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lexander hopes to replace McLeod at free safety
Sports Xchange
June 14, 2016 at 11:15 pm.
[www.lindyssports.com]
OXNARD, Calif. — Two of the biggest Los Angeles Rams shoes to fill from last season were also among the most vocal. When starting safety Rodney McLeod left for the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent, he took more than his hard hitting and ball-hawking skills with him.
It also meant the quarterback of the back end of the Rams’ defense and one of its most vocal leaders needed to be replaced.
A few years ago you would have been hard-pressed to think Maurice Alexander would have the skill set, let alone vocal chords, to be the man the Rams entrusted with that responsibility.
Back then he was an essentially football neophyte that Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams literally had to construct from the ground up. Alexander was basically new to the defensive back position, having played just one year at safety at Utah State, and wasn’t ready to make the transition to the NFL.
But with the backing of Williams, who championed Alexander’s cause in the 2014 draft and basically demanded his bosses pick him, the 6-foot-1, 220-pounder has developed into someone the Rams are growing more and more comfortable with as the potential replacement for McLeod.
Alexander, in turn, has backed up that conviction with a solid performance thus far in Organized Team Activities. So much so that it’s hard not to imagine him as one of the starting safeties to open the season.
“It’s been a great OTA for me, I’ve been learning and a blessing to get an opportunity to be with the (first team),” he said. “It’s been a great process.”
For Alexander, it’s payback for Williams’ support two years ago when the veteran coordinator stuck his neck out for him even though, by all accounts, Alexander was far from a finished product or sure thing.
“That was the beginning for me. Greg showed a lot of interest in me, and I set a goal to be better every single year,” Alexander said. “To get better every single time I’m out there. That’s what I’ve been doing.”
Alexander started five games last year at strong safety in place of injured starter T.J. McDonald and finished with 27 tackles and two sacks, and though he projects more at that position than at the free safety position McLeod manned, Williams and the Rams’ defensive staff have been creative with the defensive backs so it’s not a stretch to believe Alexander can’t make the transition.
He’s competing with Cody Davis and Christian Bryant for the spot opposite McDonald, although with McDonald out of OTAs dealing with legal issues, all three are getting chances to mix and match between the two safety spots.
One of them will have to replace McLeod, though. And Alexander hopes he gets the call.
If so, he says McLeod deserves some of the credit.
“I love Rodney, he’s a great player and a great teammate and he left great footprints behind,” Alexander said. “And that’s why I’m a better player now, because of someone like him looking out for me. I’m a player the coaches can trust right now.”
Sports Xchange
June 14, 2016 at 11:15 pm.
[www.lindyssports.com]
OXNARD, Calif. — Two of the biggest Los Angeles Rams shoes to fill from last season were also among the most vocal. When starting safety Rodney McLeod left for the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent, he took more than his hard hitting and ball-hawking skills with him.
It also meant the quarterback of the back end of the Rams’ defense and one of its most vocal leaders needed to be replaced.
A few years ago you would have been hard-pressed to think Maurice Alexander would have the skill set, let alone vocal chords, to be the man the Rams entrusted with that responsibility.
Back then he was an essentially football neophyte that Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams literally had to construct from the ground up. Alexander was basically new to the defensive back position, having played just one year at safety at Utah State, and wasn’t ready to make the transition to the NFL.
But with the backing of Williams, who championed Alexander’s cause in the 2014 draft and basically demanded his bosses pick him, the 6-foot-1, 220-pounder has developed into someone the Rams are growing more and more comfortable with as the potential replacement for McLeod.
Alexander, in turn, has backed up that conviction with a solid performance thus far in Organized Team Activities. So much so that it’s hard not to imagine him as one of the starting safeties to open the season.
“It’s been a great OTA for me, I’ve been learning and a blessing to get an opportunity to be with the (first team),” he said. “It’s been a great process.”
For Alexander, it’s payback for Williams’ support two years ago when the veteran coordinator stuck his neck out for him even though, by all accounts, Alexander was far from a finished product or sure thing.
“That was the beginning for me. Greg showed a lot of interest in me, and I set a goal to be better every single year,” Alexander said. “To get better every single time I’m out there. That’s what I’ve been doing.”
Alexander started five games last year at strong safety in place of injured starter T.J. McDonald and finished with 27 tackles and two sacks, and though he projects more at that position than at the free safety position McLeod manned, Williams and the Rams’ defensive staff have been creative with the defensive backs so it’s not a stretch to believe Alexander can’t make the transition.
He’s competing with Cody Davis and Christian Bryant for the spot opposite McDonald, although with McDonald out of OTAs dealing with legal issues, all three are getting chances to mix and match between the two safety spots.
One of them will have to replace McLeod, though. And Alexander hopes he gets the call.
If so, he says McLeod deserves some of the credit.
“I love Rodney, he’s a great player and a great teammate and he left great footprints behind,” Alexander said. “And that’s why I’m a better player now, because of someone like him looking out for me. I’m a player the coaches can trust right now.”
