Turf Show Times
The Los Angeles Rams are on a five-game winning streak and have worked their way to the top of the NFC West division and NFC conference overall. They’ll face a formidable foe in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12.
While LA’s defense was stifling in their last game against the Seattle Seahawks, the offense sputtered—drawing a conclusion to the hot streak of play from this unit. The Rams also lost three key starters to injury for at least the next for weeks, so they’ll have to dig deeper into the roster in order to maintain their hold in the standings.
Who will rise to the occasion to get the offense back on the right track and fill in for the injured individuals?
Against the Seahawks Adams caught only one of eight targets for a single yard and a touchdown. It’s worth mentioning that he was questionable coming into the game with a back injury and missed practice time throughout the week.
Simply put, you cannot run your offense through a player who is this inefficient. Adams received high-volume targets last week—including on third down and in the red zone—and this was one of the main drivers why the offense seemed to sputter at times. Seattle’s defense deserves credit for bottling up Adams and Tariq Woolen seemed to draw the veteran receiver the most often.
The Rams offense almost seems to go as Adams goes. If they are going to get back on track, they need Adams to haul in the passes thrown his direction to keep the chains moving and come away with points in the red zone.
You may be wondering why Josh Wallace is included in this list over the recently acquired Roger McCreary. Here’s what Sean McVay had to say about the team’s decision making process this week:
Wallace deserves a ton of credit for stepping up and doing an excellent job… He did a phenomenal job.
Josh is so smart. He can play “star”, he can play outside corner, he can play safety for us. Just a guy that’s so valuable and so versatile.
He’s got great instincts, great overall awareness and great physical and mental toughness… He came in and really didn’t miss a beat. His ability to communicate [and] understand big picture wise… is a tremendous credit.
Based on McVay’s comments—and we could look back and call this gamesmanship on the coach’s part—it seems Wallace will get the first nod in replacing Quentin Lake at slot corner.
Rob Havenstein has struggled at right tackle for the majority of the time he’s been on the field this season. Warren McClendon filled in for a three-game stretch and performed admirably—arguably at a level better than we’ve seen from the veteran.
It’s telling that the team can lose its right tackle for the next four games and alarm bells not sound. It’s reasonably...
