Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › (must read?) Ramsey removed handcuffs from Rams’ defense
- This topic has 13 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 2 months ago by Cal.
-
AuthorPosts
-
October 21, 2019 at 11:49 am #107082znModerator
‘This is what we can do’ — Jalen Ramsey’s arrival has removed the handcuffs from the Rams’ defense
Vincent Bonsignore
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.
October 21, 2019 at 12:14 pm #107085wvParticipantSo what was Talib, chopped liver?
I dunno. Ramsey was beat on that long pass that Julio dropped. I know Ramsey is great, but i think that game was more about Atlanta’s OLine.
w
vOctober 21, 2019 at 12:30 pm #107088znModeratorSo what was Talib, chopped liver?
I dunno. Ramsey was beat on that long pass that Julio dropped. I know Ramsey is great, but i think that game was more about Atlanta’s OLine.
w
vWV, Ramsey did all that after 2 practices. And beyond that, the effect is on the defensive playcalling as a whole. With a cover corner they can change how they call the entire defense. You have Weddle saying Ramsey changes how they play D.
Talib was a man corner and so is Hill but the point is, replacing Peters with Ramsey. Hill or Talib plus Peters is a different defense than Hill or Talib plus Ramsey.
And Atlanta has a good OL. Their LOT for example is Jake Matthews, the guy everyone says the Rams should have taken instead of Robinson. That offense was 2nd in the league in passing before Sunday.
….
October 21, 2019 at 2:33 pm #107093wvParticipantAnd Atlanta has a good OL. Their LOT for example is Jake Matthews, the guy everyone says the Rams should have taken instead of Robinson. That offense was 2nd in the league in passing before Sunday.
….
=====================
Well, they sure didnt look like a good OL. They looked awful.
w
vOctober 21, 2019 at 2:55 pm #107096znModeratorAnd Atlanta has a good OL. Their LOT for example is Jake Matthews, the guy everyone says the Rams should have taken instead of Robinson. That offense was 2nd in the league in passing before Sunday.
….
=====================
Well, they sure didnt look like a good OL. They looked awful.
w
vSpoken like a true agent of the SF 49ers.
Your job, I gather, is to divide Rams fans.
October 21, 2019 at 5:05 pm #107105HramParticipantAnd Atlanta has a good OL. Their LOT for example is Jake Matthews, the guy everyone says the Rams should have taken instead of Robinson. That offense was 2nd in the league in passing before Sunday.
….
=====================
Well, they sure didnt look like a good OL. They looked awful.
w
vI have this fantasy that they looked awe full because the rams coverage and pass rush completely turned the corner in one week and are suddenly the next best thing to the 85 bears.
It could happen…
Actually, if Fowler continues to improve, they might end up being pretty good. 🙂
- This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Hram.
October 21, 2019 at 5:23 pm #107109wvParticipantI have this fantasy that they looked awe full because the rams coverage and pass rush completely turned the corner in one week and are suddenly the next best thing to the 85 bears.
It could happen…
Actually, if Fowler continues to improve, they might end up being pretty good. 🙂
=========================
Well i think the D ‘is’ good. I think it was good with Talib and Peters, and i think it will be good with Ramsey and Hill and company. (and yes Ramsey looks like he’ll give Wade the ability to take more chances, etc)
But heck i think the whole Ram team is good — except for the OLine. (I’ve been impressed with Henderson the RB. He’s stronger than I thot. I just dont know if he can hold onto the ball. He looks a bit wide-eyed and reckless…)
I just cant see them beating good teams, with good defenses with this OLine. I mean, thats what they will have to beat to go anywhere — good-teams-with-good-defenses.
What did you think of Gurleys play, Sunday? Has he lost his burst or is it the blocking? Henderson looked so much more energized.
w
vOctober 21, 2019 at 5:35 pm #107114InvaderRamModeratorwell ramsey improves coverage and the pass rush for the reasons listed in that article. he not only locks his man up. but he does it while freeing up other guys to do other things instead of helping him out. and gives the opposing offense more things to think about. and they couldn’t even play the whole defense cuz he’s still catching up. and he hasn’t played in 3 weeks.
so not bad. i’m curious to see what the defense looks like when he does catch up. when he’s shaken off the rust. when guys like matthews, johnson, and talib come back.
I just cant see them beating good teams, with good defenses with this OLine. I mean, thats what they will have to beat to go anywhere — good-teams-with-good-defenses.
yeah. that’s why i wasn’t for the trade. i thought oline was the bigger need. it’s just in shambles and yesterday’s game against a weak front seven doesn’t necessarily make me feel better.
i don’t know how they fit it all under the cap. but if they can retain ramsey and fowler and still address the oline, i think they have a chance maybe next year? i don’t know.
but whit’s gone next year. how in the hell do they replace whit? edwards??? noteboom??? big question marks right now. if they can figure out left tackle, i won’t worry so much about the other oline positions. but left tackle is a big hole to fill. how do they fill it?
October 21, 2019 at 10:46 pm #107125znModeratorThis bit from a post-game autopsy (Falcons press source) seems to fit the discussion here about the Atlanta OL.
link: https://thefalconswire.usatoday.com/2019/10/20/falcons-rams-week-7-winners-and-losers-nfl/
Falcons offensive line
This Atlanta Falcons offensive line has been about average throughout most of the year. But it was even worse against the Rams. They allowed five sacks during the game and only opened enough holes for the offense to gain 39 yards on 14 carries. Matt Ryan got hurt because of how bad they played. Atlanta needs to get their offensive line together.They have Mack at center and Matthews at LOT so I just assumed they shouldn’t be THAT bad. But…I guess they’ve been struggling and the Rams then came in and ate em up.
…
October 22, 2019 at 12:57 am #107132InvaderRamModeratorThey have Mack at center and Matthews at LOT so I just assumed they shouldn’t be THAT bad. But…I guess they’ve been struggling and the Rams then came in and ate em up.
that may be true. i don’t know enough about the falcons oline.
but i also know that the rams defense is at less than 100% right now. both through injury and the fact that the rams were not able to use the full playbook.
so i also hope/expect this defense to get better as the season progresses.
October 22, 2019 at 1:20 am #107139znModeratorbut i also know that the rams defense is at less than 100% right now. both through injury and the fact that the rams were not able to use the full playbook.
That whole plabook stuff has to do with subpackages and the defensive backfield, which has a complicated series of disguised zones they use. Ramsey was just saying they cut that stuff back for his sake and gave him a simpler role. That does not mean the entire D played in a lesser mode.
In terms of beating the Atlanta OL, I think that’s just the front 7 lining up and playing ball. I don’t think that would have much to do with the reduced playbook for the secondary (cutting back on all the head games and disguises they use.) Also they blitzed more than they have since Phillips got there. They could blitz because they left Ramsey out there on his own and so had the room to be more aggressive.
In terms of injuries…the Rams secondary is so deep they could work around missing Johnson.
So I wouldn’t say the Rams D was hampered for various reasons and just played an inferior offense. That offense was 2nd in the league in passing. That’s the first game this year where the Falcons were beat that soundly on offense.
…
October 22, 2019 at 1:36 am #107140InvaderRamModeratorExcept for missing Matthews, that would have nothing to do with the reduced playbook for the secondary and all the head games and disguises they use.
well actually i think it would. any hesitation by a qb due to confusion would put stress on the oline.
In terms of injuries…the Rams secondary is so deep they could work around missing Johnson.
i’m not quite sure i buy that. rams routinely use three safeties.
So I would never say the Rams D was hampered for various reasons and just lucked into playing an inferior offense.
well. i certainly am not arguing that.
i do argue that the oline played an inferior falcons front 7. although interestingly enough i looked at oline rankings, and they rank the rams oline 7th in run blocking and 6th in pass protection. go figure. it does take into account strength of opponent.
October 22, 2019 at 2:35 am #107141znModeratorIn terms of injuries…the Rams secondary is so deep they could work around missing Johnson.
i’m not quite sure i buy that. rams routinely use three safeties.
They had Weddle, Rapp, and Christian though. Rapp had 54 snaps, Weddle 46, and Christian 44. Each of them were on the field more than any linebacker though Fowler was close with 43. So they kept it to 3 safeties a lot of the time.
I agree about the Rams offense…they played a piss poor bad Falcons front 7. The Falcons are 28th in passing yards allowed, 30th in yards per pass allowed, 32nd in sacks, and a miserably woeful 32nd in sack percentage (at 2.1%). So they’re 8th in passing attempts against. Cause. Why wouldn’t you pass against them.
I am only saying that the Rams defense didn’t just beat up a bad offense. Before Sunday that offense was considered a good one.
….
October 22, 2019 at 5:38 pm #107166CalParticipantThey had Weddle, Rapp, and Christian though. Rapp had 54 snaps, Weddle 46, and Christian 44. Each of them were on the field more than any linebacker though Fowler was close with 43. So they kept it to 3 safeties a lot of the time.
…
I am only saying that the Rams defense didn’t just beat up a bad offense. Before Sunday that offense was considered a good one.
Christian looked like a definite weakness last year. The Rams d improved noticeably in the playoffs last year when Barron’s snaps increased and Christian’s snaps were reduced.
—–
I love the Ramsey acquisition. I’ve not seen much of the games this year, but Talib looked bad when I did see him. He’ll be 34 (I think) this winter so he may just be done.I thought the Rams desperately needed speed and athleticism in the secondary. In fact, I kinda hope the Rams have an eye towards replacing Johnson in the future to pair with Rapp, who isn’t a great athlete.
Can a good defense have two slower safeties on the back end these days?
- This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Cal.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.