Defense in key situations

[Ellard80]

A lot of us (including myself) have been down on the defense and after giving up an average of 38pts the last two weeks that has increased.

However one really nice trend I've seen and I very important one- getting stops with the game on the line.

In those "clutch situations" at the end of the game our defense has done its job nearly every time.

Many times its been Donald coming through with a sack/pressure when it was needed.

End of Vikings game Donald makes a key sack.
End of Vikings game Franklin-Myers strip sack ends game.
End of Seattle game they get down to our 24 then a bunch of penalties and good defense they end up punting
End of Raiders game Peters pick six puts the game away for good.
End of Packers game - Donald Sacks Rodgers late in the 4th - 25 yard punt gives us great field position
End of Packers game - Special teams with the great strip fumble.
Late in 4th quarter Seattle - Fowler strip sack sets up key TD
End of game Seattle - Donald puts pressure on Wilson forces a rush throw to end game.

So this trend of finishing on defense at the game is encouraging.

 

[Merlin]

I do think we're in a rough stretch of the season where the defense is getting extra challenging matchups. Green Bay has a heck of an offense matchup-wise that was painful. And I expected the Stains to hang a lot on us and to lose in their house. But what I don't like is not being able to stop the Shehawks offense, where the Rams got trucked in the run game too.

But you know for right now I'm just hanging onto the hope that the defense will get hot after the bye, with Talib back and Peters taking coaching and maybe even Fowler giving us enough edge threat to where they can get themselves off the field. Who knows maybe even Obo will come in and give us some edge help. Coaching is there, and we do have some talent on that side of the ball.

 

[Ellard80]

Was reading a stat about Superbowl winners... trying to find it again but think 100% of winners had over 30 sacks on season.

Here it is 45 of 47 Superbowl winners.

http://www.nfl.com/superbowlchamps/defense

 

[RamWoodie]

I think a great point was made in yesterdays game. That point being these guys haven't played together long enough to really have cohesion. We're seeing it come together though. We're seeing things on the field like the secondary not being in sync and the DLine talking through plays to know what their gonna do on a particular play. There's alot of youth on this defense which means there's alot they haven't seen and tricks of the trade they haven't caught on to.

I don't think you always look at numbers though. This defense is tough in the red zone!

 

[tempests]

Looked like the Rams pass rush wore the Seahawks line down at the end. Ebu and Donald with multiple pressures on the last few plays. And RW was 1-5 passing on the last drive.

2nd quarter was a turning point in the game too. Seattle went 75 yards on their first two drives in the 1st, but had to punt three times in the 2nd. AD99 had three tackles for -16 yards in that quarter, putting the brakes on any momentum.

 

[TheTackle]

I have to disagree, yes there have been some great splash plays at the end of games

But, could we please stop teams scoring touchdowns, more than once in a while, inside our 30? We are not playing tough in the final 3rd - if we were games wouldn't be even close

 

[Ellard80]

I have to disagree, yes there have been some great splash plays at the end of games

But, could we please stop teams scoring touchdowns, more than once in a while, inside our 30? We are not playing tough in the final 3rd - if we were games wouldn't be even close

I'm not arguing the defense is playing well throughout the game.. not even .

I'm talking about at the end of the game when the game was on the line.

 

[fearsomefour]

The best defense the Rams can have against the Chiefs is a sustained running game.
A couple of 9 minute TD drives will go a long way (maybe) to keeping the score lower.
I expect the Rams to play a deep shell D, trying and keep stuff in front of them and hold to some FGs.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think a great point was made in yesterdays game. That point being these guys haven't played together long enough to really have cohesion. We're seeing it come together though. We're seeing things on the field like the secondary not being in sync and the DLine talking through plays to know what their gonna do on a particular play. There's alot of youth on this defense which means there's alot they haven't seen and tricks of the trade they haven't caught on to.

I don't think you always look at numbers though. This defense is tough in the red zone!

Donald said that the defense is still figuring it out. That was about 5 games ago.

 

[dang]

It comes down to figuring out which 11 defensive players give the Rams the best chance to win. Yes the Rams are still trying to figure that out: Fowler role increasing/ Longacre role reducing, 2nd CB options in Hill/Shields, man to man vs zone coverage to help Peters succeed, adjustments against the constant OL holding of DL, keeping Donald/Fowler composed but effective, re-integration of Talib when ready, figuring out which OLBs are best in situations, etc, etc, etc. Yes I would say Coach Wade is still trying to figure out this defense.

 

[James Otto]

AD99 has always been an elite player, but you've seen the next step this year. He's changing games, singlehandedly, and will probably play at this level for 3-4 more years before he starts to decline into being just a good to great player LOL. He's the best player in the league, period.

 

[TheTackle]

I'm not arguing the defense is playing well throughout the game.. not even .

I'm talking about at the end of the game when the game was on the line.

I think you make a good point, but any stop inside the 30 is a key play - we are not making anywhere near enough

 

[Malibu]

AD99 has always been an elite player, but you've seen the next step this year. He's changing games, singlehandedly, and will probably play at this level for 3-4 more years before he starts to decline into being just a good to great player LOL. He's the best player in the league, period.

Not taking anything away from him bc I too believe he is the best, but having Suh next to him helps a ton it is just not evident to us but I am sure the coaches see it. AD has 12.5 sacks for a DT which is crazy and he has 6 games left.