NFL's Worst Defense ?

[RamFan503]

Oh no! We are going to lose every game in our March schedule!

 

[Malibu]

Exactly! How many fans had the Eagles in the Superbowl this time last year? How many had the Rams 5-12? We lost Von Miller and our pass rush was going to take a hit but picking up Bobby Wagner made Ram fans gush about how we'd stop the run. True we were #11 in YPC and #13 in rushing yards allowed but in 2021 we were #7 and #6 respectively with Troy Fucking Reeder playing ILB! Truth is we (or anybody writing a story on anything) don't know what's going to happen.

According to some end of season ranking Kader Kohou was one of the top 20 CBs in the NFL. 13 GS, 10 PD, 63 solo tackles, 5 TFL, 1 Int, 1 FF. What round was he drafted by Miami? He wasn't. How about Benjamin St. Juste with WFT? 12 GS, 7 PD, 2 sacks, 1 FF, 2 TFL starting on Washington's 7th ranked D. Drafted in the 3rd round (#74) of 2021. Seattle drafted 2 CBs, #109 and #153 and they played a huge roll with that defense. KC drafted 2 CBs at #135 and #253 who played big rolls on that D. Who predicted all that?

People can write whatever enters their mind. Fans can worry and kvetch about how bad the Rams D is going to be in 2023. But the truth is nobody knows. We can only guess. We only have Aaron Donald and the rest of the squad is relatively inexperienced. Ernest Jones and Fuller are the next most experienced defenders. And we have a ton of youth....and more on the way in April. So what's that mean? Nada.

If you lose 8 starters and those are the majority of the best players not named AD and Jones I'd say it is a super solid bet we will be horrible on Defense.

 

[Snaz]

Need some smart players or players that can recognize and react on this "Morris" defense.
Also better tackling would make a huge difference.
Draft smart players, like Richard Sherman, tall ran a 4.56 but played CB in Legion of Boom pretty well.
Pass on the personality, though. Players like him fit the "Morris" scheme.

 

[El Chapo Jr]

Oh no! We are going to lose every game in our March schedule!

It's called March Madness for a reason! Fuck ...wrong sport, nevermind

 

[PARAM]

If you lose 8 starters and those are the majority of the best players not named AD and Jones I'd say it is a super solid bet we will be horrible on Defense.

I could see if we lost 8 guys from a top 10 defense, we might suffer. At what point this year, did we have a good defense? But that is besides the point. The success of the Rams under McVay has been and will always be tied to OFFENSE. We went to the Superbowl in 2018 with the #20 defense in points and #19 defense in yards. This year we had the #21 defense in points and #19 defense in yards and we were 5-12. Why? No offense. We had the #1 defense in both yards and points in 2020 and went 10-6, 1-1 in the postseason. Why? Mediocre offense (#22, #11). In 2021 we had the #15 defense in pts, #17 in yards and won the SB. Why? Offense. Truth is, when McVay has a top 10 offense, we win, regardless of the defense.

2017 Offense #1 in pts, #10 in yards Defense #12 in pts, #19 in yards (11-5)
2018 Offense #2 in pts, #2 in yards Defense #20 in pts, #19 in yards (13-3)
2019 Offense #11 in pts, #7 in yards Defense #17 in pts, #13 in yards (9-7)
2020 Offense #22 in pts, #11 in yards Defense #1 in pts, #1 in yards (10-6)
2021 Offense #7 in pts, #9 in yards Defense #15 in pts, #17 in yards (12-5)
2022 Offense #27 in pts, #32 in yards Defense #21 in pts, #19 in yards (5-12)

And though I think Floyd was ragged a bit too much this year, he isn't a top flight pass rusher. Wagner had slowed. Ramsey is great but has his lapses. Gaines is decent but is that because of Donald? Rapp? Man he's been Ram fans whipping boy since he was drafted. Hill? He missed 4 games early this year and we went 2-2. Long? Come on. Scott was a good safety. A'Shawn was a run stopper but got hurt this year.

Donald is our defense.

 

[FarNorth]

Donald is our defense.

All 11 of it.

 

[CGI_Ram]

We have a lot of holes to fill.

UDFA’s should be lining up outside our door, like limitless 7th round draft picks.

 

[TheTackle]

Exactly! How many fans had the Eagles in the Superbowl this time last year? How many had the Rams 5-12? We lost Von Miller and our pass rush was going to take a hit but picking up Bobby Wagner made Ram fans gush about how we'd stop the run. True we were #11 in YPC and #13 in rushing yards allowed but in 2021 we were #7 and #6 respectively with Troy Fucking Reeder playing ILB! Truth is we (or anybody writing a story on anything) don't know what's going to happen.

According to some end of season ranking Kader Kohou was one of the top 20 CBs in the NFL. 13 GS, 10 PD, 63 solo tackles, 5 TFL, 1 Int, 1 FF. What round was he drafted by Miami? He wasn't. How about Benjamin St. Juste with WFT? 12 GS, 7 PD, 2 sacks, 1 FF, 2 TFL starting on Washington's 7th ranked D. Drafted in the 3rd round (#74) of 2021. Seattle drafted 2 CBs, #109 and #153 and they played a huge roll with that defense. KC drafted 2 CBs at #135 and #253 who played big rolls on that D. Who predicted all that?

People can write whatever enters their mind. Fans can worry and kvetch about how bad the Rams D is going to be in 2023. But the truth is nobody knows. We can only guess. We only have Aaron Donald and the rest of the squad is relatively inexperienced. Ernest Jones and Fuller are the next most experienced defenders. And we have a ton of youth....and more on the way in April. So what's that mean? Nada.

I said the Eagles were looking like a favourite and more than a few shot me down. Queue the tumble weed blowing past

It will take a miracle at this point for the D to be anything other than average. If they sign a FA it blows their comp pick strategy. Perhaps our best bet is to trade some of those 6th round picks for solid vets that fit our system? The O better return to 2021-22 form!

 

[So Ram]

Derion Kendrick...

These R THE KIND of RAM FANS that make me SICK!!

 

[So Ram]

We have a lot of holes to fill.

UDFA’s should be lining up outside our door, like limitless 7th round draft picks.

Well some of them are better than 3rd picks . Bobby Evans

Oh wait - T. Lewis

 

[PARAM]

I said the Eagles were looking like a favourite and more than a few shot me down. Queue the tumble weed blowing past

It will take a miracle at this point for the D to be anything other than average. If they sign a FA it blows their comp pick strategy. Perhaps our best bet is to trade some of those 6th round picks for solid vets that fit our system? The O better return to 2021-22 form!

So when the Eagles signed Darious Slay as a UFA, you knew they'd be excellent? Prior to the draft when they acquired AJ Brown in a trade?. Prior to getting Bradbury in May? You are a Nostradamus!!

Fortunately if the defense is less than average or mediocre, they will be comparable to the 2022 #19 defense. Even if they're a little worse, is that a huge difference?

If you simply look at the "names" we lost, it sounds daunting.
"Future HOFers Ramsey and Wagner"
"Strong pieces like Floyd and A.Robinson"
"Decent complimentary players Hill, Scott, Rapp and Gaines"
8 is a lot of players to replace!

Unlike 2017, when McVay took over and replaced the entire WR corp (4 guys) the LT and C, added a #2 TE. Only 7 but still, a lot and led the league in scoring. Of course that would be too much to expect but middle of the road? Not so much.

 

[den-the-coach]

What me worry?

 

[madrid311]

I think the ram's team as a whole will be better than most people think. It will be fun to watch a young McVay and Morris coached up team compete to the best of their abilities and get us to the playoffs. Go Rams!

 

[snackdaddy]

All I care about is the scoring stat. Morris's defense has a tendency to have us wanting to throw bricks at our TV during a game. But at the end the score wasn't as much as we thought it might be. We'll see how they play it when the time comes.

 

[ottoman89]

All I care about is the scoring stat. Morris's defense has a tendency to have us wanting to throw bricks at our TV during a game. But at the end the score wasn't as much as we thought it might be. We'll see how they play it when the time comes.

We were tied for 22st with LAC in Scoring Defense.

22st in passing D.
13th in Run D.
19th in YPG.

That's simply not near good enough. And that was with Ramsey, Wagner, and Floyd. Plus Scott, Gaines and Arob who all left or are leaving.

There's no doubt. On paper this is NO DOUBT one of the worst D in the NFL. Take AD off and it is. Might as well take them off because they're going to nickel and dime us all game neutralizing him again.

 

[Tumak61]

I like the idea of the rebuild on D. Never a fan of having 2 or 3 guys on huge deals and everyone else a bargain. If your going to spend then spend on pass rushers. One great corner is not that helpful in my opinion. Keep the pass rushers, let everyone else walk in free agency if the want a huge deal. That being said, I think they moved on from Floyd at the right time.

 

[PARAM]

Last year we had all the "stars" on D and didn't produce. This year they blew it up. Certainly, much of it has to do with getting under the cap. But it needed blowing up anyway. Great points @Tumak61!! A rational look at the issue!!

Another issue is "we haven't done anything to add to the offense, so far". Correct. We just got out of cap hell. The draft will do a number of things for us. Add some talent to the roster. Perhaps make some guys expendable, therefore create some more cap space. Allow us to supplement the roster afterwards with pinpoint accuracy.

A number of free agents sign after the draft. Because they either want too much money or aren't the top tier in the free agency hierearchy. So there will be a couple of signings after the draft for the Rams, I'd wager. Maybe a couple of 2 or 3 year deals. Maybe just some one year contracts. Doesn't matter. There will be more.

Suppose they draft a C high? Allen could be traded (less likely) or released saving between 2 and 4 mil.
Suppose they draft a S high? Fuller could be gone. That's a 2.7 savings and a .... $42,400 dead hit.
Suppose they draft a RB high? Akers could be traded or released. 1.45 - 2 mil savings and a $410,000 dead hit.

Combined with the money we already have.....10 mil plus 6 or 7 more, we could grab a UFA or two, easily after signing the draft class.

 

[Karate61]

These R THE KIND of RAM FANS that make me SICK!!

What kind don't?

 

[AvengerRam]

If you lose 8 starters and those are the majority of the best players not named AD and Jones I'd say it is a super solid bet we will be horrible on Defense.

Or… you can wait to see who the team adds, THEN make your bets.

Just saying.

 

[AZRams]

Won't be for lack of trying it seems.