Secret Ingredients of Rams’ Success: Running it up the gut

There’s no secret to the way Spagnuolo wants to attack you on offense, particularly when the Rams have the lead. He wants to stuff the ball down your throat. With the game on the line, Spagnuolo approached his running back on the sideline and essentially said, “Win the game for us.” And with five consecutive clock-draining runs, that’s exactly what he did. These consecutive runs were gutsy play-calls, particularly the inside draw on a critical third and five. The Rams have not been a very strong or consistent interior running team under Spagnuolo, and part of the problem has been continuity on the offensive line. As Ron Clements points out, though, continuity is now here: this week will make seven consecutive games with the same O-line, the longest such streak since 2003. And as Jackson approaches Eric Dickerson’s franchise record for running yards, the attitude of the big uglies is changing. For the better. The linemen view themselves as a fist, w...