Seahawks Enemy Confidential: New-Look Rams in Week 1
Less than two years ago, the Los Angeles Rams were on top of the football world as confetti rained down on them on their home turf following a Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium.
But as former Atlanta Falcons coach Jerry Glanville loved to say, NFL unofficially stands for "Not For Long" and fortunes took a historic turn for the worse for coach Sean McVay's squad after their title run. Battered by injuries, including losing quarterback Matthew Stafford and future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald for a total of 14 games, the team floundered to a 5-12 record, setting a record for the most defeats by a defending Super Bowl champion.
Staring into the abyss that is salary cap hell after years of forfeiting draft picks for established star talent, the Rams saw many key pieces from that championship team exit stage left this spring. First, they traded away All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Dolphins, sending him back to his home state. In free agency, pass rusher Leonard Floyd, safety Taylor Rapp, and defensive tackle Greg Gaines all left. They also dealt away receiver Allen Robinson one year after signing him.
With that mass exodus out of Inglewood, which also included linebacker Bobby Wagner leaving to re-sign with Seattle, few identifiable names remain on the depth chart for Los Angeles. But while McVay may have a ton of unproven new faces now stepping into major roles, as coach Pete Carroll readies to spar against a familiar opponent in Sunday's opener at Lumen Field, he isn't taking a team that still has plenty of star power headlined by Stafford and Donald lightly.
"We're going against a team with a winning history," Carroll said in his opening statement during his Wednesday press conference. "Sean [McVay] has done a great job since the time he's been there. Whatever the makeup is or however he's going to do it, which we don't know because it's the first game, it's going to be good stuff. Scheme-wise, they're always on it and their players play hard, so it'll be a great matchup for us."
Aiming to open the 2023 season on the right note with a bitter NFC West rival coming to town looking to play spoiler, here’s a closer look at the Seahawks Week 1 opponent, including series history, additions/departures, a deep dive into scheme, and Carroll's evaluation of the new-look Rams.
Series History
50th regular season meeting. The Seahawks hold a 27-22 edge in the all-time series, including sweeping both games against the Rams last season. Since Sean McVay took over as coach replacing Jeff Fisher in 2017, however, Los Angeles has won seven out of 12 regular season games between the two rivals and beat Seattle on the road in the wild card round in 2020.
What's New?
Departures: After going all-in for several seasons trading away high draft picks for star players and spending big bucks in free agency, the financial day of reckoning came for the Rams this spring, leading to an exodus of talented veterans. Wanting to play for a contender, Wagner asked to be released and returned to the Seahawks in March, while Ramsey was dealt to the Dolphins in a major cost-cutting move for a third-round pick and tight end Hunter Long. In addition, veteran defensive tackles A'Shawn Robinson and Greg Gaines, pass rusher Leonard Floyd, receiver Allen Robinson, and kicker Matt Gay all departed during the offseason, leaving several holes on the roster.
Impressing throughout his first camp and preseason, the Rams expect Puka Nacua to make an immediate impact as a secondary receiver in their offense during his rookie season.
Additions: With minimal money available to spend due to dead cap hits, Los Angeles made few noteworthy moves in free agency, though they did bring back safety John Johnson after he spent the past two seasons in Cleveland. Despite not having a first-round pick, the Rams made 14 selections in the 2023 NFL Draft, including 11 in the final four rounds on day three. Among the key additions from this large class, they landed a potential long-term center/guard in Steve Avila and an athletic pass rusher in Byron Young in the second and third round respectively. As a possible fifth-round steal, McVay also landed BYU receiver Puka Nacua, who had a strong training camp and could see plenty of targets from Stafford as a rookie.
Injury Report
Recently seeing a specialist to evaluate a troublesome hamstring that he re-aggravated on the practice field, Kupp has been ruled out for Sunday.
Inside The Scheme
While the results weren't pretty finishing 27th overall in points scored thanks to a rash of injuries, the Rams kept to status quo in regard to how they ran their offense. Continuing to be the modern Godfather of 11 personnel, McVay deployed one back, one tight end, three receiver looks a league-high 90 percent of the time on first down even without Stafford available for most of the season. Aiming to master the art of deception, they also finished in the top five with 56 percent of their early down snaps being under center in singleback formations.
Moving forward, Los Angeles should continue to be an 11 personnel heavy team. But if there's an area where major changes could be on the horizon, the arrival of Mike LaFleur as offensive coordinator likely will shake up the run game. According to Pro Football Focus, the Rams ranked fifth in the NFL in duo run concepts last season, while LaFleur's Jets ranked dead last at just 3.5 percent. Returning to his roots after coaching under Kyle Shanahan for several years with the 49ers, look for the new playcaller to lean more heavily on midzone and outside zone concepts.
With Jalen Ramsey shipped to Miami, the Rams may have to make some schematic tweaks without the star defender playing their "star" role.
Defensively, though the Rams run a 3-4 defense similar to the one the Seahawks now deploy, PFF charted them in base only 15 percent of the time in 2022. Instead, they spent nearly a third of their snaps in 3-3-5 nickel looks, maximizing Ramsey's skill set as the "star" defender who could play outside cornerback, in the slot, or in the box. With Ramsey now in Miami, Wagner back in Seattle, and Donald back healthy, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the team use more base looks and blitz a bit less than 26.8 percent as they did a year ago.
Specifically, Carroll is looking forward to seeing how Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris utilizes a "quick, aggressive" secondary minus Ramsey from a schematic standpoint. Though they don't have any players offering the departed All-Pro's size, length, and physicality, several youngsters such as cornerbacks Derion Kendrick and Cobie Durant gained valuable experience while flashing as rookies last year, including playing in both games against the Seahawks.
"The quickness is what really shows up in their ability to cover and stay tight to people," Carroll said. "We're anxious to see how they do it [without Ramsey]. Are they going to stay with their scheme that they've had and they had in the preseason? Or will they play more man-to-man with those guys? We'll find out, but it's a talented group athletically and they're just young."
