Ever since Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has entered the NFL, defenses have made a concerted effort to slow down his offense. In 2017 and most of 2018, the Rams dominated the NFL with their wide zone run game and play action off of that. With the use of 6-1 looks and odd fronts, McVay was forced to shift off of that. The next version of the Rams offense in 2021 utilized more empty looks. However, with defenses limiting explosive plays, the Rams were forced to move on from that as well.
Last year was the third iteration of the Rams offense under Sean McVay and it was a reminder of just how great of an offensive mind he has. The Rams completely revamped their run game to utilize more gap scheme runs and the results were immediate. For the first time since that 2017 and 2018 season, the McVay offense had a top running game.
The NFL is cyclical and defenses will continue to make adjustments to slow down the top offenses. Typically that means an offense ran by Sean McVay or another coach in that schematic tree. This year will be no different. The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen recently wrote about what defenses are focused on in 2024 and how they make look to slow down offenses like McVay’s. Said Nguyen,
“Rams coach Sean McVay was one of the best at using motion to create advantages in the passing game last year. As Atwell motioned inside, nickel Mike Hilton had to switch onto him to avoid a possible rub. However, because of the quick switch, Hilton played a step or two too far outside of Atwell, giving him too much space to work with inside. Hilton was supposed to have inside help, but the inside defenders were frozen by play action. Hilton couldn’t recover and Atwell was open for an explosive pass play.”
Last season, TuTu Atwell had the third-most targets when used in pre-snap motion. This was a way for McVay to create conflict in the defense while also giving Atwell a free release at the line of scrimmage as defensive backs couldn’t jam him. It also gave Atwell a head start and the ability to really utilize his speed. The Rams were second in the NFL in motion at the snap with the Miami Dolphins first, San Francisco 49ers third, and Green Bay Packers fourth.
However, that motion is something that defenses will focus on this offseason and how to deal with it. An added twist here is that there was one defense in particular that handled that motion better than almost anyone. That team was the Baltimore Ravens coached by Mike Macdonald. Much like Fangio and coaches from his tree, Macdonald’s assistants have spread around the league like wildfire. Macdonald is in Seattle, Anthony Weaver was hired by the Dolphins, Dennard Wilson is in Tennessee, and the Ravens promoted Macdonald assistant Zachary Orr.
While McVay’s scored 31 points against the Ravens last season, the chess matches between the two going forward will certainly be interesting to watch. There are two of the best minds in football. Said Nguyen,
“Defenses will definitely be more prepared for the motion this season. They’ll have quick checks and adjustments they can get to that will help them deal with it better, using all offseason to work with them...One coach I talked to wasn’t as worried about the motion. He feels it is already overexposed and is more about the player who gets put in motion. Not every receiver can run a diverse route tree off of the motion...Forward-thinking defensive coaches should have spent the offseason adding counters and tools to their playbooks for their secondary to use on the field against these different types of motions.”
We will have to see what changes defenses make as they’ve had the entire offseason now to put a game plan together on how to match it. Teams have been able to watch the Baltimore Ravens and how they handled the 49ers and Dolphins. Those adjustments will certainly carry over to how teams also game plan for McVay.
