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After Cory Littleton flashed so much playmaking ability as a backup weakside linebacker last year, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and his staff worked overtime devising special packages just to get him more playing time. He opened OTA’s as the replacement to Alec Ogletree at middle linebacker. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
By VINCENT BONSIGNORE | vbonsignore@scng.com | Daily News
PUBLISHED: May 29, 2018 at 9:06 pm | UPDATED: May 29, 2018 at 9:07 pm
he irony wasn’t lost on Cory Littleton who, upon returning from the stress-free offseason he carved out for himself focusing entirely on family and friends and as little as possible on football, reported to OTA’s a couple weeks ago to find a Rams linebacker room that looked decidedly different than the one that ended last season.
And almost immediately after, he was pulled aside by Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips and told he’d be switching positions.
After Littleton flashed so much playmaking ability as a backup weakside linebacker last year, Phillips and his staff worked overtime devising special packages just to get him more playing time. The Rams want him on the field even more in 2018, and he opened OTA’s as the replacement to Alec Ogletree at middle linebacker.
The irony being, as Littleton explains, that linebacker spot just happens to be the quarterback of the defense. As in relaying the play call from the coaching staff to the rest of the defense and getting guys lined up correctly and communicating any last-second shifts or adjustments before the ball snaps.
Or, as he said more permanently: “I’m not the most vocal person.”
Ah-ha. Got it.
Well, looks like the Rams need to add one more box to their offseason to-do-list. Specifically at linebacker, where three new starters must be identified and groomed to replace Ogletree, Robert Quinn and Connor Barwin and all the production and reliability that walked out the door when the Rams opted to part ways with them.
To that list add developing a more willing and confident voice for the highly athletic Littleton, who can’t let his play do all the talking anymore. Replacing Ogletree means talking and playing now go hand in hand.
“Speak a little louder and hope they can hear me,” he said, laughing.
If it seems the Rams are walking blindly into all this, it’s one of those yes and no type of things. For all the buzz they created and improvements they made adding dynamic cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib and dominating defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh – moves that were universally praised – fitting them into the salary-cap puzzle meant shedding money at other positions.
And that meant creating a hole the size of the Pacific Ocean at linebacker after trading both Quinn and Ogletree and not bringing Barwin back. The plan right now is filling those spots via a group of young, largely unproven holdovers and low-cost free agents and rookie draft picks and free agents.
There is confidence in the Rams building they have the pieces on hand to make a smooth transition. But until that becomes fact rather than conviction, the question remains: will the new starters be able to replicate what Ogletree, Quinn and Barwin produced, let alone provide an improvement?
At the very least, the Rams must replace 161 tackles and 15-1/2 sacks.
Oh, and a new quarterback for their defense.
For a Rams team that seemingly has all other bases covered, linebacker is the great unknown. Which explains why the coaching staff is pushing that group as hard as possible during OTA’s.
The Rams need answers. Maybe not immediately, but soon. And they are trying to come up with them ASAP.
“We’ve put them in some tough situations with how we practice,” said Rams head coach Sean McVay. “It requires a lot of thinking on the move, some of the adjustments and things especially just based on what the offense is presenting. And I think they’ve handled it well. I think we’ll have a better feel toward the end of the offseason program going into training camp.
If the season started today – and thank goodness for the Rams it doesn’t – Littleton would probably start alongside Mark Barron at inside linebacker and second-year standout Samson Ebukam would get the nod at one outside linebacker spot opposite fifth-year veteran Matt Longacre.
For Ebukam, it’s indicative of the strong finish he had to a rookie season in which he recorded 20 tackles and two sacks while making two starts in place of Barwin.
“I look at it as an opportunity, because those guys had (the job last year). But now that they’re gone it’s an opportunity for me to step up and win that role,” he said.
And he isn’t shy about what he’ll bring.
“Relentless effort. Poise and composure. Strength and attitude and speed,” Ebukam said. “And the more I learn, the more confident I get. I feel like I can bring a lot.”
Littleton bogarted his way into the picture as a reserve and special teams standout last year while notching 31 tackles and one sack and blocking two punts.
“He’s a guy that’s got a lot of nuance to his game, but you see the athleticism and the instincts show up,” McVay said.
And now a clear path has opened to a starting job.
“It makes me feel good as a player that they really believe in me,” Littleton said. “So I’ve got to do I can to get better so I can prove it.”
But keep in mind it’s only May, which means there is plenty of time for inside linebackers Bryce Hager, Ramik Wilson, Micah Kiser and Tegray Scales and outside backers Trevon Young, Ejuan Price, Garrett Sickles, Brian Womac, Justin Lawler and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo – among others – to push their way into starting or prominent roles.
In fact, Wilson, a free agent signee who spent the last two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and Lawler, a seventh-round pick out of SMU, got the bulk of the time with the No. 1 defense Tuesday during the Rams Phase II OTA practice.
Wilson is playing in place of Barron, who is working individually off to the side at this point of OTA’s, and has caught the attention of the Rams coaching staff. In two years with the Chiefs, Wilson started 17 of 30 games and made 111 tackles.
“Ramik Wilson is a guy over the last week and a half, you felt him,” McVay said. “You can see he’s a guy that’s instinctual, a guy with a great feel with his run fits and responsibilities.”
Lawler has also been impressive working at OLB and defensive end in place of Longacre – coming off a back injury – and Aaron Donald, who is not participating in OTA’s while seeking a contract extension.
“He’s flashed some really good things,” McVay said. “He’s gotten some chances and made the most of those.”
He’ll get plenty of other chances between now and the regular season. A whole bunch of guys will. And with three spots up for grabs, the Rams will keep a keen eye on all of them.
But they need answers fast.
[www.ocregister.com]
