Suh signs one year deal with the Rams

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Fiji Fan

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Fiji Fan
RIP to the following:

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DaveFan'51

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https://www.theringer.com/2018/3/26/17166048/ndamukong-suh-los-angeles-rams-aaron-donald

Ndamukong Suh Gives the Rams a Terrifying Defense
Los Angeles is stacking strength with strength as the team stocks up for a postseason run
By Danny Heifetz

usa_today_9713906.0.jpg

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

The Deal
Ndamukong Suh has signed a one-year deal with the Rams worth $14 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

RIP, Russell Wilson
Only two active defensive tackles have been named first-team All-Pro three times. Now they play together. With Suh and Aaron Donald, the Rams are stacking strength on strength at one position in a way the NFL hasn’t seen since Denver paired DeMarcus Ware with Von Miller in 2014.

Suh is at the tail end of his prime at 31 years old, while Donald is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and turns 27 in May. Donald’s last three years with the Rams mark one of the most dominant stretches for a defensive lineman since peak J.J. Watt.

Now teams will have the unenviable choice of focusing on blocking Donald, who led the league with 91 total quarterback pressures (sacks, hits, and hurries combined) in 2017, and risk a one-on-one matchup with Suh, who was first-team All-Pro in 2010, 2013, and 2014, or blocking Suh only to let Donald loose.

That’s to say nothing of Michael Brockers, one of the better 3-4 defensive ends in the league who will somehow get even less attention this season from opposing defensive coordinators than he did last year.

The most likely usage of Suh involves Donald lined up as a three-technique (outside of the guard) and Michael Brockers as a five-tech (lined up outside of the tackle)—the same positions they played last year—with Suh lined up at nose tackle over the center, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. The truth is they could line up on Mars and still combine for 25 sacks.

The downside is that Suh has a history of questionable plays in his NFL career: a kick to Ryan Fitzpatrick’s head in 2015, a late hit on Chad Henne in 2014, the infamous stomping incident against the Packers in 2011, a forearm to the back of Jay Cutler’s head in 2010, a kick to Alfred Morris’s head in 2015, shoving Ryan Mallett in 2017, stepping on Aaron Rodgers’s ankle in 2014, and a kick to Matt Schaub’s crown jewels in 2012. Individually, all of those instances might be excusable, but together, they’re not.

Let’s just say Rams fans may have conflicted feelings about the deal.

*Rams Push All of Their Chips to the Middle of the Table* *Table Collapses*
Rams general manager Les Snead spent most of the last month constructing (on paper) the best secondary in football. The team added cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters in trades, franchise-tagged Lamarcus Joyner, and signed cornerback Sam Shields and Nickell Robey-Coleman. (Yes, Nickell plays the nickel.)

That fearsome secondary would already be intimidating behind the Rams’ 2017 defensive line, which had the fourth-most sacks last season (48). Robey-Coleman already offered a name for the group last week.


View: https://twitter.com/slotgod23/status/976280381631549441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theringer.com%2F2018%2F3%2F26%2F17166048%2Fndamukong-suh-los-angeles-rams-aaron-donald

Now the Rams have added Suh, creating the most chaotic, disruptive interior in football, and have built their secondary with ball hawks ready to swoop in on every lame duck throw from opposing quarterbacks.

The Rams still have a big hole at inside linebacker after trading Alec Ogletree, but defensive coordinator Wade Phillips has more than enough talent to get this unit into Super Bowl–caliber shape. For all of the talk about Sean McVay as an offensive guru, the best unit on his own team this year may be the defense. To quote Phillips:


View: https://twitter.com/sonofbum/status/978399846016073728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theringer.com%2F2018%2F3%2F26%2F17166048%2Fndamukong-suh-los-angeles-rams-aaron-donald

Aaron Donald Is Going to Get Paaaaaiiiiiiiddddddd
The Rams ran the possibility of adding Suh by Donald before the signing, according to Gonzalez. Suh was reportedly offered more money by the Jets, who rescinded their offer on Sunday, and was also courted by the Titans and Saints before deciding to sign with the Rams.

The one-year deal signals Suh is willing to play for a competitive team in a dream situation while also betting on himself to earn more money in the future. It also mirrors the one-year deals signed by Sheldon Richardson, Haloti Ngata, Dominique Easley, and Muhammad Wilkerson, signaling a decline in the defensive tackle market.

Donald will fix that. Due to earn just $1.8 million in 2017, Aaron Donald held out of training camp hoping to get a new contract and returned so late he didn’t play in Week 1. It didn’t matter. He was a wrecking ball for 14 games. The Rams still have Donald on a $6.9 million fifth-year option from his rookie contract this season, which is both a raise and not even close to the value he provides the team.

Los Angeles will likely make him the highest-paid defender in football history at some point this year. If the Rams had paid exorbitantly for Suh, the team would have been in a tight situation negotiating with Donald, but the one-year deal at just $14 million sets the market for defensive tackles in the Rams’ favor. Now the Rams are in position to make Donald happy without overexerting their cap down the line.

Lock Angeles is now legit, and it’s going to be a joy for all of us. (Well, unless you root for another team in the NFC West.)

" Let's hear it for ' Lockangeles' !!!":yay::yay::yay::yess:
 

RamFan503

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Stu
So being that we wear white at home and then aside from the Cowgirl game we wear white on the road.... "Whiteout"? Covers the entire defense. I realize it snows in LA about once every fifty years but.... Just a thought.
 

Dieter the Brock

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Is that our schedule?
Damn that thing is stacked top to bottom
The first like 8 games are primerime matchups
AZ
Green Bay
The revamped Chefs
The battle for LA
The dreaded Vikes
Then PHILI!
Then our biggest rivals
Holy shit

Things don't settle down until we get to Chicago, but then Rams vs Bears is always one of my favorite matchups, and them with trubisky...
Damn
Damn
Thank you football deities
 

jjab360

Legend
Joined
Jan 21, 2013
Messages
6,636
Is that our schedule?
Damn that thing is stacked top to bottom
The first like 8 games are primerime matchups
AZ
Green Bay
The revamped Chefs
The battle for LA
The dreaded Vikes
Then PHILI!
Then our biggest rivals
Holy crap

Things don't settle down until we get to Chicago, but then Rams vs Bears is always one of my favorite matchups, and them with trubisky...
Damn
Damn
Thank you football deities
That's not the schedule but those are the teams we play
 

Dodgersrf

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Mar 17, 2014
Messages
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Scott
Is that our schedule?
Damn that thing is stacked top to bottom
The first like 8 games are primerime matchups
AZ
Green Bay
The revamped Chefs
The battle for LA
The dreaded Vikes
Then PHILI!
Then our biggest rivals
Holy crap

Things don't settle down until we get to Chicago, but then Rams vs Bears is always one of my favorite matchups, and them with trubisky...
Damn
Damn
Thank you football deities
That 8 game road trip to end the season is going to be tough.:whistle:
 

StealYoGurley

Pro Bowler
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Jan 13, 2016
Messages
1,131
Is it me or are the whiners extra annoying this offseason. The false bravado across the board for a guy who doesn't even have half a season of NFL starts is astounding. I remember when people were quick to call Goff an unqualified bust after 8 games, but have no reservations treating Garropolo like he is the next Tom Brady. I usually don't care about other fanbases or buletin board material, but they have really rubbed me the wrong way this offseason. The Suh signing had nothing to do with the Whiners, so I don't know why broken down Garcon had to even open his mouth. I'm looking forward to stomping them more than anyone else this season. No Suh pun intended.
 

IowaRam

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There's been alot of talk about Suh being a dirty player

 

LACHAMP46

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Skilz!!!

Some PFF for your entertainment

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...oing-to-be-terrifying/?utm_term=.e5186a47c482

With Ndamukong Suh joining Aaron Donald, the Rams’ defense is going to be terrifying



By Austin Gayle March 27

The 6-foot-4, 307-pounder has recorded 160 total pressures over the past three seasons, ranking sixth among all interior defenders. He also amassed 247 total impact plays (factoring in quarterback hits, quarterback hurries and all defensive stops) in those three years, tying for fourth among the same group of interior defenders. His three-year pass-rush productivity, a PFF-born efficiency metric that measures pressure created on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks, ranks 11th among interior defenders with at least 1,000 pass-rush snaps 2015-17.

In 2017, Suh amassed 43 total pressures across 495 pass-rush snaps, including 30 quarterback hurries, eight hits and five sacks. He ranked 21st in pass-rush productivity (6.8) among qualifying interior defenders.

Suh’s new partner in crime, Donald, led all qualifying interior defenders in pass-rush productivity (14.8), as he logged 66 quarterback hurries, 13 hits and 12 sacks across 483 pass-rush snaps. Donald will complement Suh’s bruising approach with quickness off the snap and high-end athleticism, as he has flourished attacking both the outside and inside edge of opposing offensive linemen with his speedy first step and technical hand usage.

Though explosive off the snap, Suh opts for physicality over finesse when attacking the passer, instilling fear in his opposition via aggressive hand usage and bull-rush techniques. In Suh’s three-year tenure with the Dolphins, he recorded 58 bull-rush pressures, which accounted for 36.25 percent of his total pressures in that span.

In defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’s scheme, Suh will work opposite of Donald at 3-4 defensive end with six-year veteran Michael Brockers manning the middle at nose tackle on early downs. However, with Donald and now Suh at his disposal, Phillips should tap into his creative side on passing downs and move his two premier interior defenders up and down the line of scrimmage to attack mismatches and counter offensive adjustments.

Unlike a majority of interior defenders, Suh offers positional versatility as a pass-rusher. During his time in Miami, he played 63.7 percent of his pass-rush snaps either head up or shaded on the opposing guard and 25.3 percent opposite of the tackle, where he has recorded strong 7.66 and 9.89 pressure percentages, respectively. However, when lined up outside of the offensive tackle, he has more than doubled both his high marks, pressuring the quarterback on 27.27 percent of his pass-rush snaps along the edge.

On top of that, Suh is no one-trick pony, as evidenced by his strong run-defense grades in each of the past three seasons. After earning 88.6 and 88.2 run-defense grades in 2015 and 2016, respectively, Suh earned a career-high 92.4 in 2017, which ranked second among qualifying interior defenders, behind the New York Giants’ Damon Harrison.

However, despite his favorable grades, Suh’s impact in the ground game isn’t fully reflected in the box score. He ranks just tied for 18th in PFF’s run-stop percentage (7.71 percent) among interior defenders with 500-plus run-defense snaps from 2015 to 2017. As such, Suh’s positive impact in run defense is better identified through film study rather than stat sheets.

Suh earned positive grades on 92 of his 361 run-defense snaps (25.48 percent) in 2017, ranking ninth among qualifying interior defenders. And a majority of his positive grades weren’t awarded for making tackles near the line of scrimmage but rather disrupting the line of scrimmage and forcing opposing ball carriers away from intended rushing lanes, which, in turn, allowed his teammates to rally to the ball and steal the box-score glory.

Brockers, who has already proven dominant against the run throughout his career, will be the beneficiary of this component of Suh’s game. A former first-round pick in 2012, Brockers has often taken advantage of one-on-one situations while Donald drew double teams in run defense, allowing him to practically live behind the line of scrimmage. In 2017, he ranked fifth among qualifying interior defenders in run-stop percentage (11.7) and earned the 10th-best run-defense grade (88.0).

Suh’s presence in the trenches, along with Donald’s, will give opposing offensive lines no choice but to dial their focus away from Brockers, leaving him to reap the benefits in the backfield.

A testament to his ability to stay healthy and contribute on all three downs with admirable consistency, Suh has also played 281 more defensive snaps than any other interior defender over the past three seasons.

Adding Suh to their consummate list of offseason signings (including Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib and Nickell Robey-Coleman), Los Angeles has planted its flag as one of the teams to beat in the NFL in 2018.

Austin Gayle is an analyst for Pro Football Focus.
 

LACHAMP46

A snazzy title
Joined
Jul 21, 2013
Messages
11,735
Man, I wanted Suh since Bradford....more eye witness accounts

https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2018/3/27/17166318/ndamukong-suh-los-angeles-rams-aaron-donald

Ndamukong Suh can turn the Rams into a nuclear-grade version of Nebraska’s terrifying 2009 defense
10 NEW, 10
The Rams now have two of the most talented interior defenders of this millennium, and I’m very much here for it.
By Bill Connelly@SBN_BillC Mar 27, 2018, 11:16am EDTSHARE
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Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images
On Oct. 8, 2009, my understanding of football changed.

To that point, most of the writing I had done about offense and defense revolved around scheme and structure. 4-3 vs. 3-4 vs. 4-2-5. Spread vs. pro-style vs. triple option. We lean on these terms as stylistic short hand, but that’s all they are. So much of what you do, in both structure and tactics within structure, is based on matchups. And if you have a single, drastic advantage, you can build really creative things off of that.

On the second Thursday of October, I watched Nebraska operate out of a base dime defense. Its starting lineup listed two defensive ends, two defensive tackles, a middle linebacker, two cornerbacks, and four safeties.

This wasn’t a philosophical decision. Head coach Bo Pelini and his coordinator brother Carl weren’t attempting to revolutionize football defense. They were simply exploiting the biggest matchup advantage college football has seen in the 2000s.

One of their defensive tackles was Ndamukong Suh. No other matchup mattered.
Nebraska met Missouri in Columbia in a game that would decide the Big 12 North. In the most torrential conditions in which I have ever watched a game — storms knocked out the power in half the stadium, and the lighting was “small-town high school” hazy — Suh made five solo tackles, an assist, and a sack, and he picked off a pass, broke up another one, and forced a fumble. And that didn’t tell even half the story.

Suh commanded double-teams (at least) on nearly every snap, and Mizzou linemen stillcommitted three holding penalties. (That probably means that another 16 went uncalled.) And his sack might have changed the trajectory of Blaine Gabbert’s career.

View: https://youtu.be/naqxF7TlQWc

Gabbert never really had perfect pocket timing, but after Suh dragged him down from behind, forced a fumble, and injured his ankle, Gabbert’s clock was broken, his step-up-or-flee instincts permanently warped.

That Nebraska dime defense — the Pelinis would begin calling it the “Peso” defense the following spring — finished 2009 ranked No. 1 in Def. S&P+.
Suh not only had 20.5 tackles for loss, the double-teams he commanded set the table for tackle Jared Crick to make 12.5 and end Barry Turner to add 12 more.

Without blitzing, the Huskers’ four linemen thoroughly defeated any opposing line (even eventual BCS runner-up Texas’), and in pass-rushing situations, teams had no choice but to keep the running back in as a sixth blocker. That created a 7-on-5 advantage for the rest of the defense, 7-on-4 if the QB wasn’t a runner. A secondary that featured future pros Prince Amukamara, Larry Asante, Dejon Gomes, Eric Hagg, and Alfonzo Dennard didn’t need that much help, but got it anyway.

The Los Angeles Rams are making it apparent that the 2018 offseason is about a Super Bowl run[/paste:font]
How will LA Rams’ coach Sean McVay handle BIG personalities in 2018? A 70 year old man, of course.
Eventual BCS runner-up Texas nearly fell victim to one of the most dominant individual performances we’ll ever see: Suh’s 11-tackle, 4.5-sack destruction in the Big 12 title game. Nebraska allowed 31 points to Texas Tech but otherwise only 8.8 points per game. Only one opponent (Colorado) averaged even 5 yards per play.

This was an absolutely unfair defense. I love nothing more than a defense that turns the trenches into a bar fight, creates anarchy, and lets its other defenders swarm the ball with numbers advantages.

We saw another good version when Robert Nkemdiche peaked at Ole Miss in 2014. He and undersized nose tackle Isaac Gross took a chainsaw to the interior of any opposing line and let everybody else clean up the mess.

And now that the Los Angeles Rams have just signed Suh to line up alongside Aaron Donald next year, we might get to see the NFL version.
With Suh, Donald, and Michael Brockers collapsing pockets from the inside out, the franchise boasts the league’s least-stoppable interior linemen.

Having Suh’s pass rushing will help mitigate the loss of defensive end Robert Quinn, who was traded to the Dolphins this offseason.

The additions of Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters will likely help the pass rush too.

Earlier in March, I wrote about the salary cap balance that most successful teams end up pulling off. Generally, if you add up the 10 most expensive players from most good teams, their contracts amount to between 50 and 60 percent of the salary cap. Any more, and you’re probably too top-heavy and thin in too many positions. Any less, and you’re either the Patriotsor don’t have enough star-caliber talent.

Really, only one team this decade has gotten away with bumping that figure over 60 percent: 2017’s Rams.

In the sample of eight teams that went over 60 percent (they were at 63.1 percent), last year’s 11-5 Rams were one of just two that had a winning record* and were the only team with a scoring margin higher than plus-60 — at plus-149, they had the third-best margin of the year.

They bucked the trend by having a lot of big contributors on rookie contracts [including QB Jared Goff, RB Todd Gurley, WR Cooper Kupp, DT Aaron Donald, and S Lamarcus Joyner.]

Per Spotrac, these nine productive players combined to take up just 12 percent of the Rams’ cap space. Having this many cheap players thrive was fortuitous. It’s also unsustainable, as eventually you have to re-sign some of these guys. Donald, for instance, will soon be far more expensive.

With the Rams placing the franchise tag on Joyner, we’ve already seen Quinn get tradedand Watkins leave for Kansas City via free agency. Johnson is also a top free agent, Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib have been brought in as replacements, and there are even more big decisions on the horizon for the Rams, if not in 2018, then in 2019.

Goff, Gurley, Kupp, and Donald are still inexpensive; they’ll occupy just 13.1 percent of the team’s cap this year even though Gurley was the league’s offensive player of the year and Donald was defensive player of the year.

The Rams therefore had a chance to throw out some short-term cash and make themselves a contender.
Like, say, a one-year, $14-million contract to a still-mostly-dominant 31-year old DT. Suh will spend more time as a 0-technique nose than he’s used to in Wade Phillips’ system. That’ll probably work out OK.

The addition of Peters and Talib had already upgraded the secondary, and now they’ve just added one of the five or six best interior linemen to line up next to the best interior lineman in the league.

Goodness.

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Aaron Donald
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
The salary cap makes it hard to build a good team unless you’ve got a lot of players on rookie contracts. For at least a little longer, the Rams have that.

And now they’ve almost got the pieces for a professional Peso defense.
Blow up the interior of opposing offensive lines, and let the chips fall where they may.

Gabbert, by the way, spent last season playing for the Cardinals, one of the Rams’ division rivals. He just signed a new deal with Tennessee. He got out just in the nick of time.