The Rams Defense Makes Los Angeles Truly Scary

[fearsomefour]

Production wise, he's on par with his teammates, with the exception of #99. And no one is on par with him.

Not a fan of singling out players, especially those who body has gone through the blender multiple times.

Yeah, I'm not bashing him at all.
He is giving high effort and I can't flaw him for that at all.

 

[fastcat]

I recall teams running all over us during the Fisher/Williams era as well.

That seemed to be the case the 1st handful of games each season then we would get it together. But do you remember our relentless pass rush? Imagine being up 10-17pts in the 4th quarter with our O and that williams D!!!

 

[Loyal]

There are still holes on our Offense that we can't ignore tho.

Aging Center and Left tackle spots need to be addressed. You know what a disaster our LT position will be if we don't find someone to backup Whit? I don't think people understand what a value he has been to our team this year. He's 37 years old, I don't know if he has another two seasons left in him.

umm, well some have..
http://ramsondemand.com/threads/mvp-of-the-rams-andrew-whitworth.52390/

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

How was McVay able to get Wade Phillips? I keep reading that he said he could but had no explanation of the story behind it. Anyone know?

 

[SteezyEndo]

How was McVay able to get Wade Phillips? I keep reading that he said he could but had no explanation of the story behind it. Anyone know?

Maybe Wade wanted to come to LA before retiring?

 

[den-the-coach]

FWIW's the defense is rated 15th and what I will give this coaching staff credit for over the other when it comes to defense is, they usually play better in the second half and they create turnovers. Against the Saints, they had opportunities for turnovers, but could not catch the ball.

Wade does not have all the players for his type of scheme, so 15th is just about right. Very susceptible to big runs and the outside backers have been a work in progress. Hopefully the rest of the season Webster & Coleman stay (get) healthy and come next year I would look for an upgrade at Strong Safety because Johnson has been pedestrian at best. He's very slow in coverage and takes bad angles against the run, most of the big runs could have been limited with a Strong Safety that was quick to the hole and able to actually make a tackle.

 

[den-the-coach]

How was McVay able to get Wade Phillips? I keep reading that he said he could but had no explanation of the story behind it. Anyone know?

Simple, it was because of Wade's son Wes Phillips who is on the Redskin coaching staff. The younger Phillips introduced the two McVay & Wade a few years ago and Wade was very impressed. Then McVay asked him, if I get a HC gig, would you be my DC? Wade responded that he would because he was in the last year of his contract in Denver and Wade's daughter lived in Los Angeles so the stars aligned.

 

[PhillyRam]

Both sides of the ball need to be more physical.... need a true nose to go with Brockers and Donald, one thumper ILB, move Ogletree outside or move Barron for a pick of possible. Just not a fit here I think as he is a liability against the run. This will show up against the Eagles with Blount and Ajayi.

Need a 320 lb type center to deal with the Fletcher Cox type players because that is the team they will be fighting to get to the Bowl the next 5-8 years. And of course a long term sdolution at LT.... that might be your 2019 1st rounder. A power back or legit running FB might be a help as well. I dobt Rogers is big enough for the NFL. Would love a Brandon Jacobs type player to pair with Gurley. Can extend his career by taking some of the short yardage abuse.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

That may be true for McVay's first year here, but I have my doubts that Greg Williams would fit in long-term with McVay's 'we' team ethic, ... I can see the potential for a personality clash. I like the Phillips approach, although waiting another year for him to get first shot with the draft and free agency requires some patience, I understand the frustration, but for now i'm just enjoying this epic one year offensive turn-around, McVay and Snead have been a marvel. Phillips will leave an indelible imprint next year imo, and his legacy will be set. jmo.

We're gonna need a good defensive draft just to get the guys to run the 3-4. Like I said, we don't really have the personnel for it, but we are running it anyway.
And as for Williams, maybe I just miss the nastiness his groups always had.

 

[Rmfnlt]

I recall teams running all over us during the Fisher/Williams era as well.

Embedded in the article was this:

View: https://twitter.com/ColeFartley/status/765534837419696128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.turfshowtimes.com%2F2016%2F8%2F16%2F12504330%2Fjeff-fishers-actual-7-9-rant-released-to-public

Hindsight is always 20/20.

But take a gander at the looks on the players faces... they look like "yeah, whatever coach... we all know that, no matter how bad we play, no one's gonna be held responsible. Paaaaaty time, baby!!"

BTW... someone should have told Fisher his eye glasses were broken.

 

[JIMERAMS]

394yrds per game in 2016 336 yrds per game so far this year in 2017. or D last year gave up some big leads I think they were over rated.

 

[Rmfnlt]

One of the best kickers and punters?
Lets try it again.
THE best Kicker and Punter in the league.

And that Cooper kid? He's pretty good too, no? Ain't he leading the league in somethin' or other?

Robert Quinn is a beast!!

And Finally an Offensive Player got called for Holding Quinn!

Quinn isn't what he used to be but he's had physical issues over the years... despite all that, he's still what any DC would call productive and I suspect any DC would love to have him on their D.
Holding? I'd guess around 75% of the time just watching the games.

I'm gonna pull out the Austin Logic Card here:
Quinn helps Donald like Austin helps Gurley.

He blasts past the lineman... gets held/pushed past the QB... who has to step up in the pocket, where Donald is waiting.

Bam! Donald sack. But it was really Quinn (tongue-in-cheek here).

 

[Mikey Ram]

Both sides of the ball need to be more physical.... need a true nose to go with Brockers and Donald, one thumper ILB, move Ogletree outside or move Barron for a pick of possible. Just not a fit here I think as he is a liability against the run. This will show up against the Eagles with Blount and Ajayi.

Need a 320 lb type center to deal with the Fletcher Cox type players because that is the team they will be fighting to get to the Bowl the next 5-8 years. And of course a long term sdolution at LT.... that might be your 2019 1st rounder. A power back or legit running FB might be a help as well. I dobt Rogers is big enough for the NFL. Would love a Brandon Jacobs type player to pair with Gurley. Can extend his career by taking some of the short yardage abuse.

Sounds like the Rams need to go into the total rebuild mode...

 

[PhillyRam]

Sounds like the Rams need to go into the total rebuild mode...

Nah, just my wish list to become that 14-2 type dominant team.. . maybe not even possible nowadays, but just my wish list.

 

[Mikey Ram]

Nah, just my wish list to become that 14-2 type dominant team.. . maybe not even possible nowadays, but just my wish list.

Yeah, I get that..That was supposed to be a blue font moment and I completely forgot to do it before I posted it...

 

[LuvMeThemRams]

I'd love for you Fisher bashers to move on. It's got to stop. That being said, our defense is very good but far from perfect, run defense is a weakness. I can't wait to see what the next draft brings, predicting Wade has some serious input.

 

[nighttrain]

394yrds per game in 2016 336 yrds per game so far this year in 2017. or D last year gave up some big leads I think they were over rated.

You have to figure in all the 3 and outs on offense, these really break the back of a defensive unit
train

 

[LesBaker]

faltering last week against Case Keenum and the Vikings.

The buzzsaw known as Case Keenum and the Vikings.

See you in the playoffs!

Robert Quinn (who grabbed one sack Sunday to push his season total to 3.5)

Some were calling Robert Quinn a "carcass" last week.

Maybe he merely has a role just like everyone else? Maybe we should just sit back and look at the big picture?

He has 2.5 sacks after 10 games.

This is not the same Quinn we are used to. I like the guy, he is a quality dude. But he doesn't seem to be able to help a lot.

This defense is good, but i'm looking forward to Wade Phillips' 2018 draft & free agency upgrades to finish his 3-4 transition.

I think I am looking forward to that too. Some young talent, a street FA or two and maybe a trade to finish the deal.

 

[A.J. Hicks]

How was McVay able to get Wade Phillips? I keep reading that he said he could but had no explanation of the story behind it. Anyone know?

Wade's son worked in Washington with Mcvay. Wade's son I believe was involved with the tight ends.

However, Wade has talked about high highly regarded Mcvay was and that he had heard stories from his son.

 

[Prime Time]

View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-fivetakeaways/Five-Takeaways-Rams-Take-Down-Saints-26-20/de5b023c-fb71-4bc2-bf96-5b4e1ea244a1

Myles Simmons

Defense slows down Brees & co.

Though the Saints scored a late touchdown to bring the Rams’ margin of victory down to just six points, L.A. significantly slowed down New Orleans’ offense on Sunday.

Quarterback Drew Brees finished 22-of-32 passing for 246 yards with a touchdown — and 85 of those yards and the scoring strike came on New Orleans’ final possession.

Los Angeles got after Brees early and often, recording back-to-back sacks on the first drive. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald got to the quarterback first, then outside linebacker Robert Quinn got to him on the next play to force a punt.

Overall, the Rams did a nice job of keeping Brees uncomfortable throughout the contest, which was a point of emphasis coming in.

“Brees is a Hall of Famer, no doubt,” Quinn said. “So if we let him get going early, we know the type of chaos he can cause for a defense. Like I said, guys just stayed to our game plan. As a pass rusher, we just worked our moves and once we got to him tried to get him down and just make his day a little hectic.”

Overall the Rams had three sacks — the third by rookie outside linebacker Samson Ebukam — on Brees in the contest.

One blip, but run defense performs well

If there was one area of concern for the defense headed into Sunday’s game it was how the team would hold up against New Orleans’ two-pronged ground attack. And as it turns out, Los Angeles held up pretty well.

Rookie back Alvin Kamara did his share of significant damage, but most of it on only one play. Late in the first quarter, the Tennessee product took a handoff 74 yards down the right side to pay dirt, evading a number of tacklers on the way.

“We kind of got caught in a defense that we typically weren't expecting to do. At the end of the day we still needed to get him on the ground and we didn’t do that,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “He’s a great running back in this league and if you don’t get him on the ground he can take it to the house from anywhere. We witnessed that today.”

But Kamara finished with 87 yards rushing on five carries. And fellow Saints running back Mark Ingram had 31 yards on 11 carries.

Nevertheless, Kamara displayed why he’s such a dynamic player with the pass game, making six receptions for 101 yards with a touchdown. In all, he had 11 touches for 188 yards and two touchdowns, making a lot of defenders look silly with his slick running.

“He was everything that we saw on film and a little bit more,” Ogletree said. “Definitely a great running back and he’s going to be something to deal with in this league for a long time.”