Opportunity knocks, McLeod answers
In the spring of 2012, Rams secondary coach Chuck Cecil attended the University of Virginia’s pro day. It turned out to be the best bad scouting trip he ever made because of Rodney McLeod.
“It wasn’t to watch Rodney; it was to watch another player that’ll remain unnamed,” Cecil said.
“The other player could not have performed any worse. Everything about his workout was bad. So I was a little disappointed that I’d put forth a couple days of my life to go watch that.”
However, he didn’t leave Charlottesville disappointed. Cecil said McLeod was “OK” watching him on film, but seeing him in person was something else — something much better than OK.
“He was the first one in line; he ran the show,” Cecil recalled. “He got the players where they had to be.”
When you combine those intangibles with McLeod’s athletic ability, Cecil and the Rams figured he was worth a shot as an undrafted rookie in 2012. After making the 53-man roster, McLeod led the team in special teams stops (16). His highlight moment came in the Rams’ 24-24 tie Nov. 11 in San Francisco when he caught a 21-yard pass from Johnny Hekker on a fake punt for a first down.
With 2012 starters Craig Dahl and Quintin Mikell rarely leaving the field, McLeod was in for only four plays at safety all season: three against the New York Jets and one against Buffalo. But he had shown enough improvement that by the final couple of weeks of the season, he was next in line for playing time if anybody got hurt in the secondary.
Fast forward to May and June. While projected starter Darian Stewart spent most off the spring practice period sidelined with a calf injury, McLeod kept improving. And when Stewart suffered a hamstring injury in the Green Bay preseason game Aug. 17, McLeod took advantage of the opportunity.
While Stewart remains sidelined, McLeod has become the team’s starting free safety, making his first NFL start Sunday against Arizona.
“It’s definitely a great opportunity, so I’m just trying to step up, fill the role, and do what I need to do to help this team out,” he said.
McLeod said he’s a better player than he was a year ago: “Just from experience. The more you play this game, the more you’ve been around, the better your game gets and progresses. So I feel like I’ve made some steps from Year 1 to Year 2.”
One of the biggest areas of improvement is awareness and recognition of what he’s looking at.
“I feel like certain situation, certain formations, I see quicker than I did last year,” McLeod said.
McLeod was voted special teams captain by his teammates at the end of preseason play, and even though he’s starting now, he was in for nearly half the team’s special teams plays against Arizona. One reason McLeod has excelled on special team is his tackling ability in the open field running down punts and kickoffs — a skill he carried over to defense.
“If you’re a good tackler on special teams, then you’re gonna be a good tackler in the field for the most part,” Cecil said. “Because that’s all special teams tackling is — it’s all about angles. It’s just geometry. And then obviously, the desire. Do you want to? He has all that.”
And more.
“He only does what he’s supposed to do, which is kind of a good thing for a player,” Cecil said. “He lines up where he’s supposed to be, he covers who he’s supposed to cover, and he tackles who he’s supposed to tackle. Basically all he does is everything right. It’s hard to ask a player to do much more than that.
“Could he be an inch taller, two inches taller? Five more pounds heavier? Yeah, sure. But the bottom line is, he’s a good football player. And when you say that, there’s a lot of things that that involves.”
McLeod got his feet wet early on Sunday, crashing down the line of scrimmage to tackle Arizona running back Rashard Mendenhall for a one-yard loss on the Cardinals’ first offensive play.
Paired with rookie T.J. McDonald at safety, the inexperienced tandem got the job done for the most part in the Rams’ 27-24 victory.
“I thought they both played well,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “There’s room for improvement, like everybody, but I thought they were active. There weren’t any mistakes — glaring mistakes — some minor technique things and some position things.”
There was one play that McLeod would like back. Namely, the 24-yard touchdown pass from Carson Palmer to Larry Fitzgerald late in the third quarter that gave the Big Red a 24-13 lead. Cornerback Cortland Finnegan lined up tight on the line of scrimmage on Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald got behind Finnegan, and there was no safety help from McLeod.
“Yeah, I was in the post,” McLeod said, meaning he was playing deep in the middle of the field. “It was third-and-five; we weren’t really expecting them to go deep in that situation.”
But deep they went. Live and learn.
“I’ve got to do a better job with that, help (Finnegan) out with that,” McLeod said.
RAM-BLINGS
To make room for the return of RB Isaiah Pead to the roster, the Rams released rookie LB Jonathan Stewart. They also released CB Darren Woodard from the practice squad. ... Former Rams QB Austin Davis was signed to the Miami practice squad.
