Anyone worried about the secondary?

  • To unlock all of features of Rams On Demand please take a brief moment to register. Registering is not only quick and easy, it also allows you access to additional features such as live chat, private messaging, and a host of other apps exclusive to Rams On Demand.

Boston Ram

Hall of Fame
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
3,557
I am concerned but Williams style of defense plays better to the strengths of our backs, Johnson and Jenkins specifically, so Im slightly optimistic. I think ultimately our front 4 will make up for any deficiencies back there. I think Joyner will also have a decent impact even for a rookie. So with better coaching and some better talent back there it hopefully wont be such a sore spot
 

RamFan503

Grill and Brew Master
Moderator
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
33,812
Name
Stu
I'm intrigued. Every team has weaknesses. If the backfield is the weakest part of our team and it has players like McD, JJ, TJ plus some young potential, I like our situation when comparing the entire D to the rest of the NFL. Obviously, we can't start out the season on D the way we did last year. That is where Williams comes in. I think we have plenty of talent to come out thumping. I am definitely more concerned about the offense coming out playing like they are all on the same page. If that happens, we are contenders for the SB.
 

bluecoconuts

Legend
Joined
May 28, 2011
Messages
13,073
I'm interested in seeing how it all unfolds for sure. If Jenkins can play like he's capable of (it's mostly mental mistakes that get him) and Johnson as well then our corner position is okay. My biggest concern there is mental. At safety I want to know who is going to be the ballhawk. Other than Jenkins I'm not really sure who we have back there who has that ability to get those turnovers. I want another OJ type player who just has a nose for turnovers, I'm not sure who it is right now though.
 

RamFan503

Grill and Brew Master
Moderator
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
33,812
Name
Stu
I'm interested in seeing how it all unfolds for sure. If Jenkins can play like he's capable of (it's mostly mental mistakes that get him) and Johnson as well then our corner position is okay. My biggest concern there is mental. At safety I want to know who is going to be the ballhawk. Other than Jenkins I'm not really sure who we have back there who has that ability to get those turnovers. I want another OJ type player who just has a nose for turnovers, I'm not sure who it is right now though.
Not sure we will have that player at Safety. I am thinking however that Tree will help in that regard and JJ could potentially be allowed to return to that part of his game. I would not be surprised at all though to see McD and TJ force some fumbles as well. I think our other safety will be expected more to prevent big plays and man up against TEs trying to come up the seam.
 

bluecoconuts

Legend
Joined
May 28, 2011
Messages
13,073
Yeah Mcdonald especially, dude trucks people like an abrams, he's going to knock some balls lose for sure, I'm not worried about forcing fumbles, but I like to see the ability to follow guys in coverage for a long time and get those deep toss ups. With mobile QBs in our division we need guys capable of doing that.

Although I'm really hoping to see Mcdonald lay someone out when they scramble away from our dline. I don't care if it's muppet boy or the dwarf, I just wanna see it.
 

Alan

Legend
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Messages
9,765
I agree with that Ramrasta. I see him as strictly a SS type. At the time in the draft where we chose him there wasn't any quality left so if he improves our depth then great but if not meh. Except in special cases, I don't really care who they draft below the 3rd round. Even in a supposedly "deep" draft.
 

thirteen28

I like pizza.
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Jan 15, 2013
Messages
8,324
Name
Erik
My worries about the secondary decreased exponentially when I heard the news that Tim Walton was fired. They fell even further when we hired Gregg Williams (who will better put them in a position to succeed) and even further yet when we drafted Aaron Donald (who, along with the rest of our front four will make their job easier). I still have some concern about safety, but I'm not sweating bullets.
 

RamsOfCastamere

I drink things, and know nothing
Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Messages
7,701
I think the secondary will be fine if Joyner starts off as fast as Honey Badger did last season. Of course we don't want the finish..
 

DaveFan'51

Old-Timer
Rams On Demand Sponsor
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
18,666
Name
Dave
By my records Safeties only accounted for "1" sack all of last season, so I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that under Williams's guidance that Total well go way up this year 6+ ?
 

Yamahopper

Hall of Fame
Joined
Jul 31, 2010
Messages
3,838
I lived through the Rod Hood and Justin King duo so no, I'm not worried. The Rams have more depth now than they have had in years. By mid- season there will be very little drop off from the starters to the backups. But the biggest improvement will be Williams scheme instead of Waltons.
 

Robocop

Pro Bowler
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
Messages
1,933
Name
J.
I think the 2ndary should be improved with aggressive defense but I do have concerns if Jenkins and Johnson have lost any swagger? I at times last year saw them lost in coverage.
Walton was a joke. and wether it was Finnegan being bitter or truthful he was right. Walton seemed to have NO idea what he was doing. i dont think Jenkins is built to play zone like that. he needs to be face to face with his man especially if the QB is having to get rid of the ball in 3-4 seconds. i see Jenkins highlights in 2014 like those in his rookie year. Keeping the Oline healthy IMO is a bigger concern to keep the run game pounding and bradford time
 

theramsruleUK

Pro Bowler
Joined
Oct 21, 2013
Messages
1,079
Im concerned about our secondary, but like they said on the rams addiction podcast, williams will sort that out anyway. More concerned about our OL
 

Oldgeek

I'm old and can't wait another 20 years for a SB W
Joined
Jun 28, 2011
Messages
640
Name
Steve
I don't think Finnegan was as bad as he looked last season. He has lost some speed and playing 10 yards off the receiver prevented him from jamming and trash talking the WR at the LOS, you take away the best part of Cortland's game. The DBs are young but talented, so I expect some mistakes and some big plays.
 

brokeu91

The super shrink
Joined
Jul 10, 2010
Messages
5,546
Name
Michael
The positions I'm worried about is FS (or the safety other than McDonald if Williams is not doing the SS/FS thing) because we don't really have a FS type, at least not right now. I'm also worried about our 3rd CB spot. I love Joyner's attitude and potential, but he IS a rookie. He will likely struggle early in the year as all rookies do. Otherwise I'm a lot more confident about it after the draft then I was going into the draft
 

shaunpinney

Hall of Fame
Joined
Sep 20, 2012
Messages
4,805
I think our Secondary is going to be very fluid, a few of the players picked up in the off season could be diamond finds - BUT until I know what GW's going to be doing with them, I'm just sitting here quietly confident that they're going to get the job done (at least) this year. I think we struggled last year because our scheme at the back didn't suit our guys - you can have the greatest player on your team, but if you don't play him to his strengths, he's going to look like a numpty more often than not...
 

BonifayRam

Legend
Joined
Jan 14, 2013
Messages
13,435
Name
Vernon

The Ram Org. made some serious heavy 2014 additions & deletions to this secondary:
#1- Early 2014 dispersed Rams DB's Cortland Finnegan, Darian Stewart, Quinton Porter & Matt Giordano(y).
#2-Dispersed 2013 DC Walton :palm: good move!
#3-The remarriage of former Fisher top lieutenant :coach:Gregg Williams to take the charge to remake this passive secondary to a hyper aggressive unit :heh:.
#4-Signed UFA pass rushing DT Alex Carrington to bring to add fuel to the fire burning fast on DL pressure.
#5-First Rd. pick of the top pass rushing DT in the 2014 draft & SEC awarded pass rushing DL'er Micheal Sam to bring more pressure.
#6-Utilized FOUR 2014 draft selections on talented secondary prospects.
#7-Added 4 interesting & talented UDFA's DB's.

As a whole I would rate the above excellent moves by this Ram Management as OUTSTANDING! Its been decades since we have seen such a beefing up of the Ram secondary like this....this is going to be really fun!:snicker: