LOS ANGELES — In their divisional round playoff victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, the Rams struggled to adjust to the defensive back blitzes the Bears were deploying. Quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t complete a pass in his first seven attempts against these types of pressures while taking three sacks.
Part of it was just the game plan of Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen giving the Rams issues. But it was also a product of some difficult communication at the line of scrimmage given the noise level at Soldier Field.
As the Rams prepare for this weekend’s NFC championship game against the Seattle Seahawks, they understand they’ll be heading into one of the most hostile stadiums in the NFL in Lumen Field. And with that “12th man” looming to the north, they believe that communication will be at a premium for the offense to operate as it needs to secure a spot in the Super Bowl.
“That’s both myself, everybody up front, our backs, it takes everybody,” Stafford said Wednesday. “When you go into an environment like [Chicago] or the environment that we’re going into here on Sunday in Seattle, everybody’s gotta be on the same page and communicate. That’s what offense is all about. You gotta have 11 people working as one.”
And the Rams were able to make some adjustments later in the game, either with running backs picking up pressures or Stafford going through his progressions faster.
Head coach Sean McVay feels like coaching can play a factor in it, too. He said that against Chicago he overcomplicated some play calls, making it difficult for players to execute after the snap.
“It’s going to be an outstanding atmosphere and environment, but we can’t afford to have some of those things,” McVay said. “That’s where we as coaches have to make sure, alright, are we providing the opportunity for our guys to play fast, free and physical but also not just run wasted plays because they do such a great job. So you’re always finding that good balance and that’s something that we’ve worked pretty hard about.”
But the Seahawks are their own type of complication. The group typically doesn’t send a lot of extra rushers, preferring to rely on four-man pressures with twists and stunts to throw off offensive lines. In the last matchup with the Rams, however, Seattle went against type and threw some blitzes for Stafford and the line to decipher.
It’s the kind of thing that the Seahawks can do now in their second year under head coach and defensive play caller Mike Macdonald with more comfort in the base defense and ways to play off of it.
“The more time you get into a system, obviously the better you can be,” Stafford said. “I think [linebacker and former Ram Ernest Jones IV] is playing at an all-time level and playing great in the middle. He’s kind of running the show for those guys. The front’s great, the secondary’s great. You look at it, they’re a really well-rounded defense.”
INJURY REPORT
Rams safety Quentin Lake was away from the team on Wednesday with an illness. McVay said he hopes that Lake is able to rejoin the team in the coming days.
Cornerback Emmanuel Forbes (shoulder) and outside linebacker Byron Young (knee) were both limited in Wednesday’s estimated practice report (the Rams held a walk through on Wednesday).