Rams bye week: Here are 5 changes Sean McVay needs to make after the bye

The Los Angeles Rams are in their bye week in Week 6 and are currently 1-4. In 2021 and last year, head coach Sean McVay was able to make changes that led to late-season runs. If the Rams want to turn their season around, they need to change a few things. Here are five things the Rams need to do after the bye.

1. Make the change at linebacker

We're at a point in the season where you have to wonder what the Rams really have to lose by playing Omar Speights and/or Jake Hummel at linebacker. Of course it can always get worse, but how big is the gap between Speights and Troy Reeder or Speights and Rozeboom?

As the season progresses, the offenses begin to attack them more and more. It made sense to start the season with Reeder and Rozeboom after Ernest Jones was traded. They are the most experienced linebackers in the system. However, the Rams have a week to potentially get someone like Speights more up to speed. The end of the bye week would be the perfect time for such a change.

2. Get Davis Allen more involved in the offense

There were fewer players who received as much hype from the fan base early in the season as second-year tight end Davis Allen. Despite all the hype, Allen has had zero hits on two targets this year. Some of these may have blocking reasons. However, to this point, Colby Parkinson has been a disappointment as a free agent signing and Hunter Long offers limited upside.

Allen showed at times last year that he could be a threat in close quarters and on tight end screens. He is currently on pace for fewer goals than last season. Given how much trouble the Rams have in the red zone, giving a player of Allen's size more opportunities could be beneficial. The Rams will get Tyler Higbee back at some point, but until then Allen still needs to see some reps.

3. The team needs more consistency

In the first five weeks, using youth as an excuse for missed tackles and small mistakes was a valid justification. Players like Jared Verse and Braden Fiske became accustomed to the speed of the NFL. The Rams were without Darious Williams in the secondary, forcing younger players to step up.

Ultimately, however, it is simply a young squad. The Rams are 1-4 and find themselves at a point where the season ends now or never. Either the rookies figure it out and the Rams turn it around, or there will continue to be growing pains and the results will show that. The Rams need to find consistency and learn to play for 60 minutes. This squad certainly has some talent, but inconsistency in crucial moments is hurting them.

4. Find more layups in the red zone

Hopefully this week will give Sean McVay the freedom to go back to the drawing board when it comes to red zone offense. There was certainly some bad luck, but overall the Rams can and must be much better in this area of ​​the field.

The Rams made things far too difficult in the first five weeks of the season. They made an area of ​​the field with already narrow windows and small borders even smaller. Simply put, the Rams need to find more layups in the red zone and make it easier for themselves. Whether it's more play-action or using bootlegs, the offense needs to create more variety in the red zone to become less predictable.

5. Mix in more Blake Corum

In Week 5, the Rams finally put Blake Corum to work and the rookie was able to show what he can do. Corum averaged five yards per carry and showed some quickness and explosiveness that should pair well with Kyren Williams.

After the bye week, Corum needs to be used more frequently. That's not to say Williams' options should be limited, but Corum should get 5-8 carries per game. The Rams drafted him in the third round and he needs to be a player who consistently contributes. Hopefully Week 5 was just a glimpse, but it will be interesting to see how the Rams handle this bye duo.