Wade Phillips & the 2017 Rams defense

Wade Phillips continues to forge bond with Sean McVay and Rams defense

Gary Klein

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-ota-20170521-story.html

Wade Phillips’ reputation for delivering funny one-liners might rival his renown for deploying a Super Bowl-winning 3-4 defensive scheme.

In February, while attending Super Bowl activities in Houston with 31-year-old coach Sean McVay, the Rams’ 69-year-old defensive coordinator produced real and virtual laughs with a zinger on Twitter.

“Rams have the only staff with DC on Medicare and HC in Daycare,” Phillips tweeted.

Since their hiring in January, McVay has called on the experienced Phillips for feedback on roster evaluation, free agents, draft prospects and handling various situations as a head coach.

But Phillips, an NFL coach since 1976, recently downplayed McVay seeking his advice.

During rookie minicamp, Phillips, with typical dry humor, said: “Most of my experiences were bad things, so I know if he does anything wrong, I can tell him, ‘Hey, I did that and it didn’t work.’ ”

The McVay-Phillips dynamic will turn up a notch on Monday when the Rams begin organized team activities in Thousand Oaks.

The 10 workouts, conducted over three weeks, cannot include live contact. But the offense and defense can participate in 11-on-11 situations.

That will allow Phillips to continue to install a scheme similar to what the Denver Broncos deployed during their Super Bowl run two years ago.

Phillips also had success with the scheme in Houston, Dallas and other coaching stops during his 39-year NFL career.

Last season, the Rams ranked ninth in the NFL in yards allowed but 23rd in points allowed.

“We’ve got to shore that down some,” Phillips said. “But, I think we have an opportunity to do that with the personnel we have.”

During the offseason, the Rams traded end William Hayes, released end Eugene Sims and allowed safety T.J. McDonald to sign elsewhere.

They signed cornerbacks Kayvon Webster and Nickell Robey-Coleman, linebackers Connor Barwin and Carlos Thompson, and defensive linemen Tyrunn Walker and Mike Purcell. They also drafted safety John Johnson, linebacker Samson Ebukam, rush end Ejuan Price and defensive tackle Tanzel Smart.

About 70% of the defense had been installed, Phillips said. Much was done in April during a veterans minicamp.

“We did things just like that,” Phillips said, snapping his fingers. “From the classroom to the field, they really picked it up well.

“Now, we’ve got more things to put in.”

During OTAs, Phillips will get a better sense of how players fit. Robert Quinn’s transition from end to outside linebacker and Lamarcus Joyner’s switch from cornerback to safety are among priorities.

Phillips has a knack for improving defenses quickly.

In 2010, for example, the Houston Texans ranked 30th in yards allowed. Phillips was hired as defensive coordinator in 2011 and the Texans ranked second.

“I’ve had a lot of good players,” he said. “But, I attribute some of it to the way that we teach them — we don’t make many mistakes.

“We make sure we don’t make many mental mistakes, as far as alignment and assignment. Then, we work really hard on fundamentals and techniques and try to improve each player.”

And Phillips does it with a dose of humor.

“He seems kind of quiet,” Quinn said, “but he throws jokes out, so if you don’t really pay attention, you might miss them. He knows what he’s talking about.”

The Rams offense, of course, also is in need of massive improvement after ranking last in the NFL for two consecutive seasons.

McVay has said he will call plays, but offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur is overseeing the installation of a scheme that figures to include elements of what worked for McVay as the Washington Redskins’ coordinator and what LaFleur picked up as quarterbacks coach for the Atlanta Falcons. Offensive-line coach Aaron Kromer also has worked as an NFL coordinator.

Veteran receiver Tavon Austin, whom McVay has described as a possible centerpiece of the passing game, will not participate in OTAs because of recent wrist surgery. Austin is expected to be ready for training camp in late July.

So quarterback Jared Goff will get plenty of reps with offseason acquisition Robert Woods, second-year pros Pharoh Cooper and Mike Thomas, and rookies Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds, among others.

“The idea is to kind of have that quarterback be a point guard and be a great distributor to all your guys,” McVay said. “You want to be able to get them touches and get them involved.”

LaFleur said Goff had been coming in to the facility early and staying late in an effort to learn.

“When you get a new guy in an offense, there is a transition period with that,” LaFleur said, “but he’s done a nice job at picking it up at a surprisingly quick pace.”

Rams’ defense comes into focus
Ogletree shows leadership during offseason workouts at Cal Lutheran

http://www.theacorn.com/news/2017-06-01/Sports/Rams_defense_comes_into_focus.html

The Los Angeles Rams’ offense hogs all the attention.

That’s fine with the defense.

“We aren’t here to get attention,” linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “We are here to play ball and do what we need to do to win games. As long as we keep doing that, I feel like we will be all right.”

The microscope is on secondyear quarterback Jared Goff’s progression, Sean McVay’s ascension as the youngest NFL head coach in the modern era, and free agent signee and wide receiver Robert Woods, who played at nearby Serra High and USC.

What about the defense?

The defense gets none of the glory, but the unit has plenty of guts. The defense was largely responsible for the team’s first win of the 2016 season, a 9-3 slugfest against the Seattle Seahawks at the Coliseum.

Winning is something the Rams did not do often last fall. Despite boasting the No. 9 defense in the entire league, L.A. finished with a 4-12 record. The Rams’ offense (14 points per game) ranked dead last in points scored in 2016, but the defense refuses to point fingers or make excuses for mediocrity.

The Rams count on Ogletree.

He’s been an active participant during offseason organized team activities at Cal Lutheran the past two weeks. Since joining the Rams in 2013, he’s been one of the most consistent players in the organization. He’s recorded more than 100 tackles in three of his first four seasons; an ankle injury limited Ogletree to four games in 2015.

Ogletree has proved he’s one of the best linebackers in the NFL. His combination of size and speed allows him to patrol the field like a ravenous wolverine.

This offseason has been hectic for Los Angeles. They revamped the coaching staff, and McVay hired Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator.

Phillips, who started coaching in the NFL as an assistant in 1976 with the Houston Oilers, was defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos last season. Denver boasted the fourth-best total defense in the league.

For the past three years, the Rams ran a 4-3 defense under former coordinator Gregg Williams. The Rams are learning the nuances of Phillips’ 3-4 scheme during OTAs.

The learning curve has been relatively smooth for Ogletree and his teammates.

“It’s basically just learning the terminology of it,” Ogletree said. “Other than that, it’s pretty simple.”

Despite the formation change, Ogletree’s duties haven’t changed much.

“It’s pretty much the same,” the linebacker said.

The Rams’ defense is expected to carry a heavy load this season.

Phillips believes in his defense.

“I really like the group,” Phillips said. “I think we’ve got a lot of good players. Again, we’ve got to utilize their talent, but I think we have enough talent to do some really good things.”

Ogletree and fellow inside linebacker Mark Barron anchor the middle of the defense.

The Rams signed outside linebacker Connor Barwin, a ninth-year veteran, to shore up the pass rush. Barwin is expected to help Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald, two of the league’s best defensive linemen, harass quarterbacks.

No matter how well the defense performs, the offense needs to have a pulse.

Offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, who is new to the staff, said he likes what he’s seeing from his starting quarterback. Goff had a rocky rookie campaign in 2016.

“Goff ’s been awesome,” LaFleur said. “He wants to be great, and he’s doing everything that we’ve asked him to do and then some. He’s working hard every day. I think he’s getting better every day, and he’s done a great job.”

The building blocks are moving into place. No matter how the team looks in the fall, the defense will be ready to play.

L.A. Rams’ defensive stars

• Alec Ogletree, linebacker: 136 tackles, two INTs

• Aaron Donald, defensive tackle: eight sacks, two forced fumbles, 47 tackles

• Mark Barron, linebacker: 118 tackles, two INTs, one sack

• Robert Quinn, defensive end: four sacks, two forced fumbles