Former NFL Star Suggests Los Angeles Rams Will Have to “Get Better Up Front” for Any Success in 2020

The Los Angeles Rams’ offensive prowess faced criticism last season. Not only did they fail to deliver under pressure, but more often than not, they missed scoring chances. As compared to the 2018 NFL season, the Rams scored 133 fewer points last year. And that will certainly be something that the Los Angeles coach Sean McVay would be worried about. It’s not that they don’t have enough fire-power in their offensive line but somehow, they regularly missed opportunities. This ultimately cost them a fortune, as far as the season was concerned.

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Offense proved a real problem for the Los Angeles Rams last year

Former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Brian Baldinger believes that the Rams must improve their offensive display if they want to achieve something meaningful during the upcoming 2020 season. The 61-year old appeared on the NFL network for an interview, where he pointed out the instances when the Rams failed to score points in big games.

He said, “They scored 133 fewer points than they scored in 2018, last year. That’s the problem, and it really started upfront. They have had some trouble gaining yards, the important yards. And big games. If you go back to week six, against the 49ers, they had a 7-7 game here. You’ve got a chance with Malcolm Brown to take the lead right here and really maybe bounce to power and see if they could’ve got the yard. On 31 on fourth and one, they got shut out. And then on the very first play of the third quarter, they turned around and they fumbled as well on this pitch to Darrell Henderson. In the 7-7 game, the 49ers get four plays later, they were in the end zone. And they end up winning that game.”

The Los Angeles Rams repeatedly failed to run the ball

The game against the 49ers wasn’t the only match where the Rams failed to utilize their opportunities. Baldinger also mentioned their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He continued, “And there’s another 7-7 game here, all kinds of changes in the offensive line. The rookie David Edwards at right guard. They protected Jared Goff pretty good all year. But on this spot, towards the end of the first half, you remember this well, Goff kicks a ball out of his hand by Javon Hargrave, and Fitzpatrick giving the Steelers the lead there 14-7 right at the end of the first half. But even late in the game, fourth quarter here, 17-12 game, I mean Jared Goff is gotta make this real. He goes here to Josh Reynolds when Robert Woods is wide open. Uncovered on third to 10, the ball gets padded down. And the Rams lose a key game there against the Steelers.”

The Los Angeles Rams’ outing against the Baltimore Ravens also caught Baldinger’s attention. He said, “And then one other game against the Ravens. But they couldn’t run the ball. I mean they had Bobby Evans and David Edwards in there, you know, they lost their center, the left guard. They couldn’t get any yards, They’ve gotta get back to being able to run the ball. Not to their backs, whether it was Gurley or Malcolm Brown or Henderson, nobody could gain four yards of carrying last year. And I think if the Rams are gonna turn things around this year, they’ve got to get better upfront on the offensive line and they have to run the ball better than they did a year ago.”

A disappointing season

Their heartbreaking loss against the San Francisco 49ers saw the Rams getting eliminated from the playoffs contention. This wasn’t how they had been looking forward to finishing their campaign. In the process, they became only the fifth side since 2019 to miss the playoffs after the very year they made it to the Super Bowl. McVay would certainly want to rectify his side’s mistakes this year.

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