‘This is what we can do’ — Jalen Ramsey’s arrival has removed the handcuffs from the Rams’ defense
Vincent Bonsignore
https://theathletic.com/1308828/2019/10/20/this-is-what-we-can-do-jalen-ramseys-arrival-has-removed-the-handcuffs-from-the-rams-defense/
ATLANTA — In its debut week, The Jalen Ramsey Experience hit Atlanta in such a game-changing way that the Rams’ defensive operation already needs to be divided into segments: before his arrival, and after.
The Rams picked themselves up after three straight losses and sent negative feelings crashing to the canvass with a commanding 37-10 win over the Falcons on Sunday. It left them confident, giddy and eager to get back to work and keep the momentum rolling, and much of the excitement came from the newly acquired All-Pro cornerback who stole the show.
“Today is a great example of why he is the player he is,” Rams quarterback Jared Goff said of Ramsey.
“You felt Jalen Ramsey’s presence today” is how coach Sean McVay put it, adding, “He’s a physical, complete player.”
It’s not just that Ramsey, after only two days of practice and approximately a 30 percent digestion of the Rams’ defensive playbook, turned in a dominating performance that made a Pro Bowl receiver practically disappear. During the plays when Ramsey was checking, bodying and trailing pretty much his every move, Falcons star Julio Jones managed four catches for 74 yards.
And Jones didn’t have a catch in the third quarter, when the Falcons still had some life and the game was still up in the air.
That was impressive enough. Especially when you consider how little prep time Ramsey had after Tuesday’s trade, plus the fact that he hadn’t practiced or played with the Jacksonville Jaguars in the three previous weeks.
Ramsey, acquired from the Jaguars for first-round picks in 2020 and 2021 and a fourth-rounder in 2021, got a crash course in the Rams’ defense. That included what McVay described as an “immaculate” tip sheet drawn up by Rams defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant, one McVay said was so impressive that “I felt like I could play corner after looking at that thing.”
Nevertheless, Ramsey still has plenty of room to grow within this Rams defense.
“I want to get into a groove with knowing my safeties a little better and knowing the guys I’m out there with a little better,” Ramsey said. “This game, I really trusted in them a lot (in) the way I played certain techniques. But I want to get into a grove a little bit more of how I do things with this secondary.”
Impressive, to say the least.
But what really stood out is how much of an impact Ramsey’s presence had on the Rams’ defense, even down to coordinator Wade Phillips, who felt confident dialing up various blitz packages to create pressure from the first and second levels of the defense.
Ramsey’s ability to pretty much wipe out the opponent’s best receiver frees Phillips to send multiple defenders flying at the quarterback, from the edge and through the middle.
The Rams sacked Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan five times — Dante Fowler got three — and were in his face countless other times before Ryan finally left the game with an ankle injury. Ryan and the Falcons came in averaging 317 passing yards per game, but the Rams’ pass-rush heat and tight coverage limited them to just 186 passing yards on Sunday.
Ryan, who threw for at least 300 yards in each of his first six games this season, finished with 159 yards (and no touchdowns) before getting knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter when Aaron Donald sacked him and forced a fumble.
Football is a team game, and it takes all 11 defensive players to do what the Rams did to the Falcons on Sunday.
But make no mistake, the unique skill set that Ramsey brings as an elite man-to-man shutdown corner changes the whole dynamic of the Rams’ defensive game plan.
“This is what we can do. We just haven’t been able to do it, for whatever reason,” Rams safety Eric Weddle said.
That wasn’t necessarily a knock on Marcus Peters, the cornerback the Rams traded to Baltimore to make room for Ramsey. But it did illustrate the dramatic difference in the styles of Ramsey and Peters. Ramsey is a big, physical, athletic defender who can crawl up into a receiver’s face and use his strength, footwork, intelligence and cover skills to stick with him all over the field. That’s what happened over and over Sunday, as Ramsey closely followed Jones from one end of Mercedes-Benz Stadium to the other.
Peters is a zone defender who typically needs a cushion in front of him and help behind him in order to sit back and read the quarterback and the play in front of him, then react to what is happening.
In Peters, the Rams had a cornerback who needed help. In Ramsey, they have a cornerback who says, “I got this.”
And that frees up other defenders to be utilized in help coverage or on blitzes. That fits perfectly with a revamped Rams secondary, which includes Troy Hill (another man corner) starting opposite Ramsey, plus a solid man-slot corner in Nickell Robey-Coleman and a young man-to-man corner in Darious Williams. And in rookie David Long Jr., in uniform for the first time on Sunday, the Rams have yet another cornerback with press-cover skills.
The handcuffs are now off. The Rams are free to be what Phillips always envisioned: a confident, multiple 3-4 scheme able to send cornerbacks, safeties and linebackers on blitzes.
Much to Ryan’s chagrin, all of that happened quite a bit on Sunday. He was under siege all day.
That dominance helped the Rams’ offense to find itself in a way it hasn’t been able to do this season, especially in the last three games. Jared Goff threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns with a 99.8 passer rating. Rookie David Edwards brought athletic ability and power to his new role as the starting left guard, and the offensive line in general provided its best pass protection of the season. Goff did not take a sack, and with time to scan the field and throw, he connected with seven different receivers.
For the first time in nearly a month, the Rams could smile and feel good about themselves after their most complete performance of the season.
“It’s fun when it’s going that way and you feel the momentum shifting and the defense is making plays and the offense is making plays and we’re moving the ball down the field,” Goff said. “That’s what we’re used to and we want to keep that feeling going.”
By no means was Ramsey the only reason for all that, but there is no doubt that his presence changes the whole dynamic of the Rams’ defense.
“Whether it’s safeties blitzing or bringing a corner blitz,” explained Weddle, “me covering, over-shadow and overlapping, cutting defense, those are the things that we can do. We just haven’t been able to, for whatever reasons. You bring a guy like Jalen, and Troy who plays press man, and Robey can play man … Darious is a man corner. Your defense kind of changes of philosophy now.
“We’re going to be man-based now, get up in their face, mix in some zones, whether it’s dropping in zone or bringing man pressure with zone behind it. It’s just a more aggressive type defense than we have been to start the season.”
The scary thing is, it represented only a fraction of what the Rams have in their defensive playbook.
“Honestly, the defense was a little bit dumbed down for me,” Ramsey said, a bit sheepishly. “Just because I only had a couple days to prepare. I really appreciate the guys going with that game plan because, probably, it wasn’t … I’m not gonna say it wasn’t the best for them, because they went out there and strapped, too. I just appreciate everybody’s help the last couple days.”
The feeling was mutual, to be sure.
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