The Los Angeles Rams opened the season as Super Bowl favorites, and through six weeks, they sit at 2-4 with a 41 percent chance to make the playoffs. After losing to the Cardinals, the Rams hit rock bottom and the season continues to spiral.
Naturally, the overreactions have started pouring in. Sean McVay should give up playcalling duties and needs to be on the hot seat. The Rams blew it with a super team. The list goes on. Let's break down five of the biggest overreactions surrounding the Rams and determine which ones are justified.
Sean McVay Needs to Give Up Playcalling Duties
Following the loss to the Cardinals, one of the primary talking points is how Sean McVay needs to give up playcalling. McVay certainly hasn’t been perfect, and his call on 4th-and-1 against the Cardinals wasn’t good. However, he’s still one of the NFL’s best offensive minds and playcallers. It simply doesn’t make sense to take that away from him and give it to an offensive coordinator in his first season. McVay may be part of the problem right now, but he’s also a big part of the solution.
Overreaction Validity: 2/10
The Rams' Super Team Experiment Is Already a Failure
For much of the offseason, the Rams were labeled a super team. To be fair, nobody on the team mentioned that phrase. The Rams understood that they looked good on paper, but still had to prove it on the field. With that said, the super team that the media has referred to hasn’t played a single snap together. Myles Garrett wasn’t 100 percent in Week 1 and Aaron Donald didn’t make the trip.
Garrett was immediately placed on injured reserve and the Rams have been managing injuries ever since. We may not see the “Super Team” at full strength this season, but it’s unfair to call the experiment a failure the vision of the roster never came to fruition in the first place.
Overreaction Validity: 1/10
It's Time for the Rams to Turn to Ty Simpson
It might not be time to start Ty Simpson, but it’s time to at least make him the backup. Much like McVay, Stafford deserves some blame for the Rams’ early-season troubles, but he’s also a big part of the solution. An argument can be made that the game against the Eagles isn't close with Simpson under center, given that Stafford threw two ill-advised interceptions. The Rams may have beaten the Cardinals with Simpson. A time may come when the Rams do decide to start their rookie quarterback, but the only player capable of digging this team out of the current hole it's in is Stafford.
Overreaction Validity: 5/10
Chris Shula Is the Problem With the Rams Defense
We’ve been doing the same exhausting dance with the Rams’ defensive coordinators going back to Raheem Morris. This isn’t to say that the defense is faultless. However, they made a play that should have won the game against the Buffalo Bills. They held the Cardinals to 18 points and 0-for-5 in the red zone. A McVay-led offense should be expected to score 20 points against the worst scoring defense in the NFL.
Through six weeks, the Rams’ defense ranks 10th in defensive DVOA and third in yards allowed per game. That’s without Garrett and other key pieces in several games. Shula has implemented the exact style of defense that fans wanted early in the season.
Overreaction Validity: 4/10
The Rams Should Be Sellers at the Trade Deadline
It’s going to be interesting to see what the Rams do at the trade deadline. With that said, Les Snead isn’t known to sell assets and call it a season. The Rams could certainly trade Byron Young and get decent draft capital in return. However, it’s hard to see them going that route.
It’s more likely that the Rams stand pat or make a move to improve the roster. While the Rams didn’t make the playoffs in 2019, they traded for Austin Corbett and Jalen Ramsey. In 2022, they made calls on Christian McCaffrey and Brian Burns. The Rams may not make a splashy move, but Les Snead will likely be actively working the phones.
Overreaction Validity: 6/10
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