Through eight years of Sean McVay as the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, one thing has become clear. McVay’s offense needs a good offensive line to function at its best. While that may be the case for most offenses, it is especially the case for McVay.
When the Rams offensive line has ranked among the best in the NFL, the offense has benefitted because of it. In the years that it has not, the on-field product has left a lot to be desired. McVay took over as the Rams head coach in 2017 and the offensive line ranked sixth.
In 2017, the Rams offensive line ranked sixth and the offense had a 10.7 percent offense DVOA. The next year, the Rams made the Super Bowl and once again had a top-six offensive line. In 2018, the Rams had an offense DVOA of 24.2 percent. That was again the case in 2021. The Rams offensive line ranked seventh via PFF and eighth in offense DVOA at 10.2 percent.
Those are undoubtedly the three best offenses of the McVay era. However, in 2019 when the offensive line faced some adversity, the offensive product went off the rails. The Rams offensive line ranked 31st in 2019 according to PFF while the offense had a -9.8 percent DVOA. In 2022, the offensive line had a historic amount of injuries and ranked 25th in PFF’s end of season rankings. The offense finished with a -10.7 percent DVOA which ranked 25th.
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise then that the offense has struggled to start the 2024 season with the injuries to the offensive line. Again, any NFL offense needs a functional offensive line to be able to operate. However, it seems to be even more important when it comes to the Rams and McVay’s offense.
McVay has been in this position before back in 2022. Nobody is expecting a top-10 offense, but the unit looked dysfunctional in moments against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2. It’s fair to ask what adjustments have been made to account for the injuries to the offensive line.
At the end of the day, McVay and the Rams can either learn from lessons in 2022 or they will sink. Other teams around the NFL find ways to adjust. The New Orleans Saints came into the season with the 31st ranked offensive line. Klint Kubiak has schemed around it and the Saints offensive line has benefitted because of it.
While the Rams offensive line wasn’t 100 percent in Week 2, the only question mark was Warren McClendon at left tackle. Jonah Jackson was at left guard, Kevin Dotson started at right guard, and Rob Havenstein returned to his post at right tackle. Beaux Limmer may just be a rookie, but he has been an anchor on the offensive line at center. However, as it’s been seen in the past, McVay didn’t do a lot to work around or help the struggling player at left tackle.
Through two weeks, the Rams have been in 11 personnel 98.7 percent of the time. That is without question the highest rate in the league. The next closest team is the Cleveland Browns at 85.5 percent. Additionally, quarterback Matthew Stafford leads the NFL in pure drop back passes. Stafford’s 15.7 percent play-action percentage is tied for the fourth-lowest among quarterbacks. The Rams quarterback has thrown a screen on just 7.2 percent of his passes which is the sixth-lowest.
Comparatively, Derek Carr ranks first in play-action percentage and fifth in screen pass percentage. Of course there is the context that the Rams have trailed 17-3 and 14-0 in Weeks 1 and 2 which limits the amount of play action due to game script. The offense has also been unable to run the ball as Kyren Williams is averaging -0.19 EPA per rush. It’s also worth noting Steve Avila’s impact in the screen game and he’s on injured reserve.
At the same time, it’s not as if the Rams are trying these things early in games when the score is manageable. His 2.72 seconds when it comes to average time to throw is actually the highest of his career. That’s not to say he’s not getting pressured, because he’s been pressured on 34.9 percent of his drop backs which is his highest since he was with the Detroit Lions back in 2019.
The 2.72 seconds in average time to throw is a testament to the long developing routes that McVay continues to instill in the Rams offense despite the offensive line injuries. In 2022, the Miami Dolphins had the 22nd ranked offensive line, but the number six offense in DVOA. That season, Tua Tagovailoa had an average to throw of 2.53 seconds which was the fourth-fastest. Over 50 percent of Tua’s throws came in under 2.5 seconds. Mike McDaniel didn’t allow Tua to get pressured because the ball was out before the pressure had a chance to arrive.
There is no doubt that a poor offensive line can limit the ceiling of an offense or what an offense is able to achieve from a schematic standpoint. At the same time, schematically, there are things that can be done to help the offensive line and put them in a position to succeed. Through two weeks, Warren McClendon is the lowest-graded tackle in pass protection. He also leads the NFL in true pass sets which excludes plays with less than four rushers, play action, screens, short drop backs and time-to-throws under two seconds.
It is fair to question if McVay is doing enough to protect his offensive line and put them in a position to succeed. Through two weeks, the answer is no.
McVay is a very good coach, but when things begin to go off the rails, there needs to be a plan b. The disheartening thing here is that he has been in this position before back in 2022. He should be better equipped than some to handle it. Yet, the offense remains a pure drop back team.
If it’s any consolation it’s that the Rams will have Alaric Jackson back at left tackle. Still, Logan Bruss will be the likely starter at left guard and Limmer is still a young player at center. It would benefit the offense to try and move the pocket rather than consistently be susceptible to interior pressure.
After two weeks, it will be interesting to see whether or not McVay does adjust with the season essentially on the line in Week 3 against the San Francisco 49ers or if he just waits until the bye week. If he does wait until the bye, by that time it may be too late. A less than 100 percent offensive line is current the Rams’ reality and they need McVay to adjust accordingly.
