2 Underrated Factors That’ll Keep the Rams Defense Contending/Stalter

[RamBill]

Two Underrated Factors That’ll Keep the Rams’ Defense Contending
Posted by: Anthony Stalter

http://www.101sports.com/2015/08/19/two-underrated-factors-thatll-keep-the-rams-defense-contending/

How can the Rams stop Jimmy Graham?

That question poured into our text line in early March when the Seahawks acquired the tight end from the Saints in exchange for Pro Bowl center Max Unger and the No. 31 overall pick in the 2015 draft.

Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams

Seattle was coming off their second Super Bowl appearance in as many years and already featured the likes of Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson in their offense. How were the Rams supposed to take the next step towards being a contender when their biggest hurdle within the division just got stronger?

Building one of the most versatile and deepest defenses in the NFL would be a good start.

When two-time Super Bowl winner Jimmy Johnson arrived in the NFL after a decorated career at the University of Miami, opponents mocked the coach, saying the Cowboys’ defense was “nothing but a bunch of little guys.” But Johnson laid the groundwork for how a fast group of versatile defenders could create havoc by generating relentless up-field pressure.

Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ influences originated with Buddy Ryan, not Johnson. But, the philosophies of all three men are similar: Send pressure, penetrate, be aggressive, be detailed in assignments.

In order for those words to be more than just coachspeak, a defensive coordinator needs to have the right mix of players.

The Rams now have the deepest and most versatile group of defenders of any time during Jeff Fisher’s tenure in St. Louis.

Two days after the Seahawks traded for Graham, the Rams signed former Patriot and Titan Akeem Ayers to a two-year deal. According to Pro Football Focus, Ayers finished with four sacks, five quarterback hits and 23 hurries for New England.
nick fairley

Rams DT Nick Fairley

At first blush, the Ayers deal signaled the Rams’ desire to add to a strength by signing another pass-rusher. True, but St. Louis also added defensive flexibility, because Ayers is a hybrid defender that can play both outside linebacker and defensive end. He also has the ability to cover tight ends, as he’s done throughout camp for the Rams.

Ayers wasn’t the only signing the Rams made this offseason to give themselves defensive flexibility.

A day after inking Ayers, the Rams signed Nick Fairley to a one-year, $5 million contract to give themselves added depth behind starting defensive tackles Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers.

Fairley failed to deliver on his first-round expectations in Detroit, but the Rams won’t ask him to start. His job will be as a pass-rusher in sub-packages. He should excel in the role, considering all of the one-on-one matchups he’ll draw due to opponents forced to deal with the presence of Donald, Robert Quinn and Chris Long.

When the Giants won Super Bowls in 2008 and 2012, they too had versatility along their defensive line. They were able to constantly rotate their defensive ends and defensive tackles to 1) keep everyone fresh and 2) create mismatches for the offensive line, depending on the situation.

The Rams now boast the same flexibility thanks to Donald, Quinn, Brockers, Long, Fairley, William Hayes and Eugene Sims. Ethan Westbrooks and rookie Louis Trinca-Pasat have also flashed ability to rush the passer from various spots along the defensive line.

While discussing versatile defenders, Alec Ogletree has to enter the conversation.

Ogletree might be the most versatile player St. Louis has on defense. The Rams ask him to set the edge against mobile quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick four times a season, as well as blitz and play in a variety of coverages.
alec ogletree

Rams OLB Alec Ogletree

Ogletree has emerged as one of Williams’ best chess pieces, and playing alongside a veteran like James Laurinaitis (whose strength comes in being the quarterback of Williams’ defense) has enhanced his development.

Like Ogletree, safety T.J. McDonald is another young player on the ascent.

The Rams play plenty of Cover 3 under Williams, and McDonald offers the defense strong side force against the run in that scheme. He still struggles at times in coverage, but McDonald has the athleticism and length to get underneath out routes or drop into the flat to take away easy passing windows for the opposing quarterback.

In camp, McDonald and fellow safety Rodney McLeod look more comfortable in their second year in Williams’ scheme, which helps them identify their keys quickly and play faster.

Fast, aggressive, flexible, and versatile…Those are the trademarks of the Rams’ defense under Williams.

How do you stop Jimmy Graham? By having versatile players that can match up with him at the line (teams that are physical with Graham at the line often have success with him) and in coverage.

But, those players have to execute.

Again, Jimmy Johnson won two Super Bowls with the Cowboys. The Giants won two titles over the last 10 years. One can draw similarities between Johnson and those New York teams, but the Rams still have to execute and play with discipline, which has been an issue at times under Fisher.

The Rams boast flexibility and versatility, two underrated trademarks for winning defenses. But now it’s time for them to prove that they can be dominant week in and week out.

 

[RamzFanz]

This defense is missing Gaines and that's huge. I'm worried.

 

[Athos]

Graham against this team doesn't scare me. He plays soft. Just have TJMac and Tree and or Mcloud pop him a few times.
He's never done well against us in his career.

 

[jjab360]

So... much... talent...

If this defense doesn't do great things this season, I'm not sure if they ever will.

 

[ramfan46]

I think you will see a mix of Joyner at Nickel or Barron with Big Nickel. Also might see Mo get a few Big Nickel reps if he keeps impressing the coaches. I'm also not sleeping on Claiborne though, just haven't seen enough. Christian Bryant still has a shot too.

 

[RamzFanz]

Graham against this team doesn't scare me. He plays soft. Just have TJMac and Tree and or Mcloud pop him a few times.
He's never done well against us in his career.

It's true. It sucks he went to Seattle, but the Rams are good against TEs and Graham.

 

[fearsomefour]

Graham against this team doesn't scare me. He plays soft. Just have TJMac and Tree and or Mcloud pop him a few times.
He's never done well against us in his career.

Graham has faced the Rams 3 times.....
2010....1 targets....1 catch....21 yards
2011....8 targets....4 catches....39 yards
2012....6 targets....2 catches....25 yards

So, 12 quarters, 15 targets, 7 catches, 85 yards, 0 TDs.
Brees is a better passer than Wilson, New Orleans O is a better fit for any receiver and the Rams D was less developed this years than it is now.
Color me not worried.

 

[JUMAVA68]

This defense is missing Gaines and that's huge. I'm worried.

I think Johnson has that corner covered I'd be more worried about our slot cb.

 

[den-the-coach]

I think Johnson has that corner covered I'd be more worried about our slot cb.

And thus is why they traded up for LeMarcus Joyner time for him to play actually bigger than he is.

 

[FRO]

It's true. It sucks he went to Seattle, but the Rams are good against TEs and Graham.

Not sure he fits Seattle though. A run heavy team with a poor blocking TE doesn't work.

 

[ramsince62]

This defense is missing Gaines and that's huge. I'm worried.

Me too, but it's the O line that keeps me awake.

 

[V3]

Not sure he fits Seattle though. A run heavy team with a poor blocking TE doesn't work.

They might be slowly transitioning to more passing. Wilson is maturing as a passer and Lynch is getting older. Just a guess, though.

 

[Memphis Ram]

Not sure he fits Seattle though. A run heavy team with a poor blocking TE doesn't work.

Many have pointed this out when discussing Seattle, but I don't recall them having a good blocking TE the past few years anyway.

 

[ReddingRam]

Not sure he fits Seattle though. A run heavy team with a poor blocking TE doesn't work.

They got JG to be RW's guy in the seam and jump balls in the RZ. Graham won't be playing much of a TE role .... more like a big WR

 

[Penguin.]

Man I will miss Gaines. What worries me is how Wilson can scramble whereas Brees cannot. Wilson will keep the play alive with his legs and Graham will eventually get open, unless our D-Line can harass our opponents. They have the ability to, but we need the good D to show up, not the D that has 15+ penalties a game.

 

[blackbart]

Rams Dline will pound Wilson again just like the last two years Graham won't be as big a factor once Wilson is seeing double and running for his life every play. The back end has to be better and not close contact if Wilson gets loose but I think our guys know how to keep him contained. I'd be more concerned about the ball coming out of Wilson's hands too fast for the pressure to get there. Tight press coverage needs to be more of a staple.

 

[nighttrain]

Man I will miss Gaines. What worries me is how Wilson can scramble whereas Brees cannot. Wilson will keep the play alive with his legs and Graham will eventually get open, unless our D-Line can harass our opponents. They have the ability to, but we need the good D to show up, not the D that has 15+ penalties a game.

To quote Kenny Stabler, "I've seen plenty of young young running QB's, but never an old one"!
train

 

[RamBill]

Fox Sports’ Kevin Burkhardt: Rams’ Defense Has Potential to be NFL’s Best

Fox Sports’ Kevin Burkhardt, who is calling the Rams-Titans preseason game on Sunday, joined The Ryan Kelley Morning After to discuss a number of topics surrounding the team

Listen to Burkhardt Talk Rams

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On how good he thinks the Rams's defense will be:

"I think they have the potential to be (one of the best). I love what they've built. The average age of their defense is 25 years old. I like what they didn last year, and they came on in the second half. They've got to go out and do it. I love their defensive line and I think they're going to be better. I think think their secondary, their safeties are really underrated. McCleod and McDonald are very solid players. They've got what they need back there. I think the pieces are there. They just have to go and do it."

 

[DaveFan'51]

This defense is missing Gaines and that's huge. I'm worried.

True enough, But with our D-Line and LB's, IF they execute well, that can make up for any problems on the back-end, IF we have any. And that's a big if my brother! JMHO

 

[LACHAMP46]

The Rams play plenty of Cover 3 under Williams, and McDonald offers the defense strong side force against the run in that scheme. He still struggles at times in coverage, but McDonald has the athleticism and length to get underneath out routes or drop into the flat to take away easy passing windows for the opposing quarterback In camp, McDonald and fellow safety Rodney McLeod look more comfortable in their second year in Williams’ scheme, which helps them identify their keys quickly and play faster.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/film-room/2015/film-room-tj-mcdonald

Film Room: T.J. McDonald
by Cian Fahey

For as long as Jeff Fisher has been the head coach in St. Louis, expectations for the Rams have risen during the offseason, only to be blown back to reality during the regular season. Injuries and inconsistencies have kept the offense in a constant state of spontaneous combustion, limiting what Fisher and his staff could achieve. Replacing Sam Bradford with a quarterback that Chip Kelly jettisoned while also rebuilding the offensive line with rookies has stunted the optimism surrounding the offense entering this season. The defense, on the other hand, is a completely different story.

The Rams defense has ranked seventh, 11th, and ninth in DVOA over the past three seasons. It has built its success by primarily relying on young foundation pieces who have continually shown signs of growth over the courses of their short careers. The front seven has led the way, which is unsurprising considering the investment the franchise has made there over the years. Entering the season, the Rams have five former first-round picks and two former second-round picks making up their defensive front. Another former first-round pick, Nick Fairley, is the team's fifth defensive lineman. While draft position isn't always a surefire sign of talent, most of these picks have panned out. That is reflected in the unit's consistency against the run.

Over the past three seasons, the Rams have ranked 10th, third, and fourth against the run by DVOA. Adding Fairley and outside linebacker Akeem Ayers, along with the expected development of Aaron Donald and Alec Ogletree, should allow this front seven to become one of the very best in the NFL. Question marks emerge in the secondary, however. The Rams haven't had quality cornerback play under Fisher. Janoris Jenkins was drafted to be a big-play cornerback who intimidated quarterbacks with his ball skills. Instead he has become a favorable target for the opposition, creating big plays for the offense more consistently than for the defense. Trumaine Johnson was an inconsistent starter across from him. E.J. Gaines, a sixth-round pick last season, may be the team's best cornerback, but he sustained a potentially serious injury during training camp.


Having Fairley, Donald, and Robert Quinn amongst a stocked defensive line rotation will allow the Rams to cover some of their deficiencies at cornerback. That will be tougher to do at the safety spot. Teams that can get quick pressure with just four pass rushers can get by without high-quality safety play in the NFL, but those looking to be more aggressive can't. Safety is one of the toughest positions in the league to play. Because of how offenses stretch the field both horizontally and vertically while actively searching out mismatches, safeties are doing more now than they ever have before. They can't afford to have significant weaknesses because the offense will repeatedly expose them. That is why the quality of safety play across the league is so bad.

Like most teams, the Rams have questions to answer at their safety spots. Unlike most teams, they also have a player who could potentially be one of the best safeties in the NFL next season. That player is T.J. McDonald.

McDonald wasn't one of the Rams' high draft picks even though they have 11 former first- or second-rounders on their defense alone. McDonald was selected in the third round of the 2013 draft, so he is entering his third season in the league. He established himself as a full-time player last season, accumulating 1,191 snaps. Most of those snaps came in the role of a strong safety, with Rodney McLeod playing free safety behind him. No defensive back played as much as McDonald last season -- he played 99.6 percent of defensive snaps, tied with Philadelphia's Malcolm Jenkins at No. 1 -- and even though Lamarcus Joyner and Mark Barron are available to compete for playing time, neither is expected to.

The 24-year-old McDonald got better as the season went on last year and showed off a rare skill set by the time the season came to a close.

At every position, it's important to be a good run defender. As an in-the-box safety, you have to be a versatile run defender. McDonald is a long, strong defender with the athleticism to work to both sidelines in a hurry. Crucially, he combines those traits with discipline and consistency. On this play, we can see how McDonald works in space. He lines up in the position of a linebacker, exposing him to the block of the much bigger guard working to the second level. Instead of attempting to take on the guard's strength, McDonald shows off awareness and balance to glide past his block attempt, pushing his opponent away with his extended arms. From there, McDonald was able to quickly close on Marshawn Lynch before he could advance further downfield.

McDonald's length is more notable than his size. He can likely still get bigger, but it's his length that offers value at the point of contact. Although he often concedes more ground than he would like, the safety's length allows him to wrap ballcarriers up and drag them down with greater consistency than most of his peers. He can also use those long arms to work through contact and get off blocks.


Like any safety, McDonald isn't going to consistently dominate offensive linemen when engaged with them in tight situations. He can be effective against offensive linemen with his hands and strength, to a greater degree than most safeties. Against tight ends is where McDonald can really show off his ability. On this play, the safety is lined up to the far left of the offense, just outside the widest tight end of the group. The play doesn't initially work to his side of the field, but McDonald uses his hands and strength to hold his position while keeping his eyes in the backfield to set the edge. When the ball is reversed back towards him, he is able to shed the blocker and make the tackle close to the line of scrimmage.

The valuable run-stuffing strong safety is essentially extinct. Only run-stuffing safeties who can cover are still valuable in today's NFL. Even a monstrous safety such as Kam Chancellor is only so valuable because of his ability to play in space. Chancellor may not play in as much space as Earl Thomas, but that isn't a necessity within the construction of his defense. McDonald can play a similar role to Chancellor, excelling in Cover-2 situations and lining up closer to the line of scrimmage while being best suited to stay out of single-high looks.

Being athletic enough to play as a deep safety in the NFL isn't unusual. Athleticism is important, but safeties typically play consistent coverage by relying on their technique and awareness. On this play against the Oakland Raiders, McDonald lines up as part of a two-deep shell roughly 18 yards from the line of scrimmage. The development of the play will offer a clear example of McDonald's process, and his ability to read routes as they develop in front of him and act accordingly.

The outside cornerback to McDonald's side of the field lined up off the line of scrimmage, suggesting quarters coverage. Because of that cornerback's alignment, McDonald's eyes are initially drawn to the slot receiver infield. As the receiver runs his stem, the safety squares his shoulders and feet to him and takes very short steps backwards, moving at a slow pace. This doesn't really affect his positioning on the field, instead just giving him slightly more depth in case he needs to bail out of his current technique to break on an intermediate route or turn with a deep route.

As the play develops, the slot receiver turns to run towards the sideline. Once McDonald recognizes that the receiver has committed to the out route, he directs his eyes to another area of the field.

McDonald's eyes led his feet and his shoulders to the outside receiver who was breaking infield. The safety was able to comfortably turn his hips to bring his weight forward and close on the receiver. The depth of the receiver's route made it impossible for McDonald to get to him before the ball arrived from the quarterback, but it was the underneath linebacker who was out of position. That linebacker, Alec Ogletree, was too aggressive against the quick out from the slot, creating a throwing lane for the outside receiver's shallower-than-expected route.

Despite the space between receiver and safety, McDonald is able to quickly close ground before hitting the receiver hard. He doesn't prevent the reception, but he immediately brings the play to a halt once the ball is caught, preventing any yards after the catch. This is the kind of deep coverage that McDonald should be expected to effectively execute. He can be relied upon with these assignments because of how quickly he diagnoses what is happening in front of him.

This play against the Denver Broncos shows off McDonald's ability to read the offensive linemen's actions to understand what the offense is trying to do. McDonald has his eyes on the quarterback from the beginning of the play, so the offensive linemen to that side of the field are in his line of sight. When those linemen advance forward, McDonald immediately knows that this is a screen pass to his side. He is able to comfortably beat the linemen to their spots to tackle the receiver in space, once again completely shutting down any potential for yards after the catch.

Asking McDonald to do anything more strenuous than these types of coverages in a deep alignment is simply playing away from his strengths as an individual. In the Rams' talented defense, he shouldn't be forced into a role with which he isn't comfortable unless Rodney McLeod gets injured. McLeod is the perfect complement for McDonald, which is why he should hold onto his starting spot ahead of other contenders during training camp and the preseason.

When playing closer to the line of scrimmage, McDonald's versatility really stands out.

On this play against the Chargers, the Rams rotate their safeties just as the ball is snapped. This sends McDonald towards the line of scrimmage with McLeod dropping deep behind him. As he is wont to do, Gregg Williams is blitzing. His second-level defender comes from the middle of the field, so Philip Rivers is being encouraged to release the ball to his tight end running across the field. That tight end, Antonio Gates, is the responsibility of McDonald. Gates is very athletic despite his age and turns to suddenly change his crossing route into a curl route. From where McDonald is closing from, it would be easy to overrun the play and slide past Gates' right shoulder.

Instead, the safety shows off impressive control and athleticism in space to make an immediate tackle. This appears to be a relatively simple play, but it's an important one to make consistently because of the space behind the tackle point. If McDonald is out of control to any degree, Gates' athleticism will allow him to brush off an unbalanced tackle attempt before turning into space for a first down and a potentially huge gain.

McDonald's rounded athleticism and body control allows him to match up against the tougher tight ends in the NFL. He won't shut them down alone in space, but he has the upper body strength to fight them in press coverage and the intelligence and explosiveness to consistently make plays from off coverage. Because he covers ground so quickly, McDonald can also be a primary piece of disguising coverages, lining up over one receiver before accelerating to cover another just after the snap or dropping into a distant zone coverage.

Although he can be a key part in disguising blitzes as part of coverages, McDonald also has plus ability as a pass rusher. Most defensive backs simply sprint towards the quarterback and will only get pressure or a sack if unblocked. McDonald has more ability than that.


For this sack of New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, McDonald comes off the edge aggressively before using a precise and explosive spin move to penetrate the pocket. He beat a running back in space, which is something you'd expect an edge rusher to do but not something you would expect a defensive back to do. McDonald had two sacks last season and neither was a result of going unobstructed to the quarterback.

With so many stars in St. Louis, it will be hard for McDonald to get a share of the limelight. He can still be effective on the field, though. If he can live up to his potential, McDonald could develop to the point where he mirrors the play of Kam Chancellor. Chancellor is clearly the best strong safety in the NFL without any equal. Even if McDonald can only get close to that level, he will still be a major piece of the Rams defense -- a defense that should be amongst the best in the NFL.

Posted by: Cian Fahey on 13 Aug 2015