OFFICIAL 2025 Rams Defense Thread

[DzRams]

Does it?
If you create an area of true dominance that shields that weakness downstream?

Yes. But it's much harder to significantly improve a strength versus a weakness.

As an example to convey the concept, think of number ratings. If the Rams signed what they felt was a 75 rated player at edge to upgrade BY who they feel is a 70, you get some improvement. They get a lot more improvement if they sign a 75 rated CB to replace Spoon/Durant/Forbes who they may consider a 55.

 

[TexasRam]

IMO the Rams under Mcvay have a flawed archaic defensive approach when capturing big leads.

In most of these games a turnover or sack wins it for the rams. But the approach is prevent a big play and allowing underneath throws without pressure.

There absolutely has to be random blitzes so the QB can’t comfortably work the ball down the field. They did this all the way through the 2 point conversion for the win. The TE leaked out late. If their was a CB blitz and a quick forced throw then we win.

Predictability absolutely is the worst approach. The play caller, if he knows what’s coming already has a massive edge. The QB, can also dial in, with his timing and scanning the field. If you randomize blitz, a few times, then the QB will often hurry throws as he’s seeing ghosts.

 

[Pupped]

Yes. But it's much harder to significantly improve a strength versus a weakness.

As an example to convey the concept, think of number ratings. If the Rams signed what they felt was a 75 rated player at edge to upgrade BY who they feel is a 70, you get some improvement. They get a lot more improvement if they sign a 75 rated CB to replace Spoon/Durant/Forbes who they may consider a 55.

Do you get a lot more improvement as a unit?

I just believe, philosophically, that one excellent pass rusher does more for a defense than one excellent corner. I'm not saying your point doesn't have real merit, I just think, especially in the modern game with so many different coverages, that the front is more important than the back.

That being said.. I'm 100% in agreement that more resources need to be added to the secondary.. preferably bigger athletes than the current group.

 

[DzRams]

Do you get a lot more improvement as a unit?

I just believe, philosophically, that one excellent pass rusher does more for a defense than one excellent corner. I'm not saying your point doesn't have real merit, I just think, especially in the modern game with so many different coverages, that the front is more important than the back.

That being said.. I'm 100% in agreement that more resources need to be added to the secondary.. preferably bigger athletes than the current group.

In a vacuum, I share your philosophical view that the front is more important than the back. But nothing is done in a vacuum so what you have on hand at both positions has to be factored in.

As an extreme example to convey the point, if you or I were one of the CBs, everyone would agree that the best and fastest path to improvement is to replace us. The principle is replacing the players that are the closest to zeros to see maximum overall improvement.

I'm with you on the bigger CBs, although I mostly just want an increase in the talent level.

 

[FrantikRam]

It would be more of a marginal upgrade than a major one. Upgrading a weakness gives you a much higher overall level of improvement than upgrading a strength.

Normally I would agree, but as we saw Thursday night with Seattle (and really, time and time again) - a talented secondary is trash without a pass rush.

So I'd like to upgrade both if feasible.

As for who - Young is the obvious candidate. He would be due a 20-25 million dollar contract for his sack production, but his actual ability to generate pressure is mediocre IMO. I doubt we will be re-signing him, and I'm betting that was one of the reasons for drafting Stewart too.

We could then either trade or have him play in a backup role. But again, this is only if Stafford comes back and I would still want to upgrade CB.

I just don't think mass upgrades in the secondary are going to do much for us - diminishing returns without an elite pass rush. The flip side of all that is, our young pass rush could keep developing too.

 

[DzRams]

Normally I would agree, but as we saw Thursday night with Seattle (and really, time and time again) - a talented secondary is trash without a pass rush.

So I'd like to upgrade both if feasible.

As for who - Young is the obvious candidate. He would be due a 20-25 million dollar contract for his sack production, but his actual ability to generate pressure is mediocre IMO. I doubt we will be re-signing him, and I'm betting that was one of the reasons for drafting Stewart too.

We could then either trade or have him play in a backup role. But again, this is only if Stafford comes back and I would still want to upgrade CB.

I just don't think mass upgrades in the secondary are going to do much for us - diminishing returns without an elite pass rush. The flip side of all that is, our young pass rush could keep developing too.

Ideally, they upgrade both. But finding a pass rush upgrade is easier said than done. They probably could do it if they're willing to use that Atlanta pick on an edge defender. In which case, maybe they should trade Young for as much as they can get if that's the plan and if they don't expect to resign him.

I question if we learned anything in Seattle about how a talented secondary fares without an elite pass rush. You'd have to be willing to say we have a talented secondary as is. I don't feel we do. It's average, and definitely one of the weaker positions on the team.

 

[FrantikRam]

Ideally, they upgrade both. But finding a pass rush upgrade is easier said than done. They probably could do it if they're willing to use that Atlanta pick on an edge defender. In which case, maybe they should trade Young for as much as they can get if that's the plan and if they don't expect to resign him.

I question if we learned anything in Seattle about how a talented secondary fares without an elite pass rush. You'd have to be willing to say we have a talented secondary as is. I don't feel we do. It's average, and definitely one of the weaker positions on the team.

I'm talking about Seattle's secondary, not ours. It has a tonnnn of resources poured into it, a lot of people think its top of the line - and we obliterated it, even before they had injuries, because they couldn't get pressure on us.

Its anecdotal, but another example of first round picks being poured into the secondary that are frankly, worthless, without a pass rush

 

[FrantikRam]

Conversely, our pass rush has been above average most of the year and has made our secondary look better. So I'm just saying, instead of pouring multiple resources into the secondary, I'd rather split it out between secondary and pass rush

 

[El Chapo Jr]

For me Andrew Whitworth.

Williams fits McVays pass first philosophy.... Faulk wouldn't be happy with McVays pass first offense, and Faulk was an average pass blocker.

What, wtf? If we are talking about Marshall Faulk, he'd fit perfectly into this offense.

 

[rdlkgliders]

Hopefully Stewart can develop into a pass rushing edge specialist. BY has done a great job continuing to get better off the edge and Verse is a play wrecker as much as an edge rusher.

It may seem gluttonous to want another guy that can get to the QB but I see why we are often tied to elite QB menaces

I think another guy in the front 7 that gets home at a high rate especially situationally would help a lot.

 

[PhillyRam]

I have been playing with a draft simulator and there are edges all over the place in the first 4 rds. It might be tough to pass one up.

 

[PhillyRam]

BTW, we have been obsessed with this extra draft pick and drafting a QB or now a weapon etc...

One thing we have not discussed is do we use one of the 1st's or maybe a 2nd, since we have an extra first, to trade for a young star player that may have a contract impasse with a cap strapped team?

With a team and QB ready to win now, and no QB worth drafting, I could see a top CB being a trade target with one of our top 3 picks.

 

[Steve808]

BTW, we have been obsessed with this extra draft pick and drafting a QB or now a weapon etc...

One thing we have not discussed is do we use one of the 1st's or maybe a 2nd, since we have an extra first, to trade for a young star player that may have a contract impasse with a cap strapped team?

With a team and QB ready to win now, and no QB worth drafting, I could see a top CB being a trade target with one of our top 3 picks.

Myles Garrett. Let's go all in next season F them picks

 

[NorthernRam]

The CBs can help....but man, at times you're still going to get had. Before the Seahawks DBs started dropping with injuries, we torched them Thursday, without Davante. Its because they got such little pressure on us the entire game.

What use are good CBs (which by ALL accounts, Seattle has, to go with a budding young superstar safety and a pro bowl safety) when your pass rush is ineffective?

I wouldn't be mad at a CB upgrade, but we've invested these resources into our DL, and at this point it feels like Young has hit a wall and Verse and Fiske took a step back this year. Their young, maybe will improve along with Josiah - but if Matt comes back next year, I'd like to see if we can make a splash upgrade at edge too

Our expectations rose too high after all the sacks that our D-line got in the playoffs last year.

The fact is that our front four has been a disappointment all year, they're just not getting to the QB. Stewart has flashed pass rush skills.

After a hot start, Byron Young has reverted to his usual form. His sack numbers have always been underwhelming.

Verse only has a very predictable bull rush move. Both Young and Verse lack elite burst around the edge. Young is a free agent after the season and we need to upgrade his spot. He has not showed enough to be re-signed.

We need to go out and obtain a dominant edge rusher or two, or else QB's will continue to stand in the pocket with minimal pressure.

In all of our losses, mediocre quarterbacks have stood back and shredded our defence from the pocket.

 

[NorthernRam]

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Our expectations rose too high after all the sacks that our D-line got in the playoffs last year.

The fact is that our front four has been a disappointment all year, they're just not getting to the QB. Stewart has flashed pass rush skills.

After a hot start, Byron Young has reverted to his usual form. His sack numbers have always been underwhelming.

Verse only has a very predictable bull rush move. Both Young and Verse lack elite burst around the edge. Young is a free agent after the season and we need to upgrade his spot. He has not showed enough to be re-signed.

We need to go out and obtain a dominant edge rusher or two, or else QB's will continue to stand in the pocket with minimal pressure.

In all of our losses, mediocre quarterbacks have stood back and shredded our defence from the pocket.

I'll also add that we simply must obtain a few playmaking cornerbacks, along with an edge next year. Our offence is historically excellent, but our defence has now been exposed.

The tape is out there now and we're only winning in shootouts.

We've had a longstanding problem dating back many years - even with Aaron Donald - of not being able to shut down teams when holding a lead, either going into halftime or at the end of games, even when they start drives in poor field position.

Many Rams fans have blamed the problem on prevent defences run by Raheem Morris and now by Chris Shula.

To me, the issue has been a lack of speed and playmakers in the secondary, an inability to access the speedy, elite athletes, the result of winning records and drafting late.

Over the years it has been torture watching players such as Lamarcus Joyner, Taylor Rapp, William Fuller, etc in pass defence. Darius Williams and Emmanuel Forbes are the latest defensive turnstiles.

No lead is too safe for us now because teams have a clear path to attack, which is what makes McVay's second half approach to the Seahawks game more puzzling.

The Seahawks secondary was banged up and we should have continued to load up in the air and piled on the points.

Our early defensive rating was deceptive, we're not a team that can count on sitting on a lead, our back end is leaky.

A lot of fans felt that the punt that Shaheed returned for a td was kicked low.

The fact is that every punt to the Seahawks should not have been in play, should have been angled out of bounds. Shaheed should never have had the chance to return one.

McVay should have determined that in advance from the tape.

It was negligent to have kicked it to him.

 

[RamFan58years]

Don't underestimate the loss of Quentin Lake. Things started getting consistently bad after he got injured.

 

[fanotodd]

Hopefully Stewart can develop into a pass rushing edge specialist. BY has done a great job continuing to get better off the edge and Verse is a play wrecker as much as an edge rusher.

It may seem gluttonous to want another guy that can get to the QB but I see why we are often tied to elite QB menaces

I think another guy in the front 7 that gets home at a high rate especially situationally would help a lot.

Stewart has had a very good rookie season, outplaying all of the other Rams draft picks so far.

Another Edge rusher? Perhaps, but where the Rams have been hurting this year is in the interior—mainly Fiske. I don’t know if he has fully recovered from last year’s knee injury or re-aggravated it, but he has appeared to be hobbled at times. If he brought last year’s numbers to this year’s defense…we would be having a different conversation about this defense.

Lake is really missed one way or the other, on the blitz packages.
The secondary needs at least one above average/top end CB out there with man skills. When the Rams DO blitz, they haven’t been getting home fast enough and the secondary is getting eaten alive.

The Rams defense, in its current form, is leaking oil as they head for the finish line.

CB early, a IDL later, and a developmental Edge still later.
And re-sign Lake.

 

[badnews]

One thing I noticed is Verse has more pass rush snaps than any one else on this list.

You were probably not being literal, but fwiw there are 5 players with more pass rush snaps.

The other thing I noticed is Verse is one of 5 players with a True Pressure Rate over 40%.

Dude gets a lot of pressure ....
having him pin back his ears as much as possible is just good football.

 

[kmramsfan]

Our expectations rose too high after all the sacks that our D-line got in the playoffs last year.

The fact is that our front four has been a disappointment all year, they're just not getting to the QB. Stewart has flashed pass rush skills.

After a hot start, Byron Young has reverted to his usual form. His sack numbers have always been underwhelming.

Verse only has a very predictable bull rush move. Both Young and Verse lack elite burst around the edge. Young is a free agent after the season and we need to upgrade his spot. He has not showed enough to be re-signed.

We need to go out and obtain a dominant edge rusher or two, or else QB's will continue to stand in the pocket with minimal pressure.

In all of our losses, mediocre quarterbacks have stood back and shredded our defence from the pocket.

I gotta agree with some of this.
Just not getting there enough, and that's the bottom line.
I'm almost always yelling "GET THERE !!!" at the TV on game day.

 

[rdlkgliders]

Stewart has had a very good rookie season, outplaying all of the other Rams draft picks so far.

Another Edge rusher? Perhaps, but where the Rams have been hurting this year is in the interior—mainly Fiske. I don’t know if he has fully recovered from last year’s knee injury or re-aggravated it, but he has appeared to be hobbled at times. If he brought last year’s numbers to this year’s defense…we would be having a different conversation about this defense.

Lake is really missed one way or the other, on the blitz packages.
The secondary needs at least one above average/top end CB out there with man skills. When the Rams DO blitz, they haven’t been getting home fast enough and the secondary is getting eaten alive.

The Rams defense, in its current form, is leaking oil as they head for the finish line.

CB early, a IDL later, and a developmental Edge still later.
And re-sign Lake.

I agree with all of that. I am not sure if Fiske is suffering from injury or just not having the season we thought he may.

Lake has shown his value, it is very likely our decline is related to his absence.

Speeding up the QB's clock, getting him unconfortable and moving off his spot works and works well in almost all cases.
With all of those young athletes we have none are elite at this. That is far from a knock on them. I love Verse's game as it is, BY is much more than I thought he would be and 10+ sacks a year may be his new norm. The interior is stout, like you said w havent got a lot of quickly collapsing pockets from the interior but AD's don't grow on trees, unfortunately.

Again I like our guys a lot and BY, V8 & KT have all had solid seasons depending on where you get your info all 3 are ranked between 15 - 20 pass rusher rankings. Our DL as a whole does do very well in 1 pass rushing stat and that is Stunts we are top 3.