The Rams got the kind of ground game they’ve been waiting for in Week 7, and Blake Corum was a big reason why.
With attention on Kyren Williams after his comments following last week’s loss to the Cardinals, Los Angeles made sure to feature its backfield against the Raiders. Williams handled 16 carries for a season-high 99 yards, but Corum was the one who flashed the kind of rhythm the Rams need if this offense is going to hold up.
Corum turned in his best performance of the season with 17 carries for 93 yards and a touchdown. It came on the heels of a small step forward against Arizona, where he had nine carries for 42 yards after a three-game stretch in which he never topped six carries or 19 rushing yards.
That’s the version of Corum the Rams expected to see more often.
Head coach Sean McVay got him involved early in Las Vegas, and Corum answered. Through the season’s first stretch, he’s up to 316 rushing yards at 4.9 per carry, along with a career-high 15 catches for 99 yards and his first receiving touchdown.
The inconsistency has been the issue. Outside of that three-week lull, Corum has been solid or better in the other four games. That matters for a Rams team trying to keep Williams fresh while making the run game something opponents have to respect.
Corum also brings a different kind of insurance. Williams does a lot of things well - pass protection, receiving, and handling a heavy load - but ball security is one area where Corum gives Los Angeles another option.
He has only one fumble this season, and the offense recovered it. In 267 career carries, that’s his lone fumble.
Williams coughed it up for the second time this year against Las Vegas, and if that issue pops up again, Corum gives the Rams a useful change of pace. But that only works if he’s producing.
Week 7 was easily the most balanced the Rams offense has looked. It was also their most complete day on the ground.
Even back in Week 2, when they beat the Giants 28-6, the rushing attack didn’t come close to that level. Strip away three Matthew Stafford kneeldowns, and the Rams still finished with 35 carries for 202 yards.
Stafford has done plenty for this offense, but the workload has piled up fast. Los Angeles has leaned away from the run and asked the 38-year-old quarterback to throw 50-plus times per game. He leads the league in yards and completions and already has 14 passing touchdowns, but 249 attempts over the first six games is not the sort of script any team wants to live on for a 17-game season.
That is especially true for a Rams offense that hasn’t consistently generated explosives. The run game is supposed to help them stay on schedule, shield Stafford from blitz pressure and keep him standing. With Davante Adams out long-term and tight end Terrance Ferguson, the team’s most explosive threat at the position, still on injured reserve, that ground game becomes even more important.
Stafford and the Rams need the run game. The run game needs Corum.
Williams is still RB1, but if Los Angeles wants him at his freshest and most effective, Corum has to keep taking some of the load off his shoulders. From Weeks 3 to 5, Williams carried 47 times while Corum got just 16. Week 7 was the kind of response the Rams were hoping to see, and now they need Corum to keep it going.
In Other News...
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When the Rams needed help filling in around an injury-hit pass-catching group, Davis Allen gave them a useful reminder of why tight end depth matters. In Week 7 against the Raiders, he scored the teams first two touchdowns and emerged as a bigger part of the passing game than he had been in the early part of the season, a notable shift for a player who has largely been viewed as a blocking tight end.
For Los Angeles, the encouraging part is not just the production on one afternoon but the possibility that Allen can be more than a spot-duty answer if the injuries keep piling up. The Rams have been navigating issues across both their receiving corps and tight end room, and Allens expanded role gives the offense another option to lean on while the group waits for healthier days. [Read more 🡒]
Blake Corum Just Made The Rams Backfield A Real Debate
With injuries forcing Los Angeles to shuffle its offense against the Raiders, Blake Corum got a bigger look in the Rams backfield and made the most of the extra snaps. The Rams also leaned on Konata Mumpfield and Tutu Atwell at wide receiver, while using 13 personnel often and rotating bodies on defense to patch over the absences.
Corums expanded role adds another layer to a backfield that already had a clear pecking order, and now the Rams have something to sort through as they try to keep the offense steady. The wider concern, though, is whether the ripple effects at receiver push the team toward outside help before the trade deadline, especially if the current mix keeps getting stretched thin. [Read more 🡒]
Rams Are Still Waiting On A Huge Pass Rush Boost
Myles Garrett is getting closer to a potential return to practice after missing six games following knee surgery, and the Rams are finally nearing a point where they can start thinking about what that means for the defense. Sean McVay has not put a firm timetable on it, but the next step will come after he talks with medical staff and Garrett, which at least keeps the door open for a quicker ramp-up than the layoff might suggest.
Reports indicate Garrett could get back on the field in practice this week, with a possible Week 8 return also on the table. For a Rams pass rush that could use a boost, even the possibility of adding him back into the mix is significant, though the team still has to wait for the medical checkoff before anything becomes real. [Read more 🡒]