5 Questions with Turf Show Times: Injuries are also hurting the Rams

The 49ers are in dire straits heading into the Thursday Night Football matchup with the Rams.

San Francisco’s mounting injury problems have dominated the discussion ahead of the battle for first place in the NFC West at SoFi Stadium.

With Brock Purdy out and the 49ers down to the bare bones at the pass-catching positions, the Rams are heavy favorites to move to 4-1.

But why has it gone so well for Los Angeles through four games, and where are the weaknesses the 49ers could exploit to make this a game? I consulted Evan Craig of Turf Show Times to get those answers.

1.) The addition of Davante Adams seems to have had a huge positive influence already. How has his arrival changed the offense?

Davante Adams has been the perfect Robin to Puka Nacua’s Batman. He is no longer the top target like he was in his prime Packers days, and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s just the stage he’s at in his career. When the Rams signed him this offseason, there were concerns that he’d be the next free agent bust for Les Snead, as his track record wasn’t great with wideouts in the last few years (*cough* Allen Robinson).

Adams is so effective because he remains a dynamic enough target when defenses are already so concentrated on containing Puka. The reason Nacua looks unstoppable so far this year is due to Adams being a strong partner-in-crime. L.A. didn’t have that last year with Cooper Kupp, and that’s why the front office (rightfully) moved on this offseason. It might be unsustainable in the long run to have such a high target share for two guys, but it’s working wonders for the passing game, and that’s all that matters right now.

2.) Los Angeles’s passing game is thriving despite poor play in protection up front. What do the Rams need to do to improve their pass blocking?

TRADE EVERYBODY!

Just kidding, but the team has to get healthier up front. That might be a cop out answer, but it’s true. Linemen Steve Avila and Rob Havenstein have been in and out of the lineup. There is enough depth along the line, but it’s not enough to feel confident in it, given what we’ve seen so far.

There have been some injury flashbacks of the team’s dreadful 2023 campaign when players could not stay healthy. It seemed like that with Matthew Stafford for a while until those concerns mostly went away entering the season. Part of what made ’23 so miserable was mainly due to all the injuries up front, so I’m really hoping fans do not have to endure a repeat this season.

3.) The Rams only had 38 sacks last season despite generating a lot of pressure. This year, they already have 14, how has the pass rush improved?

Last year, the lack of sacks felt like a young team trying to figure things out. Most of the guys up front were either first...