Just how good is the Rams Defense?

[Dodgersrf]

I hope we draft Thompson(my last name) so I can buy his jersey and pretend I play for the Rams.

Your name is Legatron4 Thompson?

 

[LesBaker]

And a ton of those penalties were bullcrap. I was at the game, and the refs were completely babying OBJ.

No man they were CALLED for 149 in addition to copping over 500.

 

[Memento]

No man they were CALLED for 149 in addition to copping over 500.

Ah. I see. I was talking about a few of the calls on us.

 

[Legatron4]

Your name is Legatron4 Thompson?

If only man lol

 

[LesBaker]

Ah. I see. I was talking about a few of the calls on us.

Well it goes without saying that the calls against the Rams were bad. They never commit a penalty. Ever.

 

[Memento]

Well it goes without saying that the calls against the Rams were bad. They never commit a penalty. Ever.

Never said that. I said that some of them were bad. That Ogletree "facemask" on OBJ for one.

 

[8to12]

The more I think about the Rams Defense going into the 2015 Season it is pretty scary (For opposing Teams!)!

I can't imagine any team in the NFL having a better DL (Chris Long, Robert Quinn, Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, Nick Fairley, etc) than the Rams. Gregg Williams should have a challenging (And, FUN!) time coming up ways to use this group!

I think the Rams LB position is in pretty good shape with James Laurinaitis, Alec Ogletree, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Akeem Ayers, Daren Bates, etc. But, if the Rams could add Shaq Thompson (Don't think he will be available when the Rams pick in the 2nd round but it is possible), Paul Dawson or Eric Kendricks with their 2nd round pick then I think their LB position would go from pretty good to really good! I might be wrong but even though I think both Dawson and Kendricks are both more thought of as MLB's I think they could play the OLB position until Laurinaitis retires.

And, I might be in the minority but I think the Rams secondary is in good shape with Gaines, Jenkins, Johnson, Roberson, McDonald, Barron (Can't wait to see how the Rams use him next season/He should be a Beast!), Joyner (If healthy I think all Rams fans will like this player!), Alexander, McLeod, etc. It won't surprise me to see the Rams trying to improve the secondary if the right player becomes available (Draft, FA, Trade, etc) but I do think this unit has a chance to be a really good group!

I really think the Rams Defense has a great chance of being elite this coming season especially if they get some help from their offense!

I will have to disagree about the secondary. Last season, the Rams allowed opponents a 68% pass completion percentage. Only the 'Buc's were worse.

Also, in general, they gave up 22 PPG. Until they show improvement in these areas I will not consider them "elite". My hope is that they start the season in gear and not out of sync like they were for many games last season.

 

[LesBaker]

Never said that. I said that some of them were bad. That Ogletree "facemask" on OBJ for one.

I was joking......mostly because of how often the Rams actually DO commit penalties LOL.

 

[Mr. Walker]

If we can somehow get an upgrade over JL55, This defense is going to be sick.

 

[LACHAMP46]

If we can somehow get an upgrade over JL55,

get ready to duck.....

 

[VeteranRamFan]

If we can somehow get an upgrade over JL55, This defense is going to be sick.

IN COMING!!!

 

[snackdaddy]

If we can somehow get an upgrade over JL55, This defense is going to be sick.

He's not one of the top MLB's in the league, but I doubt he's a big part of the problem. He has some limitations, but he makes up for a lot with his intelligence. I think the Rams defense can be a top tier unit as is. They just need to work on some things.

 

[paceram]

I will have to disagree about the secondary. Last season, the Rams allowed opponents a 68% pass completion percentage. Only the 'Buc's were worse.

Also, in general, they gave up 22 PPG. Until they show improvement in these areas I will not consider them "elite". My hope is that they start the season in gear and not out of sync like they were for many games last season.

You bring up some very good points but I still think (Just Personal Opinion) that the Rams secondary is very young and will only get better and I don't think it helped that the Rams offense put them in a lot of bad situations. But, with that being said it is hard to argue with statistics but I feel pretty confident those stats will be much, much better next season!

 

[Memphis Ram]

I will have to disagree about the secondary. Last season, the Rams allowed opponents a 68% pass completion percentage. Only the 'Buc's were worse.

Also, in general, they gave up 22 PPG. Until they show improvement in these areas I will not consider them "elite". My hope is that they start the season in gear and not out of sync like they were for many games last season.

AGREED.

Alex Smith 86.2%
Phillip Rivers 82.9%
Tony Romo 78.3%
Eli Manning 78.1%
Josh McCown 76.2%
Carson Palmer 69.4%
Matt Cassell 68%
Russell Wilson 68%
Collin Kaepernick 66.7% (whom most say can't play)

And this with a pass rush many rave about?

Talent at the position vs. Bodies at the position. Two different things altogether.

 

[Boat Ram]

If Snead and Fisher ignore making our offense better through the draft, I will buy every ROD Member a round of drinks! (But you will need to come to Montana to claim it!)

I'm in. Helena here.

 

[RAGRam]

I will have to disagree about the secondary. Last season, the Rams allowed opponents a 68% pass completion percentage. Only the 'Buc's were worse.

Also, in general, they gave up 22 PPG. Until they show improvement in these areas I will not consider them "elite". My hope is that they start the season in gear and not out of sync like they were for many games last season.

Is "they" the defence? Because "they" gave up 18.25, unfortunately they also had an O which gave up almost 4 PPG once you take out points scored from turnovers [for all teams] they ranked 5th in points allowed per game (Seattle 14.9, Detroit 16.9, Buffalo 17*, Kansas City 17.4, St Louis 18.3) as disappointing as the D was at times (the performance against Dallas and New York and the second half against the Seahawks should be unforgivable for a 3rd year "defensive" HC) I still think it's unfair to blame them for the O allowing so many points.

*Note Buffalo were 1st in points allowed per drive, but faced 18 more drives than the Seahawks.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Percentages are for baseball
Even the Seahawks......who i'm sure everyone agrees has one of the best secondaries in the league, and the best CB, finished 12th in completion % last season. They were numero uno in passing yards allowed/gm. Rams pass D finished 19th in passing yards allowed/gm

Then we have TD's given up via the pass:
Rams D finished 4th in passing TD's allowed with only 18, while Seattle finished 2nd with 17 TD's. Just for reference the Washington D gave up 35 TD's via the pass. THAT'S a bad secondary.

Our secondary isn't that bad. The entire defense wasn't very good for most of the first half of the season. I agree that we could use an upgrade at CB, someone who can shutdown an entire side of the field...but much like Center/Power forwards in the NBA that can score inside/outside, rebound and play defense...those guys don't grow on trees in the NFL.

 

[RAGRam]

Is "they" the defence? Because "they" gave up 18.25, unfortunately they also had an O which gave up almost 4 PPG once you take out points scored from turnovers [for all teams] they ranked 5th in points allowed per game (Seattle 14.9, Detroit 16.9, Buffalo 17*, Kansas City 17.4, St Louis 18.3) as disappointing as the D was at times (the performance against Dallas and New York and the second half against the Seahawks should be unforgivable for a 3rd year "defensive" HC) I still think it's unfair to blame them for the O allowing so many points.

*Note Buffalo were 1st in points allowed per drive, but faced 18 more drives than the Seahawks.

Whoops, 2 corrections, that 18.3 includes a kick off return TD, it depends how you want to treat that, as either another defensive unit, or an entirely different entity, either way it doesn't change the fact that St Louis were 5th in PPG.

Buffalo faced 28 more drives than Seattle.

 

[lockdnram21]

We still need a top Cb. I would go after Peters or Waynes. Gaines is good but not a #1 cb. Jenkins gambles to much. I like Tru but hasn't been able to stay healthy