Sean McVay lays out the plan for playing Rams' starters in Week 18, specifically mentions three players who could see more action
The Los Angeles Rams are back in the playoffs and back on top of the NFC West with one game left in the regular season.It's quite the turn around for head coach Sean McVay's team who entered the bye week 1-4 yet continued to find gritty ways to win this season.Now, the Rams have their […]
The Los Angeles Rams are back in the playoffs and back on top of the NFC West with one game left in the regular season.
It's quite the turn around for head coach Sean McVay's team who entered the bye week 1-4 yet continued to find gritty ways to win this season.
Now, the Rams have their focus on the postseason where the team will host a Wild Card matchup at SoFi Stadium. In terms of Week 18's game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams won't have much more to play for.
Heading into Week 18, the Rams are the #3 seed in the NFC playoff picture and could only drop as low as the #4 seed with a loss on Sunday. With that in mind, McVay addressed what the plan would be for his starters during the season finale of the Coach McVay Show posted on the team's website.
"Those are always great questions you ask yourself," McVay said. "You have a responsibility as a head coach and with your coaching staff to collaborate and say 'hey we're going to compete every opportunity that we get.' You don't minimize the importance of every single game…
But relative to what's at risk and what's at reward, in terms of either or and being able to get some guys back refreshed and rejuvenated, typically we verse on the side of leaning a little more towards [resting players]. I would imagine as we continue to finalize our plans, that's really the direction that we'll go."
So there you go. It's looking like the Rams will be inclined to rest their starters on Sunday against the Seahawks, at least a few of them. McVay added the importance of being as fresh as possible going into the playoffs as a factor in the decision. That's a decision nearly every team locked into the playoffs will be determining this week.
For the Rams, McVay mentioned a few players specifically who could be line for more opportunities on Sunday, including two notable names in the backfield.
"I'm excited about watching Blake Corum get a heavy workload," McVay added. "I'm excited to see what Cody Schrader's about, I've loved what I've seen from him in these practice settings and I think Blake has flashed in some of these opportunities that he's gotten."
Corum has carried the ball 56 times this season for 197 yards and is still looking for his first career touchdown in the NFL. As for Schrader, the Rams' other rookie running back will be looking to get his first regular season action.
The Rams will also plan on working some new faces in on the offensive line and on the defensive side of the ball throughout the game. At quarterback, veteran backup Jimmy Garoppolo is also expected to get some work in for the Rams, giving some rest to starting quarterback Matthew Stafford.
"I think [Garoppolo's] a really really good football player and I'm looking forward to seeing him just go play the way that he's capable of," McVay said. "It's a great challenge against an excellent defense that's really hitting their stride at the right time."
Garoppolo has yet to appear in a regular season game for the Rams this season with Stafford playing 100% of the team's offensive snaps through 16 games. It'll be a great opportunity for Stafford to finally get some rest and for Garoppolo to see some regular season action for really the first time since Week 8 of the 2023 season while starting for the Las Vegas Raiders.
But, the players won't be the only ones potentially getting a different opportunity on Sunday. McVay even left the door open for offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur to potentially handle play-calling duties as well.
"I got such trust in Mike LaFleur and anything we do is always collaborative," McVay explained. "If this does provide an opportunity to not necessarily take a step back, but be a little bit more immersed in the total product of the team, those are things that I always want to be able to think about."
We'll see how these players, and coaches, look when given more on their plates on Sunday.