rookies are going to figure it out and the Rams turn it around or there are going to continue to be growing pains and the results will showcase that. The Rams need to find consistently and learn to play for 60-minutes. This roster certainly has some talent, but inconsistency in key moments is what’s hurting them.
4. Find more layups in the red zone
Hopefully the week off will all Sean McVay to get to the drawing board when it comes to the offense in the red zone. There have certainly been some bad luck involved, but for the most part, the Rams can be and need to be much better in that area of the field.
Through the first five weeks of the season, the Rams have been making things far too difficult. They’ve made an area of the field with already tight windows and small margins even smaller. Simply put, the Rams need to find more lay-ups in the red zone and make things easier for themselves. Whether it’s more play-action or utilizing bootlegs, the offense needs to mix it up more in the red zone to become less predictable.
5. Mix in more Blake Corum
In Week 5, the Rams finally let Blake Corum go to work and the rookie was able to show what he could do. Corum averaged five yards per carry and showed some burst and explosiveness that should pair well with Kyren Williams.
Following the bye week, Corum needs to be used more. That’s not to say that Williams’ opportunities should be limited, but Corum should be getting 5-8 carries per game. The Rams drafted him in the third round and he needs to be a player that consistently contributes. Hopefully Week 5 was just a glimpse, but it will be interesting to see how the Rams manage this duo coming out of the bye.
