First off, Donald played 11 games last year, not 12. Second, it's not just Donald.
Aware of that. But did 12 games because that's how many they have played this year and if I did 11 then someone who is anti-Morris would complain of "cherry picking" or things like that. I have some experience with this. The lengths that a few people will go to discredit Morris are stunning. Even in this thread by giving numbers in context, being fair there was pushback.
So yeah, I knew how many games DOnald played but chose to keep it 12 games to 12 games.
But I am trying to keep people focused on the main question which is if there is SO MUCH OF A DIFFERENCE, given all the obvious things like personnel changes, injuries, etc. that Morris deserved so much hate last year and love this year.
Debating the differences is what always happens, I think it's reasonably established that there is not a ton of difference in "results". And I use that word specifically because it was used by hate elsewhere to justify his hate of Morris (and by hate I mean name-calling, he lacks "smarts" and "stones") and to give him love this year.
I am showing the folly of that kind of thinking. I am pointing out Rams defense, with Donald, was not as bad as detractors said and is not as good as they think it is.
The culture of scapegoating is sometimes overwhelming. And lack of a few to not connect the offensive improvements to the defense. We look at the wins and forget the details. If people want to really get into the weeds, where would the defense be if the offense was as bad as last year? We've seen what happens when the offense cannot move the ball this year--it hurts an up-and-coming (but not stellar) defense.
Someone posted the perfect thing - If Rams defense does well it is to the credit of Anthony Pleasant and if they fail it's Raheem doing.
That is the kind of thinking I see on Twitter, here, and elsewhere. That culture is toxic. And reasonable discussions can change that. Part of that is understanding what is happening. When you have people saying something is done in a certain way and the facts are that it is not done that way and those people try and poison a discussion a little questioning of their knowledge can perhaps help.
Perhaps not.
Understanding the defense can help bridge the gap between being reasonable (the groups 1, 2, 3) and not being reasonable (group 4)
trust me, I know every which way to dissect the differences in defense and focus. I did it with the 2020 to 2021 defenses. So, the things you bring up have merit but they are baked into the cake when it comes to asking the haters to identify why there is an 180-degree turnaround. Not 10 degrees, 45 degrees -- but a reversal of positions. I have my theory as to why the change but wanted input from others.
In my mind it wasn't to rehash little things here and there---it was a big-picture question because hating Morris in various Internet places, has become --- extreme in some cases
