Samson Ebukam played through more pain than McVay realized in 2018

[Riverumbbq]

By: Cameron DaSilva | 6 hours ago


Samson Ebukam was elevated into a starter’s role last season after the Los Angeles Rams moved on from Robert Quinn and Connor Barwin. Expectations were tempered for the young pass rusher, knowing he didn’t have much prior NFL experience.

He had a somewhat disappointing season with three sacks and six tackles for loss, but there might be a reason for his lack of production. He underwent surgery on his knee this offseason and according to Sean McVay, Ebukam was playing through a fair amount of pain last year.

McVay says Ebukam battled through “constant nagging pain,” which would understandably hinder just about any player.

“He’s doing great. I didn’t realize how much pain he was playing through last year,” McVay said after Monday’s practice. “You can see just his get off, his suddenness, his explosiveness, that’s always been the elite trait of his. But not having to fight through the constant nagging pain that he was with that knee injury. I think he feels a lot better about it and you’re seeing it show up. Still three days in, but you can feel him and just talking to him he sounds like he’s feeling a lot better. And then when you just look at him closely and you see the way he’s able to get off, and some of the ways he’s able to just play strong and explosive. You see it paying dividends and hopefully we can keep him healthy throughout the season.”

Ebukam may not be a starter by title this season due to the arrival of Clay Matthews and the return of Dante Fowler Jr., but he should still get his share of reps. When Matthews kicks inside next to Cory Littleton, Ebukam should be the next guy up at outside linebacker opposite Fowler.

He’s certainly earned a roster spot after making a handful of big plays last year and showing good potential at times, but if he wants to unseat Matthews, Ebukam will have to impress in camp and the preseason.

Hopefully the absence of a lingering knee injury will allow Ebukam to play his best football yet.

https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2019/07/30/nfl-rams-samson-ebukam-knee-injury-pain-mcvay/

 

[JonRam99]

huh..... can't wait to see the difference. But, if he's fast, and if Matthews hasn't lost a step, and with Fowler on the other side, Littleton in the middle, whatever tries to get through center has to deal with Kiser.
Starting to like our chances with this LB corps.

 

[Riverumbbq]

If it turns out that Ebukam was severely hampered last season and he comes out and blows up camp, that would be a big wow for a position which definitely needs to improve on last years stats. The combination of Ebukam outside and Matthews inside & outside this season should open some opportunities we haven't seen in awhile.
After his first camp with the Rams, Dante Fowler is another guy who could produce in an unexpectedly explosive manner from his position, it's really rather exiting to consider how improved this unit may be. Littleton was really the only outstanding LB last season, and he'll only be entering his second year as a starter. Against the rush, Kiser almost can't help but being a huge upgrade when he's called on, so this group of Phillips' marauders will be free to slam QB's for loss or anyone else attempting to cross the L.O.S.
Our back 7 will intimidate.

 

[Jacobarch]

Hell, I've been a doubter of his but I will say I'm rooting for the kid. I'll root for everyone in Horns

 

[ramfan46]

He did look stiff last year. Says a lot about his toughness and character to not even mention the knee til after the year. I love guys with that no excuses mentality. This is the year to have a big jump for him if it's gonna happen IMO. I'm pulling for him big time.

 

[FarNorth]

He did look stiff last year. Says a lot about his toughness and character to not even mention the knee til after the year. I love guys with that no excuses mentality. This is the year to have a big jump for him if it's gonna happen IMO. I'm pulling for him big time.

Another injury we didn't learn about until long after the fact. Good reminder that we don't always know what's happening with someone who isn't quite playing as well as we would like.

Ebukam earned his spot last year because of his undoubted athleticism. Look forward to seeing him show what he can do this year when he's at full speed.

 

[oldnotdead]

3-4 Hybrid (1 gap)
Dline:
NT 1T: SJD/Gaines (to be determined)
DT 3T: AD
DE 5T: Brockers
WIL/Jack LB: Fowler

LBs:
MIKE: Littleton
ILB: Hager/Kiser (to be determined)
SAM OLB: Ebukam

The reason I broke this down is to show that Fowler and Ebukam play completely different roles. Despite Fowler being an OLB, Fowler plays his position about 90% as a DE. Which means he's the designated pass rusher of the LB's. Ebukam is a complete OLB who normally is expected to set a hard edge and cover TE's and RB's in the flat. He's only a situational pass rusher in some of their pass rush sub packages not on every passing down.

Many other teams use the 3-4 hybrid as their base defense because it's more flexible than a standard 4-3 though it contains many of the same concepts. The Jack LB in this scheme averages around 12-14 sacks per year. The DE would normally average about 9-10 sacks. These attack style defenses average in the mid 40's in sacks per year with half or more coming from the Jack and DE positions.

What I'm saying is that as a SAM LB rushing only in certain sub packages 4-6 sacks per year is what would be expected. He was playing hurt much of the year yet managed 3 sacks. That is as much as can be expected under the circumstances.

The problem with the pass rush is at the DE position. Brockers had only 1 despite 16 starts with Franklin-Myers getting 2 as a situational pass rusher. Mathews had 3.5 sacks last year starting every game with a grand total of 16 sacks over the past 3 years. That is why he got released. It would be great if he can pick up the slack at DE on passing downs, but I'm not sure he will.

This is why understanding the role of each position puts relative performance into context. Ebukam shouldn't be compared to Fowler because their roles are completely different. If this were a 4-3 and both were DE's then yes it would be applicable.