Getty No. 77 Andrew Whitworth joins in on the Robert Woods touchdown celebration during a 2019 regular season game against the Arizona Cardinals. The Rams have struggled on offense lately, with Whitworth offering an explanation on the PFF NFL Podcast on Monday.
Four years ago, the Los Angeles Rams executed an offense that took the league by storm and took defensive coordinators out of their comfort zone.
But since that time, the offense production has gone from second overall, to 11th to falling all the way to 22nd in the NFL last season.
What happened to a unit that once frustrated opponents with a flurry of motions, pre-snap reads and physicality near the goal line with such ease? Andrew Whitworth has seen the high and low moments of the Ram offense himself, and the left tackle joined the Pro Football Focus NFL Podcast on Monday to finally offer an explanation behind the unit’s downturn.
Whitworth said it’s what goes on inside the opponent’s 20-yard line that’s plagued the Ram offense lately.
“You really look at the last couple of years, I don’t know if slowing down is the word that I look for when I try to describe it as much. But I don’t think we’ve been as successful in the red zone in our scoring opportunities as we were the first couple of years,” Whitworth told Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo. “We’ve seem to move the ball well on people, we’ve seem to have good drives but then, for whatever reason, we haven’t really put it in the way we did.”
Head coach Sean McVay himself told the Los Angeles Times in January 2021 that the plays inside the 20 have stalled.
Is Absence of Former Ram a Reason?
In 2018, the Rams had the league’s best red zone running back in Todd Gurley, who led the league in touchdowns scored between the 20 and 1-yard line.
Todd Gurley’s 17 rushing Touchdowns in 2018 all came from inside the red zone #FantasyFootball
Via: @ChewOnSports
Whitworth acknowledged his impact, saying “You look at the streak we had there with Todd Gurley in ’17 and ’18 of just, when we got down in there, it was almost a given that we were going to run the football in the end zone at some point. It was pretty impressive the job he was able to do and we were able to do.”
But last season, red zone scoring production dipped – with Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson combining for six TD’s in that category.
Before his falling out with the Rams, Gurley combined power and instincts on his runs, making him a reliable scoring threat. While “Whit” pointed to Gurley’s production in the red zone, the 16-year lineman made another key observation behind the struggles inside the 20: Defenses finally figuring out what their offense will do.
“I think that that’s one of those things that, obviously over time, I don’t care if you’re a great defense, a great offense, whatever it is, people kind of understand how you tick, and they’re going to have a plan to stop it,” Whitworth said.
How to Counter and Recapture Red Zone Dominance
Whitworth and the Rams don’t want to be that offense that relies on what they have now, considering how defenses have caught up with them. All the more reason why the 39-year-old told the PFF Podcast what the new plan is on recapturing their scoring prowess when in striking distance of the goal line: It’s evolve and add.
“I think the way we have to continue to evolve is to understand that there’s going to be people that understand exactly what our offense is trying to accomplish. And so the job’s only going to get harder as the years go on. Then also, being able to do other things and add wrinkles and convert in different ways and situations where maybe you aren’t always ahead of the chains, maybe you aren’t always in the best position possible, but you find a way to score and you find a way to put the ball in the end zone. And I think that’s one of the things that this offense has got to continue to grow into,” Whitworth said.
The Rams have made key additions to help improve their red zone woes: Drafting versatile tall targets in Jacob Harris and Ben Skowronek, who figure to double as tight end and wide receiver. Seventh rounder Jake Funk could also serve as a red zone option out of the backfield. But outside of the rookies, the backfield duo of Akers and Henderson return and of course, there’s new quarterback Matthew Stafford, who unfortunately has seen red zone lapses before. Whitworth, though, is a believer the Rams have the pieces in place to avoid settling for field goals deep in opponent territory this fall.
“I think this year is one of those years that could be a great opportunity, with a lot of guys back, to take a big step offensively,” he said.