About the Ram run D in 2019...

[Rams43]

I’ve been thinking...

Here are some personnel changes that should have a ripple effect in improving the Ram run D, and in no particular order:

Gaines next to AD. No disrespect intended for Suh, but he was a disappointment in the regular season.

Having Mathews at times playing ILB. That’s gotta be an upgrade.

Having Rapp playing a hybrid 3-Safety role in dime packages. Can’t even imagine how Rapp can make life more difficult for opposing O’s to both run or pass.

Kiser in base D should clearly be superior to Barron against the run. I mean, that’s his whole thing.

Now, if Ebu or Obo can show up and contain we might be onto something.

So yeah, I think our run D is gonna be significantly improved this year.

Do I sense a plan at work here during FA and the draft? Lol.

 

[nighttrain]

in a word, we Gaines a lot
train

 

[XXXIVwin]

If only there were a thread with almost the exact same title...from yesterday perhaps.... (Just joshin’ ya 43, no biggie whatsoever of course!)

I’m still concerned about the Rams run D, but hoping for the best. Gaines looks great, but that’s a lot to expect a 4th round rookie to be an immediate starter.

As for the Rams base 3-4, I kinda assumed Matthews and Littleton on the inside, with Ebu and Fowler on the edges. I liked the Kiser pick...and thought he made some splash plays on ST... but why should we assume he’d be an ‘upgrade’ when he did not play one single down on defense in 2019? One poster (was it Akrasian, maybe?) said he heard the Rams’ main concern about Kiser was the ability to cover. If so, that might explain his lack of PT.

Look, I like to chug the kool-aid as much as the next guy... but losing Suh and replacing him with a 4th round rookie...well, I’m hoping for the best, but I’m not sold yet.

I think Snead still is going to make another move to shore up the beef on interior D. I think the Rams would prefer to keep Brockers at DE, and not try to beef him up like in 2017. But having Smart and SJD as the only 2 backups to Gaines sounds risky...hard to put faith in a couple of former 6th rounders who haven’t flashed much yet. My guess is the Rams bring in a vet NT (like Wilkerson, if ankle is healthy) to compete with Gaines at the nose.

 

[TheTackle]

We have a lot of unknowns heading into camp, with some young players battling for starting spots

I totally agree that one or two vets might be added to the mix.

I am looking forward to seeing what Obo has. Can Ebu push on? Will the real Fowler stand up? How much does Mathews have left in the tank? Many of us thought they would go Edge and/or MLB in the draft, so it will interesting to see how this plays out

 

[SteveBrown]

Can the Rams go worse than 5.1--- I think not....Matthews/Kiser and Gaines with the attitude might be a significant difference.

THe more points the Rams put up on offense, the less they have to worry about little details like run defense, lol.
Fowler is not an upgrade over Fowler, and Matthews at OLB as a pass rusher aint' much. THe pass defense is my concern.

 

[snackdaddy]

I've been saying this for a while now. I believe we will see a better defense this season. I also believe we might see a slight dip on offense with defenses getting more of a feel on McVay's tendencies. Not a whole lot mind you. I feel like there won't be as many 32 point games but more like 28 or 29. Still good though. I expect the defense to make up for that and the point differential still be close to the same.

The key is Peters and Talib. I think Wade realized Peters is much better off the receiver. It seemed like Peters got better when he started playing back more. He's a guy who's instincts allow him to react to the ball when he can see both the QB and WR. Early in the season it looked like Wade had him pressing receivers more and he got toasted quite a bit.

 

[Ramstien]

I also believe we might see a slight dip on offense with defenses getting more of a feel on McVay's tendencies.

I think Henderson is going to add another dimension for this offense. McVay will be creative on how he uses him.

 

[FrantikRam]

The 11 best players on defense this year are better than the 11 best from last year - especially if you factor in what Suh actually did in the regular season. Playoffs may be another issue, but we have to get there first.

 

[Legatron4]

I wonder what the chances are that Suh comes back.

 

[Akrasian]

I wonder what the chances are that Suh comes back.

Close to zero. They just don't have cap room, and I don't expect him to sign a bargain basement contract. I expect him to sign elsewhere after the comp pick deadline.

FWIW, I expect the Rams to sign a few vets to vet minimum contracts after that, to provide depth.

 

[Merlin]

Rams are going to focus the run game from camp on. You can just tell based on this draft that it was a huuuge priority to improve there so yeah it's gonna be something they push too which matters.

Re: Matthews they need to move him around for most effectiveness. Having him in there as an old guy hammering in the run game isn't a good plan. Here and there, with rests, sure. But he needs to go out on the edge too and it will give teams something to think about pre-snap that adds to the QB confusion and pressure on the offense.

 

[snackdaddy]

Rams are going to focus the run game from camp on. You can just tell based on this draft that it was a huuuge priority to improve there so yeah it's gonna be something they push too which matters.

Re: Matthews they need to move him around for most effectiveness. Having him in there as an old guy hammering in the run game isn't a good plan. Here and there, with rests, sure. But he needs to go out on the edge too and it will give teams something to think about pre-snap that adds to the QB confusion and pressure on the offense.

I would think they'll limit Matthews snaps. If so, we should see more of Kiser on run plays. We'll find out if he's ready. Rapp might see significant snaps with his versatility.

 

[PressureD41]

All the Def players we drafted are good to great tacklers and have the mindset to be a force vs. The run. So I think we will be better. Not sold on Fabio Mathews to be honest. I hope he only get 20-30% snaps per game and someone else steps up. I think Fabio’s gas tank is closer to empty than even 1/4 tank.