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With apologies to Charles Dickens, for the Rams D in 2014, it started with the worst of times, followed (after the game at Kansas City) by the best of times.
Before I go too much further, this is a PFF thread, so my usual caveats apply, that if you want to bitch about PFF methodology, go suck an egg. I don't want to hear it. That said...
Most of us diehard Rams fans noticed a dramatic improvement in the Rams D following the embarrassing collapse in our week 8 loss to Kansas City, 34-7, in which our defense looked fecklessly unable to get the Kansas City offense off the field or out of the end zone.
It was an embarrassing loss in what was quickly shaping up to be a lost season. In a season where everyone was expecting the defense to take a major step forward, the defense had clearly and demonstrably regressed. Many were calling for Gregg Williams job. Those who were willing to hang in with Williams at least had to admit the possibility that Williams was unable to convey his complex schemes to what most fans had come to believe was a talented group of defensive players.
In terms of players, the folks who were supposed to be having breakout seasons, the "jokers" as they'd be described in a Gregg Williams defense, were un-impactful at best. Specifically, OLB Alec Ogletree and TJ McDonald. The defense's unquestioned best player, Robert Quinn, had his first GOOD game of the season against KC, but was having a quiet season otherwise.
And the bad part, the Rams were only 3 games into a stretch of 8 games of the toughest opponents the Rams would face all year. The future was not looking bright.
However, what came next was inspiring. Starting with the game against San Francisco, the Rams played some of the best defensive football we've seen since the Lovie Smith days.
The defensive resurgence was spearheaded by those aforementioned jokers, Ogletree and TJ McDonald, plus a noticably raised game from Robert Quinn.
Using PFF grades to quantify:
The next question you might ask is, what did this mean for overall D PFF grades? Well, if you look at the Rams over the entire year, their defense's PFF grade of +7.0 was good for 16th overall in the NFL. But if you break this into the tale of two seasons, the team grade would project at -62.4 up to the KC game (26th rated), and +60.9 starting with the KC game (9th rated).
One more tiny cause for optimism. We know that the Rams D fell apart against the Giants. Was this because the Rams were officially eliminated from the playoffs? The Gaines injury? Rookie wall for Donald? The sheer unquestionable awesomeness of OBJ? Who can say? But if we discount those last two games, and just look at the 7 games prior, their defense now projects out at +118, which would have been the 2nd ranked defense in the NFL.
Now, one might claim that I am cherry picking my data points. Well, of course I am, silly comment. I'm a Rams homer, obviously, otherwise I would not be posting on ROD. But as a Rams homer, I'm constantly seeking reasons for optimism about my Rams team. Whether you believe in the PFF grades or not, and regardless of what happens with the Rams on offense (which between OC and QB and OL is a big "?"), I believe at least as it relates to our defense, we all have reasons to be optimistic.
Before I go too much further, this is a PFF thread, so my usual caveats apply, that if you want to bitch about PFF methodology, go suck an egg. I don't want to hear it. That said...
Most of us diehard Rams fans noticed a dramatic improvement in the Rams D following the embarrassing collapse in our week 8 loss to Kansas City, 34-7, in which our defense looked fecklessly unable to get the Kansas City offense off the field or out of the end zone.
It was an embarrassing loss in what was quickly shaping up to be a lost season. In a season where everyone was expecting the defense to take a major step forward, the defense had clearly and demonstrably regressed. Many were calling for Gregg Williams job. Those who were willing to hang in with Williams at least had to admit the possibility that Williams was unable to convey his complex schemes to what most fans had come to believe was a talented group of defensive players.
In terms of players, the folks who were supposed to be having breakout seasons, the "jokers" as they'd be described in a Gregg Williams defense, were un-impactful at best. Specifically, OLB Alec Ogletree and TJ McDonald. The defense's unquestioned best player, Robert Quinn, had his first GOOD game of the season against KC, but was having a quiet season otherwise.
And the bad part, the Rams were only 3 games into a stretch of 8 games of the toughest opponents the Rams would face all year. The future was not looking bright.
However, what came next was inspiring. Starting with the game against San Francisco, the Rams played some of the best defensive football we've seen since the Lovie Smith days.
The defensive resurgence was spearheaded by those aforementioned jokers, Ogletree and TJ McDonald, plus a noticably raised game from Robert Quinn.
Using PFF grades to quantify:
- For Ogletree, if you look at the first 7 games of the season and project over the year, his PFF grade would have been -31.5 making him BY FAR the worst 4-3 OLB in the league out of 40 graded (2nd worst was -12.9). If you look at the final 9 games of the year and project, his grade jumps to +17.6, good for the #6 4-3 OLB.
- For McDonald, if you look at the first 7 games of the season and project over the year, his PFF grade would have been -25.8 making him BY FAR the worst S in the league out of 87 graded (2nd worst was -20.7). If you look at the final 9 games of the year and project, his grade jumps to +22.7, good for the #1 (!!!!) S in the league!!
- For Quinn, the light switch came on a week earlier against KC. If you look at the first 6 games of the season and project over the year, his PFF grade would have been -3.1 making him the #35 4-3 DE in the league out of 59 graded. If you look at the final 10 games of the year and project, his grade jumps to +31.1, good for the #2 (!!!!) 4-3 DE in the league, only slightly behind Cameron Wake with a +32.2!!
The next question you might ask is, what did this mean for overall D PFF grades? Well, if you look at the Rams over the entire year, their defense's PFF grade of +7.0 was good for 16th overall in the NFL. But if you break this into the tale of two seasons, the team grade would project at -62.4 up to the KC game (26th rated), and +60.9 starting with the KC game (9th rated).
One more tiny cause for optimism. We know that the Rams D fell apart against the Giants. Was this because the Rams were officially eliminated from the playoffs? The Gaines injury? Rookie wall for Donald? The sheer unquestionable awesomeness of OBJ? Who can say? But if we discount those last two games, and just look at the 7 games prior, their defense now projects out at +118, which would have been the 2nd ranked defense in the NFL.
Now, one might claim that I am cherry picking my data points. Well, of course I am, silly comment. I'm a Rams homer, obviously, otherwise I would not be posting on ROD. But as a Rams homer, I'm constantly seeking reasons for optimism about my Rams team. Whether you believe in the PFF grades or not, and regardless of what happens with the Rams on offense (which between OC and QB and OL is a big "?"), I believe at least as it relates to our defense, we all have reasons to be optimistic.
