The Los Angeles Rams are moving forward after their loss to the Buffalo Bills, hosting former offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. The Cardinals, who are 1-4 this year, just lost to the Detroit Lions.
Here are three lessons from that contest the Rams can take into this week.
The tight ends will always be open if the offense is patient
The Lions dismantled the Cardinals, and the Rams should do the same on offense. Arizona does not have enough talent on defense to keep up, and its only chance is if it's able to take advantage of Alaric Jackson being suspended. To combat this, the Rams should give David Quessenberry some help while moving the pocket to the right periodically.
If the Rams run the ball and Puka Nacua gets targets early, Arizona will collapse on both,
allowing the tight ends to run free. Nacua might be doubled from the jump, meaning Colby Parkinson and Tyler Higbee should have an excellent day after Sam LaPorta had five receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Everything LaFleur does is meant to open up the underneath to set up the one-on-one for Wilson or McBride
Most times, LaFleur will use Michael Wilson and Trey McBride together to pop one of them open. McBride's go-to is the quick out, and if a linebacker is on him, Jacoby Brissett is throwing blindly. This could allow the Rams to set up a trap if Trent McDuffie can sell his coverage before biting on the pass underneath.
The whole point is for the Rams to focus on the underneath target to set up the one-on-one up top. LaFleur will look to isolate Kam Kinchens especially, setting him up for the double move.
Sometimes, LaFleur will also like to use either on play action, especially on a bootleg pass to set up tight end Teagan Quitoriano. Long story short, Quentin Lake should always be on McBride, while McDuffie or Jaylen Watson need to be on Wilson.
LaFleur is going to use a trick play at some point
LaFleur knows Sean McVay and Chris Shula like the back of his hand, and there's a virtual guarantee he's drawing up something to hurt the Rams on defense. He ran the Philly special last week successfully, and his team will need something to change momentum if needed.
Watch out for the double pass or lateral.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: 3 lessons Rams can learn from Cardinals' loss to Lions last week
