- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 8,874
2014 offseason in review: Gregg Williams
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/16064/2014-offseason-in-review-gregg-williams
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The 2015 edition of NFL free agency is set to begin on March 10 with a new batch of players set to hit the market and teams in pursuit of those players.
But before we look to the future, let's take a look back at what the St. Louis Rams accomplished in 2014. We'll start with a little different angle before we dive into the players the Rams acquired last year by looking at the man who turned out to be their biggest offseason addition: defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
Reason for addition: After some deliberation, Rams coach Jeff Fisher decided that young coordinator Tim Walton wasn't the right guy for the job. But before parting ways with Walton, Fisher and Williams had some fences to mend. They were once close friends and Fisher had originally intended to bring Williams with him to St. Louis in 2012. The NFL suspended Williams for his role in the bounty scandal in New Orleans and those plans went awry. As Fisher and Williams moved forward, Fisher decided to bring Williams to the Rams from Tennessee, where he had worked as a defensive assistant. With a lot of young defensive talent in place in St. Louis, it became clear Fisher wanted a veteran presence to help that group take the next step.
What he brought: Known as one of the most aggressive and creative defensive minds in the league, Williams brought his mad-scientist blitz packages and coverage schemes to St. Louis. While his defensive system is rooted in the same principles as Fisher, Williams asks a lot of his players. It's a complicated scheme that takes some getting used to, but it's clear that when it's working, it can be as effective as any in the league.
The Rams offered a prime example of a team that needed a little bit of time for its many of its young defenders to grasp and comprehend the defense. After a rough start to the season -- the Rams had one of the worst run defenses in the league and only one sack in the first five weeks -- the light started to come on about halfway through the season. From Week 9 on, the Rams finished third in the league in scoring defense (allowing 16 points per game), 10th in yards allowed per game (333), fourth in run defense (83.89), ranked third with an average of a sack on 10.2 percent of opponents' dropbacks and their 34 sacks in that time tied with the New York Giants for most in the league in that span.
There were hiccups in the final weeks, including an embarrassing performance against the Giants. But for the most part, the defense was dominant enough to keep the Rams in or win many of their games over the season's second half.
What's next: Williams will be back for his second run with the defense. The Rams return all of their starters and the bulk of their key backups. Considering their relative youth at so many positions, there's no reason to believe this group won't be even better and far more consistent than it was in 2014. In fact, it should be reasonable to expect this group to make the leap into a top-10 -- or better -- unit in 2015. Much of that might depend on how much help they get from the offense, but barring injury, the talent, scheme and coach is in place for this to be one of the league's most fearsome units.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/16064/2014-offseason-in-review-gregg-williams
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The 2015 edition of NFL free agency is set to begin on March 10 with a new batch of players set to hit the market and teams in pursuit of those players.
But before we look to the future, let's take a look back at what the St. Louis Rams accomplished in 2014. We'll start with a little different angle before we dive into the players the Rams acquired last year by looking at the man who turned out to be their biggest offseason addition: defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
Reason for addition: After some deliberation, Rams coach Jeff Fisher decided that young coordinator Tim Walton wasn't the right guy for the job. But before parting ways with Walton, Fisher and Williams had some fences to mend. They were once close friends and Fisher had originally intended to bring Williams with him to St. Louis in 2012. The NFL suspended Williams for his role in the bounty scandal in New Orleans and those plans went awry. As Fisher and Williams moved forward, Fisher decided to bring Williams to the Rams from Tennessee, where he had worked as a defensive assistant. With a lot of young defensive talent in place in St. Louis, it became clear Fisher wanted a veteran presence to help that group take the next step.
What he brought: Known as one of the most aggressive and creative defensive minds in the league, Williams brought his mad-scientist blitz packages and coverage schemes to St. Louis. While his defensive system is rooted in the same principles as Fisher, Williams asks a lot of his players. It's a complicated scheme that takes some getting used to, but it's clear that when it's working, it can be as effective as any in the league.
The Rams offered a prime example of a team that needed a little bit of time for its many of its young defenders to grasp and comprehend the defense. After a rough start to the season -- the Rams had one of the worst run defenses in the league and only one sack in the first five weeks -- the light started to come on about halfway through the season. From Week 9 on, the Rams finished third in the league in scoring defense (allowing 16 points per game), 10th in yards allowed per game (333), fourth in run defense (83.89), ranked third with an average of a sack on 10.2 percent of opponents' dropbacks and their 34 sacks in that time tied with the New York Giants for most in the league in that span.
There were hiccups in the final weeks, including an embarrassing performance against the Giants. But for the most part, the defense was dominant enough to keep the Rams in or win many of their games over the season's second half.
What's next: Williams will be back for his second run with the defense. The Rams return all of their starters and the bulk of their key backups. Considering their relative youth at so many positions, there's no reason to believe this group won't be even better and far more consistent than it was in 2014. In fact, it should be reasonable to expect this group to make the leap into a top-10 -- or better -- unit in 2015. Much of that might depend on how much help they get from the offense, but barring injury, the talent, scheme and coach is in place for this to be one of the league's most fearsome units.
