The only reason Staley's defense is "winning" is because of a number of key miscues by the opposition. Most teams are still playing like it's preseason, not only the players but the coaches as well. That will change in a couple of weeks so if Staley gets complacent about his scheme the Rams could be in for a rude awakening. Also, what is winning the games isn't so much Staley's defense but the offense which is jumping out to quick leads forcing teams to play from behind. Two plays won the game for the Rams vs Cowboys. Greg missing a very makeable FG for him and McCarthy not taking the chipshot field goal and going for it on 4th and 3. Those two FG's and the Rams lose. Staley's conservative scheme to play not to lose instead of playing aggressively to win is totally dependent upon the offense blowing teams out.
The Eagles aren't the good team of past years. Watching them play it was clear they were a shadow of themselves. Yet Staley's conservative play not to lose defense kept the Birds in the game. They had about the same amount of yardage, the same number of 3rd down conversions, and about 160 yds on the ground. The Ram defense should have dominated the Eagles but they didn't. Staley is playing basically the same zone concept as Seattle. Did you watch the Pats vs Hawks game? The Pats came from behind and lost on the last play of the game on the Hawks goal line. The Pat's offense is sorely undermanned. They have a very good defense but they are lacking weapons on offense. But that same style of defense almost cost the Hawks a win.
The Rams have the personnel talent to play a dominating defense. But Staley is afraid to play to his player's strength. As a newbie DC he's too afraid of losing and not playing aggressively and trusting the talent on the team. The Ram's got little pass rush pressure on Wentz considering the talent he was facing. That's all on Staley. It's time for fans to understand that they need to hold the coaching accountable as much as the players. It was the same thing with Kromer and the o-line last year. I railed about Kromer's lousy coaching and no one then and even now agrees. Everyone was convinced it was poor talent. But low and behold O'Connell installs the NFL level blocking schemes Kromer never did and whoa! The Rams are running the ball and basically dominating on offense with the same personnel Kromer had but didn't know how to use.
I'm seeing the exact same thing with Staley. A man too afraid to maximize his player's potential in order to play not to lose which in itself is losing. O'Connell's offense is making Staley look better than he is. If I'm wrong I'm wrong....but I'm saying I'm seeing the same thing in Staley's scheme that I saw in Kromer's scheme. I was right about that and I know I'm not wrong about this. He's going to ride O'Connell's and McVay's coattails to success rather than blaze his own trail.