The Los Angeles Rams have gotten off to brutally slow starts in the last two years. In 2023, they were 3-6 after nine games. Last season, a 1-4 start nearly derailed their playoff chances early on.
In each of those seasons, the Rams still went on to make the playoffs, even getting to rest their starters in Week 18 because they had already clinched a berth. Their second-half surges have been impressive, but they’d rather not have to climb out of an early season hole again.
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Some point to the fact that Los Angeles doesn’t play its starters in the preseason as a reason for its slow starts. The Bengals actually changed their preseason approach this year after stumbling out of the gate last season, playing their starters this summer after resting them last year.
Sean McVay has no plans to adjust his strategy in the preseason and says that’s not to blame for the Rams’ struggles early in the season.
“I don’t, but I can see why it would be a convenient narrative,” he said. “Whatever I say is going to be an excuse. What we do is try to believe in our approach. We try to be able to simulate a lot of those settings as much as we possibly can. I think it’s about us playing well, executing at a high level. I think health is a big important part of it. Ultimately, I totally understand where people would question it based on starting 3-6 or 1-4. I’m always going to try to make the decisions and we are always going to try to make the decisions that we feel like are best for the collective and for our football team. I understand that it’s not for everybody, but there’s a lot of thought that goes into what we think is best. I’m hopeful that we’ll start the right way. We got a great challenge against a team we have a ton of respect for.”
The Rams face the Texans in Week 1 next Sunday, a difficult opponent right off the bat. Matthew Stafford and the rest of the Rams’ starters took no snaps in the preseason, but McVay doesn’t think that’ll have an adverse effect.
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It’s the old debate of rest vs. rust, but it’s obvious McVay would rather have his team healthy to start the year, a blueprint many teams now follow.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Rams’ Sean McVay doesn’t think preseason rest causes slow starts