Interested in everyone's thoughts on slowing Philly run game

[20hrswk]

The Ram's worst graded run defender by PFF is . . . Braden Fiske.
But, he is obviously one of the Ram's best pass rushers.
That being the case, when do you put him in the game knowing you must limit the Eagle's rushing attack?

Would Shula/McVay go 4-3 (with Reeder/other as "extra" run stopper LB and bring Lake up to be "8 in the box" in certain situations?
Would they go "5 - 3" on certain downs with Hoecht on DL and Rozeboom, Speights and Lake up? Trust DW/Spoon/Durant to take Brown/Smith one on one?

Seems to me Kobie, Verse, Hoecht, Speights, Lake , Curl and BBIII (if healthy) need to be in to stop the run. The rest is questionable.

They can't get run on like in November so something has to change, especially if BBIII is playing hurt?

Selling out to limit the Eagle's running and putting the game on Hurts' arm/management seems wise, but how exactly?

How does everyone see it happening?

 

[OHRAM]

I agree with most of that. It's strange that Fiske isn't strong against the run.

I love what Shula has done. But this game will be his real test imo. If they shut down the eagles then he's probably getting a head coaching job somewhere. Imo

 

[jjab360]

I'm not listening to anything based solely off of a PFF grade lol.

Show me the tape/tangible statistics of Fiske being bad against the run if that's the argument.

 

[den-the-coach]

I'm not listening to anything based solely off of a PFF grade lol.

Show me the tape/tangible statistics of Fiske being bad against the run if that's the argument.

The Eagles will look to establish the run again, which was highly effective against the Rams in their previous matchup. The team rushed for 314 yards, led by Barkley’s 255 yards were the ninth-most in a single game in NFL history. Barkley also had two touchdowns, both of which were over 70 yards. Barkley amassed 191 yards before contact according to Pro Football Reference, highlighting the offensive line’s blocking and his vision and cutback ability. Since that game, the Rams have improved their run defense, allowing an average of 104.1 rushing yards per game, including 106 yards against the Vikings. To avoid a repeat performance, the Rams may stack the box to limit Barkley’s impact.

NFL Playoffs: Eagles ‘humbled’ Rams in 1st meeting. Will they do it again? | Scouting Report

The Eagles will have a rematch against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round after the Rams dismantled teh Minnesota Vikings Monday night.

www.nj.com

 

[Tumak61]

Rams D will be more disciplined in this game than last time. Rozeboom and Speights will smack barkley and Kinchens has been really strong in run support this last month. Eagles will try to run but eventually it will come down to hurts dropping back and trying to extend plays. I see the end of the game with hurts running around trying to create a big play and if our Defense can stop that then we will get a close win.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I’m not saying the Rams won’t look to devise a master scheme to stop the Philly alpha run game…

But the best way to do that is to focus on our offense being outstanding.

We aren’t going to neutralize the run.

They don’t want to throw the ball downfield against our pass rush. We have to get them to lean on Hurts. That’s the bottom line.

Either get a lead and control possession or get them into a shootout. Add in the weather and it’s a tall glass of a mountain to climb.

Its pretty similar to the gameplan we’d need vs Detroit, except Philly is a better team.

 

[FaulkSF]

5-6 man fronts and set the edge. Play single high and tempt Philly to attack us aerially. This is the game where you want Hurts to try and beat us with 300 air yards.

I anticipate this to be a ground and pound game based on weather conditions unfortunately.

 

[OldSchool]

Lane discipline and sound tackling.

 

[dang]

Rams D will be more disciplined in this game than last time. Rozeboom and Speights will smack barkley and Kinchens has been really strong in run support this last month. Eagles will try to run but eventually it will come down to hurts dropping back and trying to extend plays. I see the end of the game with hurts running around trying to create a big play and if our Defense can stop that then we will get a close win.

Rozeboom cannot handle Barkley speed or power. Speights can’t handle his speed. Lake might be the key to shadow Barkley. He seems to have speed and power. And I don’t want to see Reeder on the field unless it’s special teams or tush push play.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

I’m not saying the Rams won’t look to devise a master scheme to stop the Philly alpha run game…

But the best way to do that is to focus on our offense being outstanding.

We aren’t going to neutralize the run.

They don’t want to throw the ball downfield against our pass rush. We have to get them to lean on Hurts. That’s the bottom line.

Either get a lead and control possession or get them into a shootout. Add in the weather and it’s a tall glass of a mountain to climb.

Its pretty similar to the gameplan we’d need vs Detroit, except Philly is a better team.

I think this is right. Our O will have to be the key to stopping Saquon.

 

[Allen2McVay]

Have not seen many posts about the threat of Jalen Hurts' running and scrambling.

The Rams can certainly rush; and the Eagles absolutely have a top-tier O-Line. Imprtant match-up. However, the Rams often let all four rushers (Young, Turner, Verse and Fiske) go after the quarterback; and, many times, there is not much contain on the QB.

Mobile quarterbacks can really take advantage of that; and, in my opinion, the lack of athelticism of the Rams' off-ball-Linebackers can be exploited in those situations.

A lack of contain with the pass rush can result in a 5-10 yard gain from a mobile quarterback.
A lack of athleticism from the off-ball-LBs can turn those plays into 20+ yards from a mobile QB.

I can see Hurts rushing for 75+ yards, extending drives and that being a major factor. Hope I am wrong.

 

[fearsomefour]

I agree with most of that. It's strange that Fiske isn't strong against the run.

I love what Shula has done. But this game will be his real test imo. If they shut down the eagles then he's probably getting a head coaching job somewhere. Imo

Not really.
He's undersized and uses angles to get a pass rush. Meaning, he is going around blockers, which creates running lanes if they are running the ball.

 

[fearsomefour]

The Rams are going to have to play run heavy fronts. That means likely man coverage downfield. A big job ahead of our DBs. The guy who has been playing if not the best, certainly one of the best, at CB Witherspoon is having a leg issue. If he's not 100% it gets much tougher.
I think Rams will have to possess the ball by either running or passing on first down to get to second and shorts to control the ball and get first downs.
A bunch of 3 and outs and the game could get away quickly.

 

[fearsomefour]

Lane discipline and sound tackling.

Saquan had two runs over 70 yards last time, making up a huge chunk of his 255 yards.
Those came again run heavy fronts.
If lane discipline breaks down on those there is no one at the second level and he is gone.

 

[fearsomefour]

In the first match up, if Kyren doesn't fumble on the Rams second possession (I think second) that killed a likely scoring drive deep in Eagles territory.......and Karty hits the FG he missed.......is it a different game?
Maybe.
Maybe the Rams were not going to stop Barkley all day no matter what.
Everyone rightfully focuses on Barkleys huge number, but, as badly as they played the Rams were still in the game for much of the afternoon.
There are gaps between the teams but not as huge as many make it seem.

 

[AZRams]

Have not seen many posts about the threat of Jalen Hurts' running and scrambling.

The Rams can certainly rush; and the Eagles absolutely have a top-tier O-Line. Imprtant match-up. However, the Rams often let all four rushers (Young, Turner, Verse and Fiske) go after the quarterback; and, many times, there is not much contain on the QB.

Mobile quarterbacks can really take advantage of that; and, in my opinion, the lack of athelticism of the Rams' off-ball-Linebackers can be exploited in those situations.

A lack of contain with the pass rush can result in a 5-10 yard gain from a mobile quarterback.
A lack of athleticism from the off-ball-LBs can turn those plays into 20+ yards from a mobile QB.

I can see Hurts rushing for 75+ yards, extending drives and that being a major factor. Hope I am wrong.

Set the edge and maintain discipline. Don't let him out of the pocket.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Barkley’s lowest rushing totals were against The Browns (47 yds), Steelers (65) and Cowboys (66)

All of those teams have better Linebackers than the Rams and bigger Dlines.

The Rams best defense is likely to be a great offense. The weather may make that difficult. If McVay is ever going to prove that he’s the genius, that many give him credit for being, this game would be his crowning achievement.

 

[Corbin]

Rams storyline to watch: The Rams' defense gave up 314 rushing yards to the Eagles in Week 12, including 255 to running back Saquon Barkley, something that has stuck with the unit. Of the previous eight players to record 200 or more rushing yards against a team in the regular season and meet that team again in the playoffs, none ran for more than 200 yards in the second meeting, per ESPN Research. -- Sarah Barshop

 

[bwdenverram]

As most have said already there's two main pieces. (1) We have to keep discipline and not get out of position and let big runs happen. So maybe we clog the line a little more. We shall see. (2) Ball control. The longer we keep the ball, the longer they don't have it. Plain and simple.
Look, they have a massive OL that gave us fits last time. If we don't get pressure and disrupt what they want to do, it's going to be a massive struggle. If we do anything like we did to Minnesota, we have a great chance to win. But both things have to happen, IMO to win in their house with weather (which is to their advantage).

 

[majrleaged]

If the offense does there part this time, the D will be better and then it is anybody's game.