Getty Raymond Calais tries to shed off a tackle during the Los Angeles Rams' 13-6 loss to the Chargers on Saturday.
Not one player on the Los Angeles Rams surpassed 23 rushing yards on Saturday against the Chargers, regardless if it was quarterback Bryce Perkins taking off running or Raymond Calais, Jake Funk and Xavier Jones trying to find a crease in the trenches to run through.
Seventy-three yards represents the final total in the 13-6 loss, a number that got head coach Sean McVay to not mince any words during Monday’s post practice presser.
“The run game, you know, it was sloppy, it wasn’t very good, it wasn’t clean,” McVay told reporters, which can be heard near the 1:50 mark of the video below. “There were a couple of opportunities, but for the most part I didn’t think it was very good.”
Inexperience Up Front a Factor?
Granted, Saturday’s game saw a completely different offense from the line to the quarterback, as not one starter from 2020 took any snaps. That includes All-Pro left tackle Andrew Whitworth and versatile guard/center Austin Corbett.
The likes of Jordan Meredith, Bobby Evans and Coleman Shelton saw action and defenses they were likely not used to seeing. McVay pointed that out.
“There’s a lot of guys that haven’t gotten those full-speed reps before,” McVay said of the Rams’ backs and blockers. “It’s no excuse. We have high expectations for those guys. But just the overall continuity, we always talk about it: It takes all 11 in the run game.”
McVay did see some flashes, saying “There were instances where individual guys did a nice job. But there might be a certain block or a certain angle or the way we’re fitting the block based on where the back’s landmark is that wasn’t in unison. And that’s why I think you weren’t able to see the consistency from snap to snap and that’s I think we weren’t able to sustain some drives.”
Now, the blockers up front and the running backs will have three sessions with the Las Vegas Raiders starting on Wednesday, with two joint practices and the Saturday preseason meeting. Oh, how did the Raiders run defense look against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday? They didn’t allow a single ball carrier surpass 25 yards and bottled the ‘Hawks to just 68 yards through the ground attack.
“I want to see these guys really start to implement the fundamentals and the techniques that (offensive line) coach (Kevin) Carberry’s been working on hard,” McVay said. “We want to see consistency from one snap to the next. We want to see these guys play as a unit, really good communication.”
RB Coach Tells L.A. Newspaper He Wants to See More ‘Creativity’
Rams running back coach Thomas Brown was another who commented on the run game’s performance in a conversation he had with the L.A. Daily News/Orange County Register.
One thing he wants to see? His guys getting creative with the ball.
“I just want to see more creativity after contact,” Brown told Kevin Modesti. “There’s not always going to be a huge run, a huge gaping hole. In this league, to separate yourself, I want to see guys who can create for themselves, break multiple tackles, win their one-on-ones.”
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