The Los Angeles Rams are taking on the 0-6 Los Angeles Chargers today, and if they want to avoid handing their cross-town rivals their first win, they will have to watch out for these potential pitfalls.
The return of Karty
Kicker Joshua Karty was signed to the practice squad this week, joining up with the team that removed him as the starter just one season ago. It's believed his addition and subsequent activation are part of the franchise's new effort to correct their issues with kickoff coverage.
His "knuckleball" kickoffs should bounce in an odd way, forcing a returner to focus on the direction the ball may bounce, freezing him in place long enough for the Rams' coverage to get to him. What if Karty doesn't have it anymore? Even worse, what if he does, and that
still doesn't solve the problem?
Whatever the team decides to do, if Karty is the option, the season might be riding on this idea being an instant fix to a long-standing issue. If it is, the Rams will have to keep two kickers on the roster, and that's its own issue.
Giving Chargers hope late in the game
The Chargers should not win this game, but the more they stay in the fight, the more hope they will have, and hope to a desperate man in a violent sport is a dangerous thing. Whatever happens, the Chargers cannot have the ball in a game-winning scenario that is less than 50 yards from the end zone.
Studying the Chargers, they can go at most about 67 yards in a drive. Sometimes they might shock; most times they'll just punt.
If they have to go on a game-winning drive, make sure they start on their side of the field. However, just letting them find another way to lose is way more effective. Play field position, take points (if they even can at this point) when given, and build a multi-possession lead without giving the Chargers a short field – and more importantly, hope.
McDaniel finds the edge
With the speed Mike McDaniel has at the running back position, the most effective element of the Chargers' offense is the outside run. Omarion Hampton, Keaton Mitchell, and Kimani Vidal have all had standout plays this season. The Rams need to keep everything inside when they can limit space and force Herbert into passing, especially on third down.
Stop the run, win the game. The way to stop the run is to force them to run between the tackles. Why? They simply can't do it.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams' 3 biggest causes for concern vs. Chargers in Week 8
