About that pass rush…

yeah. and the sacks should start coming. but i wonder how many of those pressures were coming from the edge.

i feel like ebukam has been a disappointment. i think he gives good effort. but he hasn’t even produced many pressures much less sacks. it’s all coming up the middle. which says a lot about donald and suh.

i was intrigued by suh lining up outside. i wonder how that experiment works out. but mostly i’d like to see the outside linebackers step it up.

The highest graded rookie edge defenders so far this season. pic.twitter.com/00Q8rLtqiD

— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) October 3, 2018

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Rams discover Ndamukong Suh can line up anywhere and produce up front

Gary Klein

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-suh-20181004-story.html

The pressure comes from all angles and positions along the Rams’ front, be it nose tackle, defensive tackle or end.
Ndamukong Suh is making an impact from all three spots.

After he signed a one-year, $14-million contract with the Rams last March, the veteran lineman said he would do whatever he was asked to help the Rams reach the Super Bowl.
Last week against the Minnesota Vikings, Suh lined up at end in the fourth quarter and recorded one of the Rams’ four sacks in the final period of a 38-31 victory. He also mentored end John Franklin-Myers before the rookie end’s game-clinching strip sack, a play Suh finished by falling on the ball.
As the unbeaten Rams prepare for Sunday’s game against the Seahawks in Seattle, they appear to be getting their money’s worth for Suh, who combines with reigning NFL defensive player of the year Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers to give the Rams perhaps the league’s most dynamic starting defensive front.
The Rams have only eight sacks, which ranks 22nd in the NFL, but they are among the league leaders in quarterback pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.
Donald, 27, signed a $135-million extension before the season. Brockers, 27, has a $10.75-million salary-cap number in the second season of a three-year extension he signed in 2016.
And then there is the 31-year-old Suh, who might have received more money elsewhere had he not opted to join the Rams.
Coach Sean McVay said Thursday that Suh has “been a little more” than he expected in terms of versatility.

“He’s made plays, really, at all those spots,” McVay said.
Suh is not the only versatile member of a line that has produced 20 hits on quarterbacks.
In 2016, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips shifted tackles Donald and Brockers to various spots depending on the situation. Donald disrupted offenses and recorded 11 sacks. Brockers flourished when moved to the edge and finished with 4½ sacks.
Phillips said he studied all of Suh’s plays last season for the Miami Dolphins. Many were made from the end position.
“But we still had to work with him to make sure he could do those things we saw on film,” Philips said.
Apparently, he can.
“Ndamukong can go over either tackle, either guard or a center, so it gives us some versatility,” Phillips said. “Their [offensive line’s] protections have to change or we get one of those guys or two of those guys one-on-one. That’s what we’re looking for.”
Phillips has coached Hall of Fame players and many outstanding defensive lines during an NFL career that spans more than four decades.
But he said the Suh-Donald-Brockers combination is rare.
“I’ve had some great players but most of them, they played one position,” Phillips said, adding, “It’s not many players that you can move around like our guys.”
Moving together is the key, Suh said.

He describes the teamwork between ends and tackles as if it were a dance. The left end and the right tackle work together to push the pocket one way, the right end and left tackle doing the same to push it another.
“It kind of flows when you look at the different pieces of getting pressure,” he said.
Said Donald: “You don’t want two guys going high and one guy’s leaving the middle open. So just communicate and understand how each other rushes, and play off it.”
Suh, the No. 2 pick in the 2010 draft, played five seasons with the Detroit Lions and three with the Dolphins. He said he has prided himself on versatility since his rookie season.
“I’ll stand up in a linebacker position if I can,” he said, chuckling.
Franklin-Myers credited Suh for delivering applicable advice just before his big play against the Vikings. The rookie from Stephen F. Austin University rushed off the right edge and swatted the ball from the hand of quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Suh said he offered counsel because he remembers his time as a rookie. First-year players, he said, can get “a one-track mind” because they are so focused on carrying out an assignment. It’s important “every now and then” to understand what an opponent is trying to do, and to take advantage of playing next to players such as Donald and Brockers, he said.
“’You’re going to have opportunities because you’ve got the big money guy next to you and you got Brock there,’” Suh said he told Franklin-Myers. “I’m just another guy just like you.
“ ‘Just go out there and play and find ways to make plays.’
“And that’s what he did.”
The Rams face a big test Sunday against elusive Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Suh said the Rams were up for the challenge.
“We’ve got to tighten up,” he said.
Suh will be there to clamp down.
From every angle.

After slow start Donald, Suh & Co. turning up the pressure on QBs

Lindsey Thiry

http://www.espn.com/blog/los-angeles-rams/post/_/id/39038/after-slow-start-donald-suh-and-co-turning-up-the-pressure-on-qbs

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Aaron Donald felt frustrated, but was hardly concerned.

Sacks, the Los Angeles Rams star defensive tackle said, come in bunches.

Aaron Donald and the Rams got 17 pressures on Kirk Cousins. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports
But through three weeks, Donald, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, had yet to take down a quarterback.

“I ain’t worried,” Donald said. And he shouldn’t have been.

Days later, Donald and the Rams’ defensive line let loose in a Week 4 victory over the Minnesota Vikings (1-2-1). They had 17 pressures, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, and sacked quarterback Kirk Cousins four times.

“It’s huge,” Rams coach Sean McVay said after the win. “And I think really just the pass rush in general. To be able to get there, to be able to affect and influence the quarterback is something we always talk about.”

The Rams will face dual-threat quarterback Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks (2-2) on Sunday at CenturyLink Field. The mobile Wilson presents a unique challenge in comparison to the other quarterbacks the Rams have faced, but he also has struggled to stay upright this season and has been sacked 16 times.

“We’re going to see a very athletic quarterback that likes to move out of the pocket and wants to throw the ball as well as make plays with his feet,” Ndamukong Suh said. “It’s going to be a big challenge.”

The Rams’ line was considered among the elite, if not the best, in the NFL at the start of the season after Suh signed a one-year, $14 million free-agent contract and Donald agreed to a record-breaking six-year, $135 million extension.

Through three weeks, opponent strategy confirmed that Donald, Suh and former first-round pick Michael Brockers were a feared group, even if the Rams’ stat sheet did not.

Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Sam Bradford hurried to get the ball off in Weeks 1 and 2, as the Rams’ defense put together six consecutive quarters of shutout football and recorded six pressures against Carr and five against Bradford, per NFL Next Gen Stats.

In Week 3, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers held on to the ball slightly longer as the veteran waited for plays to develop downfield. Suh recorded his first sack, as the line pressured Rivers nine times.

But through three weeks, the defense had only four sacks between Brockers, Suh, lineman Ethan Westbrooks and outside linebacker Samson Ebukam.

Frustration built, though the group remained adamant that they would eventually make it to the quarterback.

Last Thursday, that happened to be Cousins, as he was forced to hold onto the ball with the Vikings trailing late in the game. The defensive line took advantage. Their 17 pressures were a season-best for the group.

“We’re definitely heading in the right direction but we definitely have room for improvement,” Donald said. “We just have to keep getting better and stay hungry, and the sky is the limit.”

All four of the Rams’ sacks against the Vikings came in the fourth quarter. The first, when Donald slipped passed left guard Tom Compton to take down Cousins for a 10-yard loss.

The next series, Suh sacked Cousins for an 8-yard loss.

“We’re getting opportunities,” Suh said. “They were in a position where they had to hold the ball and put it down field, so it was up to us to make sure we got off the field and we found ways to do it.”

On the ensuing series, Donald went by Compton again, and this time threw Cousins to the ground for an 8-yard loss, as Donald stood tall, flexed and pointed to his bicep. And the exclamation point came when rookie John Franklin-Myers, a fourth-round pick from Stephen F. Austin, knocked the ball free from Cousins (The play was recorded as a sack) and Suh recovered. The Rams then ran out the clock to improve to 4-0 on the season.

“It felt good, definitely when you get them in the fourth quarter when we need them,” Donald said. “We left some on the field for sure. We should have had more, but as long as we’re getting them down, we’re going to just keep getting better with time and keep playing with each other.”

wv wrote:

A number of those teams near the top, on that list are not having good years defensively. I dunno what that means.

at some point you actually have to get to the quarterback.

someone correct me if i’m wrong but opposing qbs have been torching the rams even when throwing under pressure. so something’s not working.

part of it is just facing some really good qbs lately. and injuries.

but maybe it’ll balance out. maybe the defensive backs and linebackers will start making some more plays with the opposing qbs playing under such duress. i don’t know.

Opponents have converted 47% of their 3rd downs against LA…. (80% 4th down conversions against Rams defense)

Despite allowing tons of yards and 3rd down conversions…. the RAMS have only allowed 98 points through 5 games…..

In addition, the Rams D seems to steps it up in the 4th qtr…..

BTW, Rams favored by 7 next week in Denver…. Denver has the best home record since the days of Lyle Alzado and Craig Morton… Playing in Denver is not an easy win… but it’s home cooking for Stan and his Denver Nuggets…. Let’s see how many 3rd downs Case Keenum converts next Sunday at Mile High.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by joemad.