5 keys to victory: Can Rams avoid ‘trap’ vs. Saints

Sometimes all it takes for a team to get a spark is to change the quarterback. In Jaxson Dart’s first start for the New York Giants, they upset the Philadelphia Eagles. The Los Angeles Rams will be going up against a quarterback making his first career start on Sunday when they take on the New Orleans Saints and Tyler Shough. The Rams will have limited film on Shough but should still be good enough to get the win. Here are this week’s keys to victory.

Get pressure on Tyler Shough

Coming out of Louisville, there was no doubting Tyler Shough’s physical tools and overall athleticism. During the preseason, he showed the ability to make some anticipation throws and stand tall in the pocket. However, despite being 26, he has limited experience and the Saints started Spencer Rattler in Week 1 for a reason.

The Rams need to be able to make Shough as uncomfortable as possible. One of the best ways to affect a young quarterback is with pressure and by speeding up their process. That can force them into mistakes. While Shough has underrated athleticism to make plays with his legs, the Rams need to be able to knock him off his spot. It would be a mistake for the Rams to overlook Shough as they did Mac Jones a few weeks ago.

Do not play conservative on defense

That leads to the next point which is not to play conservative on defense. The Rams came out with one of their more conservative game plans against Mac Jones and the San Francisco 49ers back in Week 5. That game plan put the Rams in a 14-0 hole that proved to be too difficult to climb out of in combination with the amount of self-inflicted errors that occurred as well.

If the Rams simply rush four and allow the Saints offense to complete passes underneath, those are easy throws that a young quarterback will take every time. Giving up those throws only makes Shough’s job easier. This isn’t to say that the Rams need to be overly aggressive. However, if they play how they have over the last two weeks, that will be good enough.

Take control early

The worst thing that the Rams can do in this game is give the Saints life. If the Rams can take control of this game early as they did against the Jaguars, they should be able to go on cruise control for the remainder of the game and simply handle business. This season, the Rams have been a good second half team. They rank eighth in second half points per game and third in second half points allowed.

However, if the Rams can come out and start fast, they would be able to let the pass rush loose and make the Saints one dimensional. Turning the Saints into a dropback passing team, putting everything on Shough, and taking out Alvin Kamara with game script works in the Rams’ benefit....