Competing

[TheTackle]

https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/news/teams-that-could-trade-for-julian-okwara

He plays OLB and posted 3 sacks in the preseason game v Giants

 

[oldnotdead]

So much of the problem defensively revolves around use. Not every DT can play a two gap scheme. The problem up front is Morris' use of two gapping and read and react style of play. It makes everyone look slow. They are taking blows instead of delivering them.

If he would simply get with the times and play a one gap, attacking front a lot of the problems would disappear. It's not the players, it's the damn scheme and how it's played. Morris played his secondary that way and it was a failure. On the final series of the Super Bowl do you think the DL was playing two gap reand and react? Hell no, both Gaines and Donald were playing a one gap penetration style. That is the only reason the Rams won. Did Morris learn from that? No as we saw last year.

Morris only reverts to one gap penetration style DL when they get into the red zone. The question remains why only then? The answer is simple he's afraid of giving up the big plays, but they still do don't they. Morris isn't a top DC, He snows everyone with his supposed knowledge. But if he's so good why are his defenses so poor?

It's not the players, it's the DC. When Kendrick makes the final roster you will have your proof of what I'm saying. The four top CBs are Durant, Tomlinson, Rochell and Witherspoon. They ae 5 deep at safety, with Johnson, Fuller, Yeast, Lake and Taylor. That should tell you where Morris' priorities lie. So why is Kendrick even in the conversation? He's all mouth and no performance. Someone much better is going to get cut to keep DK. Why? Because Raheem likes him. Morris should keep Kendrick on the PS where he belongs.

The same thing can be said on the OL with Noteboom vs Thomas. Thomas has already proven he can play both OT and OG. Noteboom is very talented, more so than people give him credit for being. But there is no guarantee he can return 100% from his Achilles as a lot of OL players can't. Too much-prolonged stress on the injury playing on the OL. McClendon isn't ready, Bruss may never be, so IMO Thomas is clearly the best option. He's played well in preseason.

People point to Bruss as an example of not drafting well but turn a blind eye to Austin Corbett. He was a targeted player who got drafted by Cleveland before the Rams could take him. But he proved himself as a capable OG once he became a Ram. Allen has shown he's a very good center, but since entering the NFL he's been injury prone. That said UDFA Mike McAllister has shown himself to be a very good center in his own right. If he continues to play well he might be their long term answer at the position. I think McClendon will be a good RG if he can make the transition and if he can't the Rams will have a decent backup.

IMO the only reason Anchrum is playing is because they drafted him to play OG. He is still inconsistent in his play after 4 years. Tremayne is a backup level talent. He lacks the size to be a starting OG in the NFL. His cross-training as a center didn't last long which is the only OL position he is physically a fit for.

 

[Ramstien]

Very interesting take by Oldnotdead.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Very interesting take by Oldnotdead.

Entirely new, fresh and novel.

 

[ottoman89]

So much of the problem defensively revolves around use. Not every DT can play a two gap scheme. The problem up front is Morris' use of two gapping and read and react style of play. It makes everyone look slow. They are taking blows instead of delivering them.

If he would simply get with the times and play a one gap, attacking front a lot of the problems would disappear. It's not the players, it's the damn scheme and how it's played. Morris played his secondary that way and it was a failure. On the final series of the Super Bowl do you think the DL was playing two gap reand and react? Hell no, both Gaines and Donald were playing a one gap penetration style. That is the only reason the Rams won. Did Morris learn from that? No as we saw last year.

Morris only reverts to one gap penetration style DL when they get into the red zone. The question remains why only then? The answer is simple he's afraid of giving up the big plays, but they still do don't they. Morris isn't a top DC, He snows everyone with his supposed knowledge. But if he's so good why are his defenses so poor?

It's not the players, it's the DC. When Kendrick makes the final roster you will have your proof of what I'm saying. The four top CBs are Durant, Tomlinson, Rochell and Witherspoon. They ae 5 deep at safety, with Johnson, Fuller, Yeast, Lake and Taylor. That should tell you where Morris' priorities lie. So why is Kendrick even in the conversation? He's all mouth and no performance. Someone much better is going to get cut to keep DK. Why? Because Raheem likes him. Morris should keep Kendrick on the PS where he belongs.

The same thing can be said on the OL with Noteboom vs Thomas. Thomas has already proven he can play both OT and OG. Noteboom is very talented, more so than people give him credit for being. But there is no guarantee he can return 100% from his Achilles as a lot of OL players can't. Too much-prolonged stress on the injury playing on the OL. McClendon isn't ready, Bruss may never be, so IMO Thomas is clearly the best option. He's played well in preseason.

People point to Bruss as an example of not drafting well but turn a blind eye to Austin Corbett. He was a targeted player who got drafted by Cleveland before the Rams could take him. But he proved himself as a capable OG once he became a Ram. Allen has shown he's a very good center, but since entering the NFL he's been injury prone. That said UDFA Mike McAllister has shown himself to be a very good center in his own right. If he continues to play well he might be their long term answer at the position. I think McClendon will be a good RG if he can make the transition and if he can't the Rams will have a decent backup.

IMO the only reason Anchrum is playing is because they drafted him to play OG. He is still inconsistent in his play after 4 years. Tremayne is a backup level talent. He lacks the size to be a starting OG in the NFL. His cross-training as a center didn't last long which is the only OL position he is physically a fit for.

For some reason, I feel like to end the '21 regular season and through the post season, the Defense really turned it up and got aggressive. They were hitting hard, in your face, and seemed to be blitzing a lot more, and when Weddle got here, the backend really turned it up.

I was hoping that aggressiveness would carry into last season, and it just didn't.

I wish Raheem would take some damn pages out of the legendary Phil Parker at Iowa.. the best DC in the country. He plays a basic 4-3 hybrid in a way and is a simple zone with man concepts defense. Nothing glamorous, but only gave up 15 "big plays" last season. Consistently leading the Nation in picks, and major defense categories. He doesn't do anything special, just tells them to go hit the opponent in the fuckin mouth and play smart.

They play aggressively smart, and usually know where the ball is going right away.

Meanwhile, seems like the Rams defense consistently looks lost out there on the back end and the front 4-5 are standing there watching the QB (I KNOW it's not that way every play). But it just feels like the whole front 7 is spying on the QB the whole time and not trying to go knock his damn head off. It's mind blowing.

They could have 3 WRs go run routes, and we could drop 7 into coverage, and I bet they still complete the damn pass.

 

[PARAM]

I'm curious to know.........when was it established?....."our 2023 defense can't stop the run".

Has Ernest Jones been that bad?
Bobby Brown?
Kobie Turner?
Jordan Fuller?
Aaron Donald?
Murchison?
Copeland?

Who are the culprits who can't stop the run?

 

[ottoman89]

I'm curious to know.........when was it established?....."our 2023 defense can't stop the run".

Has Ernest Jones been that bad?
Bobby Brown?
Kobie Turner?
Jordan Fuller?
Aaron Donald?
Murchison?
Copeland?

Who are the culprits who can't stop the run?

From my eyes so far it's lack of the EDGE being set.

 

[Tano]

I'm curious to know.........when was it established?....."our 2023 defense can't stop the run".

Has Ernest Jones been that bad?
Bobby Brown?
Kobie Turner?
Jordan Fuller?
Aaron Donald?
Murchison?
Copeland?

Who are the culprits who can't stop the run?

Bobby Brown and Turner (our NTs) have not been good at stopping the run so far and Hoecht and Young (our initial starters on the edge) haven't looked good so far either. I haven't really seen if Murchison or Copeland have played yet so no way to tell on those two.

And if we lose Ernest Jones - we are screwed because our back-ups suck at that position. Rozeboom and Hummel are horrible.

Maybe Square is decent.

Fuller? He always gets hurt. But I do have some confidence in Johnson Lake and Yeast

And Donald is probably going to get triple teamed this year.

The thing I have been saying all offseason so far is that maybe our starters are good but our depth is so inexperienced, we may suffer greatly if any of our starters go down.

 

[dang]

Bobby Brown and Turner (our NTs) have not been good at stopping the run so far and Hoecht and Young (our initial starters on the edge) haven't looked good so far either. I haven't really seen if Murchison or Copeland have played yet so no way to tell on those two.

And if we lose Ernest Jones - we are screwed because our back-ups suck at that position. Rozeboom and Hummel are horrible.

Maybe Square is decent.

Fuller? He always gets hurt. But I do have some confidence in Johnson Lake and Yeast

And Donald is probably going to get triple teamed this year.

The thing I have been saying all offseason so far is that maybe our starters are good but our depth is so inexperienced, we may suffer greatly if any of our starters go down.

Where theres smoke. There’s usually fire. I’m seeing a lot of smoke coming from our NTs and Edge (other than Young’s potential).

 

[AvengerRam]

Concern: warranted.
Conclusions: premature.

 

[Tano]

Concern: warranted.
Conclusions: premature.

Not making any conclusions

Just stating my concerns

 

[AvengerRam]

Not making any conclusions

Just stating my concerns

I wasn't suggesting that anyone in particular (at least not here) had drawn conclusions. I was merely drawing a distinction.

 

[Tano]

I wasn't suggesting that anyone in particular (at least not here) had drawn conclusions. I was merely drawing a distinction.

No biggie - was just making sure everyone knew these were concerns of mine and not conclusions that I had come to

 

[Merlin]

I recall McVay being impressed by the way the Patriots would vary their front from game to game, when he talked about the value of that after the Super Bowl loss and how that had factored into the result. So I think what he wants is a varied front that can switch it up as needed per opponent. To date we haven't really had the kind of roster that would make that possible on defense, but I am sure that is a goal for them. Not the goal of course but something they strive for.

Truth is in today's league you can't just play one style of ball. The play design quality is too good. So there is an edge in being varied in that defensive front.

Taking that a step further the biggest problem with our front is that we lack guys who can two-gap or shed well. The physicality, which already needed to improve, actually went down with the roster changes. Hopefully our offense goes the F off and all that is minimized, but there's definitely going to be games where we get isolated in the run game and maybe even embarrassed with big run totals allowed.

 

[PARAM]

Bobby Brown and Turner (our NTs) have not been good at stopping the run so far and Hoecht and Young (our initial starters on the edge) haven't looked good so far either. I haven't really seen if Murchison or Copeland have played yet so no way to tell on those two.

And if we lose Ernest Jones - we are screwed because our back-ups suck at that position. Rozeboom and Hummel are horrible.

Maybe Square is decent.

Fuller? He always gets hurt. But I do have some confidence in Johnson Lake and Yeast

And Donald is probably going to get triple teamed this year.

The thing I have been saying all offseason so far is that maybe our starters are good but our depth is so inexperienced, we may suffer greatly if any of our starters go down.

Not making any conclusions

Just stating my concerns

Rozeboom and Hummel are horrible doesn't sound like a concern. That's definitely a conclusion. And yet Hummel had a damn good game last week. But it is only preseason. So Brown and Turner not being run stoppers....at the moment....is a concern but that can change. Fuller always getting hurt is a conclusion too.

My concerns are they won't develop as the year progresses. Not that anybody is "horrible" or "sucks" or "is always injured". But that's the thing. I DON"T EXPECT them to be lights out starting in week 1 and it seems some fans feel if that doesn't happen we're fucked. I hope they get better as the year progresses. That's probably what the staff expects. And if the offense can cover their ass a few times, by the time they're a legit NFL defense we might not be out of it.

Our talent level dropped? I question the so-called talent we had. Particularly run stopping.

We gave up 168 yards to Dallas IN WEEK 5. 162 to the Raiders, 192 to LAC, 197 to Seattle, 138 to Green Bay and 121 to Buffalo. We held 8 teams under 100 yards last year and 5 of those were 88 yards or more, 3 in the 90's. That's why I'm not concerned as others about losing Wagner. Or Floyd (who allegedly played the run well). Or Ramsey, who helped in run defense. 6 of our 17 games, opponents averaged 4.8 ypc or better. Maybe they figured, "screw it, these guys played like shit anyway. Might as well cut salary and get the same result cheaper. Or hell, maybe they'll be better"

 

[Merlin]

Maybe they figured, "screw it, these guys played like shit anyway. Might as well cut salary and get the same result cheaper. Or hell, maybe they'll be better"

That is exactly what I think they figured. Or thereabouts. It's hard to argue it too.

But I will note that this defense has been pretty good vs the run under Morris. In our Super Bowl season we were every bit as good vs the run (top 5) as we were that one year under Staley. And even last season, which felt like shit all around, we were T-11th.

So ironically enough the biggest impact of this offseason will be erosion of something Morris has previously done a good job with. But hopefully the pass defense is better, which is possible, so we'll see what we end up with.

 

[PARAM]

Maybe their theory is, get the offense back on track and grab the lead in games. Put pressure on opposing offenses and it'll make the defense that much better. Hell, these kids might even believe they're good and then, watch out!

 

[tempests]

Our talent level dropped? I question the so-called talent we had. Particularly run stopping.

We gave up 168 yards to Dallas IN WEEK 5. 162 to the Raiders, 192 to LAC, 197 to Seattle, 138 to Green Bay and 121 to Buffalo.

The Rams limited teams to 3.9 yards per carry from September through November, which I recall was still top 5 in the NFL at the time. . Four of those games you're citing came in the last month of the season, when AD wasn't in anymore.

 

[Tano]

Rozeboom and Hummel are horrible doesn't sound like a concern. That's definitely a conclusion. And yet Hummel had a damn good game last week. But it is only preseason. So Brown and Turner not being run stoppers....at the moment....is a concern but that can change. Fuller always getting hurt is a conclusion too.

My concerns are they won't develop as the year progresses. Not that anybody is "horrible" or "sucks" or "is always injured". But that's the thing. I DON"T EXPECT them to be lights out starting in week 1 and it seems some fans feel if that doesn't happen we're fucked. I hope they get better as the year progresses. That's probably what the staff expects. And if the offense can cover their ass a few times, by the time they're a legit NFL defense we might not be out of it.

Our talent level dropped? I question the so-called talent we had. Particularly run stopping.

We gave up 168 yards to Dallas IN WEEK 5. 162 to the Raiders, 192 to LAC, 197 to Seattle, 138 to Green Bay and 121 to Buffalo. We held 8 teams under 100 yards last year and 5 of those were 88 yards or more, 3 in the 90's. That's why I'm not concerned as others about losing Wagner. Or Floyd (who allegedly played the run well). Or Ramsey, who helped in run defense. 6 of our 17 games, opponents averaged 4.8 ypc or better. Maybe they figured, "screw it, these guys played like shit anyway. Might as well cut salary and get the same result cheaper. Or hell, maybe they'll be better"

I might have opinions (conclusions) about certain players (- ie Bruss is not ready yet to be playing yet) but concern is about overall teams ability to stop the run.

No conclusion yet on that

Just an example of what I mean

And Hummell made a great interception but his ability to stop the run is severely lacking at the moment

 

[PARAM]

The Rams limited teams to 3.9 yards per carry from September through November, which I recall was still top 5 in the NFL at the time. . Four of those games you're citing came in the last month of the season, when AD wasn't in anymore.

Sure on average they had good numbers. They were helped vs pitiful teams like Arizona (twice, 3.0 and 3.3), Atlanta (3.3) and a 2.6 vs Tampa. Tampa was #32 in rushing, Arizona #22. Atlanta was 3rd though. In four of the the first 7 weeks, they allowed 4.8 to Buffalo (121), Dallas (163) and SF (111) plus a 4.4 to Carolina (93 yds). Those 4 teams finished 7, 8, 9 and 10 in rushing.

And yes, 4 of those games I cited came after AD was out but Wagner was still in the middle, Floyd was there and Gaines was playing. So far our run D hasn't inspired and that's without AD....who's absence is being cited as a reason we sucked the 2nd half of the year vs the run....in Dec & Jan we allowed 4.9 ypc over 6 games.