Former Los Angeles Rams tackle Andrew Whitworth threw his weight behind Kyle Brandt’s blistering criticism of the Rams’ “controversial” travel plan after their ugly 27-7 smackdown by the San Francisco 49ers in Australia. Seriously, it was a rough one.
When “Too Smart” Just Means Flat-Out Dumb
Brandt ripped into the Rams’ strategy, and honestly, who could blame him? He said they “tried too hard to be smart,” that they “got too cute.” The Rams stayed in California until Tuesday, then hopped on a 15-hour flight to Melbourne, arriving a measly 28 hours before kickoff. Their grand plan? Fly back immediately after the game. Brandt pointed out the obvious: limited recovery time was gonna absolutely gash the players. You could see it on the field, with the Rams looking straight-up sluggish and Damien Harris even saying they “looked gassed.”
And the stats don’t lie, man. Matthew Stafford threw no touchdown, which is wild because he hadn’t done that in 17 games! Myles Garrett, zero tackles. Let that sink in. Brandt hammered the sleep angle, too. The Rams thought their guys would just snooze on the plane. “Some people can’t sleep on planes. It’s a talent,” Brandt quipped. He specifically called out Alaric Jackson, their 6’7″, 340-pound left tackle, wondering how much “good rest” seat 12B could possibly offer a guy built like that. “It was ambitious,” Brandt said, and yeah, it was. Ambitious and seemingly misguided.
Whitworth’s Verdict: Sleep Ain’t No Joke on a Long Haul
Whitworth, a guy who actually played for the Rams from 2017 through 2022 and made multiple international trips with them, chimed in on social media and gave Brandt’s argument some serious teeth. He laid it bare: “I have never slept on a plane in my life.” Boom. He added that on every London trip, the Rams made him try to sleep instead of practicing on the Friday they arrived. So his take? “You do make a fair point on the sleep thing.” That’s real context coming from someone who lived it, confirming that expecting players to catch Zs on a long-haul flight is creating problems.
Brandt even called out the obvious absurdity, asking if the Rams would dare to run back the same plan two months from now. His answer? “B.S. There is no way.” Coach Sean McVay tried to defend it, saying, “I don’t believe the travel plan is why we didn’t play well enough.” But come on. The team managed only 290 total yards against San Francisco. They developed this “strategy” after talking to sleep experts and testing stuff out. But the proof is in the pudding, or in this case, the embarrassing loss.
The Rams have a chance to turn this around when they face the New York Giants on September 21. Hopefully, they figure out how to get their guys rested and ready, because whatever they tried “down under,” it sure didn’t work. The league’s definitely watching after that bizarre performance.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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