PFF: The Secret Superstars On Every NFL Roster: Rams - Maurice Alexander

[Prime Time]

To read about the other 31 teams click the link below.
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https://www.profootballfocus.com/pro-the-secret-superstars-on-every-nfl-roster/

THE SECRET SUPERSTARS ON EVERY NFL ROSTER
The biggest names get the lion's share of the publicity, but Sam Monson offers up the sneaky productive names one very NFL roster
Sam Monson


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAmY06vi0VM

As the 2017 season looms on the horizon, it’s time to take a look at some of the league’s lesser-known stars — players who have performed well but have yet to receive the recognition their play deserves.

We have run the secret superstar series before, but this time we are going to give them all to you in one block, covering each of the 32 teams in this one article.

Some of these players were rookies in 2016, but others are established veterans who either took a significant leap forward in 2016, or have simply been playing far better than their reputation would lead you to believe to date.

Without further delay, here are your NFL secret superstars:

Los Angeles Rams

S Maurice Alexander

Los Angeles Times

2016 snaps: 920

Key stat: Improved his PFF grade from 44.6 to 83.4 from 2015 to 2016.

Alexander saw 434 snaps in 2015 for the Rams, but this past season he started all year, replacing the departed Rodney McLeod. His coverage was the biggest leap in performance, and he notched two interceptions while allowing no scores when in primary coverage from his safety spot.

Alexander only really had one poor game all season, a week 12 outing against the Saints in which he missed three tackles.

 

[HitStick]

I overlook him constantly.

 

[Zero]

I overlook him constantly.

Same here.He is quietly becoming a quality player.Love it.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Loved the MO story....really liked his...wait for it...MEASUREABLES......Not sure the way he was giving ground to Shady & Blount he's a FS....but still wanted him to get one more year back there...and move Barron back to SS....

Oh well....I hope he adapts to his more physical role....

I really wanna see what Joyner does back there....:homer::flanders:

 

[wolfdogg]

One thing the fisher crew did very well was drafting defensive backs, especially outside the top 2 rounds

 

[bubbaramfan]

Wade is gonna love Mo. This will be Mo's breakout season. He's gotten noticeably better every year.

 

[Prime Time]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-maurice-alexander-20160816-snap-story.html

Rams' Maurice Alexander goes from trash to treasured
By Sam Farmer/August 16, 2016

Bleacher Report

Hours after the Rams hosted Dallas in an exhibition Saturday, crews of workers cleaned the Coliseum of all the cups, wrappers and debris of more than 80,000 people.

It’s a massive job. And one Rams safety Maurice “Mo” Alexander knows well.

Before his NFL future came into focus, and at a point when he was trying to get his life back on track, Alexander worked as a janitor at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, the venue the Rams called home for the last 20 years.

“I gained a lot of respect for people that clean that dome,” said Alexander, a fourth-round pick in 2014. “I know it’s not easy, but there’s things you’ve got to do to survive. They were things I needed to do to survive.”

Few players have had such a roundabout path to the NFL, a story somewhat reminiscent of Rams great Kurt Warner working at a grocery store before gaining traction on his Hall of Fame-worthy career.

Of course, Alexander has yet to realize the success that Warner had, and Alexander’s trash-collecting hiatus from football was the result of a big mistake he made in college.

Alexander had to work his way up a ladder of success that, by his own doing, was missing some rungs. At a party in early 2012, when he was a player at Utah State, he got into a fight with teammate Joseph DeMartino, running up and punching him on the left side of his face.

DeMartino, a running back, briefly lost consciousness and suffered broken bones in his left eye socket and a fractured cheekbone. Alexander pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault resulting in bodily injury, spent 45 days behind bars, and was kicked off the football team for the 2012 season.

After returning to his hometown of St. Louis, Alexander got the janitorial job at the Rams stadium. Though he never actually saw the team play a game during that time, he said it was soothing to him to be so close to where football was being played. He fully intended to return to Utah State to graduate, and was trying to save money toward that end.

“Some people believed in me more than I believed in myself,” said Alexander, who played his first two college seasons as an outside linebacker at Arizona Western College. “I was just focused on my degree. They were like, ‘You could be out there playing.’ ”

Sure enough, Alexander was reinstated by Utah State for the 2013 season, switched to safety, and played well enough to be the 110th overall pick. Typically for a player selected in the fourth round, Alexander had to make his mark on special teams, and for the past 1½ seasons has been a starter in all four phases: punt, punt return, kickoff and kickoff return.

“He’s a safety, so he’s a tackler,” said John Fassel, Rams special teams coach. “But what he’s really good at is blocking, which is an offensive skill. You need footwork, understanding leverage, and technique. He really picked it up. Plus, Mo is so strong in the legs. He can grab on to guys and hang on.”

It’s not surprising, then, that Alexander has shown the same tenacity in grabbing the safety position and hanging on. He’s looking to replace safety Rodney McLeod, who started 48 consecutive games for the Rams in the last three seasons and signed with Philadelphia in March.

“He has earned his stripes,” Rams General Manager Les Snead said of the 6-foot-1, 220-pound Alexander. “You always saw the size and the ability to hit.”

Some of Alexander’s best plays on special teams came when he was a gunner on the punt-coverage units. He made massive hits in games against Washington and Denver during the last two seasons.

“The punt returner’s waiting, and Mo has two blockers on him,” Fassel said. “He finds a way to swat away the blockers, and just rocking [the returner] right when he catches it. Both of those plays happened on our sideline, so all the defensive players on the sideline were going crazy right before they took the field.”

In those times when he steps back and gives it some thought, Alexander shakes his head at how far he has come.

“Mistakes happen,” he said, referring his up-and-down odyssey to the NFL spotlight. “It just depends on how you go about making up for them.”

Judging by how far he has come, this one-time janitor is cleaning up.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

Wow, every time I see a highlight video of last year those blue and yellow jerseys really pop out....

 

[Corbin]

One of my favorite Rams currently. Amazing story after a mistake in life like we all have, love how he dug in and started getting to work for himself.

Going to enjoy watching him this year with a full year of starting experience under his belt.

Championship teams are made up of non superstar consistent players like Alexzander.

 

[BonifayRam]

Big #31 fan here....Mo has shown he can play both of the safety posts without any real issues. Mo is the really big reason a very good SS TJ McDonald was not signed. Yes you might say that Mark Barron is lurking with great desires to move back into the SS post to play in this Wade D but Mo might end up being a better SS than even Mark Barron is. For me Mo would be priority #1 on my list of 2018 Ram UFA DB's to sign early next season or even earlier.

 

[So Ram]

Loved the MO story....really liked his...wait for it...MEASUREABLES......Not sure the way he was giving ground to Shady & Blount he's a FS....but still wanted him to get one more year back there...and move Barron back to SS....

Oh well....I hope he adapts to his more physical role....

I really wanna see what Joyner does back there....:homer::flanders:

I always like to drink the Kool-aide, but all that being said I've never been a fan of Joyner as a nickel CB !! Joyner fits as a FS for sure. He is a do it all kind of player who flies around the field. He reads plays well & never gives up. His short comings(no pun intended) are his size & doesn't like to get beat. He gets flagged a lot for cheating because the QB throws over the top of him. Joyner paying FS will be the aggressor & rely on his timing & reading of the play.
My vision on this is very simple. It is like a outfielder coming in on a ball vs. going out for a ball. Joyner already has stated it is about working on his angles.Inalways think he can jump a lot higher on a run & jump situation when the ball is in the air. This has always been my believe watching him as a player. FS fits him best.

-- Mo is a LBer slash Safety. He should fit better at SS because of his LBer skills.
Barron was opposite moving to LBer. His cover skills will shine , plus he has already shown how good he is at LBer. When O'tree got hurt he lead the team in tackles over JL55 from that point if the season. I just like how McVay & Wade have an open mind on evaluating players , which is totally awesome as a Rams fan.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Joyner fits as a FS for sure. He is a do it all kind of player who flies around the field. He reads plays well & never gives up.

We shall see:shades:opcorn:.....Last year of his contract too.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

Always saw TJ as a guy that could really unload a hit on a player.

Kind of crazy to think that Joyner and Mo are going to pack more heat that Mo and TJ did. . . But I think you'll see that Joyner and Mo are going to be a good safety duo! They are going to pack a punch!

 

[BonifayRam]

Always saw TJ as a guy that could really unload a hit on a player.

Kind of crazy to think that Joyner and Mo are going to pack more heat that Mo and TJ did. . . But I think you'll see that Joyner and Mo are going to be a good safety duo! They are going to pack a punch!

TJ saved his best unloaded hits for his fellow teammates. I guess there was no way to tell just how many times TJ in TC/pre season & regular season made dynamic hits on his own. Is there a nickname that would go with friendly fire extraordinaire? Mo may not be as big of a hitter as TJ but he uses his hits on the right targets, his pass defense is a few clicks better than TJ's too.

As far as Joyner....well when your under 5-8 around 180 & you started 14 games in 2016 @ SSLB'er & then take up the Nickel when needed ......there no question about LJ's ability to bring the hit with the tackle. I see LJ has put on approx 10 pounds since last season so we should see something very early from him in this defense. In LJ I see a player who can be the leader in this new Ram secondary with professionalism & passion to win. Its possible that LJ can give us the best high safety play since the time of Aeneas Williams was our starting FS in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Its possible that LJ can give us the best high safety play since the time of Aeneas Williams was our starting FS in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career.

Typically when players make the switch to FS from corner, they are usually one of the TOP corners at their position for some years. Rod & Charles Woodson...and Aeneas as you named. I'm curious, why do YOU think Joyner will find so much success with this move? This is a guy that has a career of 9 pass breakups....No interceptions...and while he's shown to be a reliable tackler, that's primarily receivers that have just caught a pass on him. It will be quite a bit different against TE's and RB's.

 

[Legatron4]

Typically when players make the switch to FS from corner, they are usually one of the TOP corners at their position for some years. Rod & Charles Woodson...and Aeneas as you named. I'm curious, why do YOU think Joyner will find so much success with this move? This is a guy that has a career of 9 pass breakups....No interceptions...and while he's shown to be a reliable tackler, that's primarily receivers that have just caught a pass on him. It will be quite a bit different against TE's and RB's.

Well technically he made th switch from FS to CB. He was a great safety in college. I think he was out of place in the slot. He's a guy who prefers keeping everything in front of him. I trust Wade.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Well technically he made the switch from FS to CB.

He played both in college. He's only played corner in the pros.

Does Son of Bum move the players, or is this a position coach or Snead that are allowing this?

He wasn't out of place...He didn't perform. And I know PFF has him rated, wherever...I know he allowed 75% of the passes his way completed.

 

[DaveFan'51]

Same here.He is quietly becoming a quality player.Love it.

Big Ditto's! For some reason I just don't pay attention to him! That will stop this year!!

 

[Legatron4]

He played both in college. He's only played corner in the pros.

Does Son of Bum move the players, or is this a position coach or Snead that are allowing this?

He wasn't out of place...He didn't perform. And I know PFF has him rated, wherever...I know he allowed 75% of the passes his way completed.

I don't really care what PFF says. Their rating system blows. I wasn't happy with anyone's play last season including Joyner. But the dude is a hard hitter and has great instincts. Personally I think he's more of a box safety. But we will see what happens.

Also, Wade runs this defense from head to toe. He won't do anything he doesn't feel comfortable with. They definitely got his approval before moving LJ around.

 

[OldSchool]

You guys still crack me up claiming to know better than Wade Phillips