Rams' defense has been dominant all summer

Even without Aaron Donald, Rams’ new defense looks strong

RICH HAMMOND

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/15/even-without-aaron-donald-rams-new-defense-looks-strong/

IRVINE — The Rams also play defense, and perhaps quite well.

While the focus during this training camp has been on the offense – Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Sammy Watkins, Andrew Whitworth, et al – the surest path to improvement for the Rams in 2017 will be on defense, particularly if coordinator Wade Phillips can continue to be a first-year miracle worker.

The two biggest talking points involving the defense have been negatives: the absence of holdout Aaron Donald – and no, there’s still no clear indication when he might show up – and the season-ending knee injury to fellow lineman Dominique Easley. Yet there are plenty of positives about this new-look defense.

They were on display Saturday in the Rams’ preseason opener against Dallas. The defense, as a whole, limited the Cowboys to one touchdown, one field goal and 248 total yards. In the first quarter, with the Rams’ first-string defense on the field, Dallas totaled 13 yards (and zero first downs) in nine plays.

“I was really pleased with how we performed, going out there for the first time as a group,” linebacker Alec Ogletree said after Tuesday’s camp practice at UC Irvine. “We definitely have a lot to work on, but I thought we got off to a good start.”

There’s an asterisk. The Cowboys played without their top quarterback (Dak Prescott), running back (Ezekiel Elliott) and receiver (Dez Bryant). Then again, the Rams also played without Donald, linebackers Robert Quinn and Mark Barron and cornerback Kayvon Webster.

That’s a lot of missing pieces, but in general, the puzzle looked good. The Rams were aggressive in their new defense, which is nominally a 3-4 but looks different on almost every snap.

On one third-down play against the Cowboys, the Rams had three linemen and two linebackers at the line of scrimmage, and all of them – plus one defensive back – rushed the quarterback. A pass fell incomplete.

That’s the type of chaos the Rams would like to create in Saturday’s preseason game at Oakland, and beyond. The scheme of former coordinator Gregg Williams also was aggressive, but in a more traditional sense. The Rams, with their across-the-field speed, would like to be even more unpredictable.

It’s not only opponents who are suffering. In practice Monday and Tuesday, the defense intercepted quarterback Jared Goff five times and backup Sean Mannion twice.

“We’re on our way,” Phillips said recently, “and I’m pleased with where we are. We’ve still got a lot of work to do. We’ve still got to get some things done, but I’m pleased with where we are right now.”

Phillips’ background is stellar. He’s well-traveled in his 40-year NFL career, and has a history of making immediate improvements when he takes over a defense.

In his past four jobs as coordinator (Atlanta, San Diego, Houston and Denver), those teams’ defenses have improved in Phillips’ first year, by averages of 6.2 points per game and 40.0 yards per game.

That could make a big difference for a Rams team that went 4-12 in 2016 and lost five games by seven points or fewer. The question, going into camp, was whether the Rams’ personnel would fit, particularly at linebacker.

The Rams, at middle linebacker, have Barron, who played safety until two years ago, and Ogletree, a converted outside linebacker. But Dallas averaged just 3.0 yards per run play on Saturday.

Players also have taken to Phillips’ personality, which is laid back with a dry wit. He’s not an on-field screamer, like Williams. Phillips demands perfection, players say, but also will patiently explain a concept multiple times until a player fully understands it.

“You’ve got to do it that way,” Barron said, “because execution is the most important thing. If people don’t understand something, you can’t ask them to do it on the field.

“The transition has been good. It’s been pretty easy. The coaches have done a great job of coming in and making sure we understand everything. It can seem complicated if you don’t know football well, but they’ve done a great job making sure we understand all the ins and outs of the system.”