thotz on how good or bad the defense can be

On offense it all depends on the OL but then they have a long list of holdover players with experience on that OL. That’s the silver thread in the middle of the 2022 OL injury hurricane. They do not lack for OL players (and adding Avila is a big plus, literally and figuratively).

On defense I think some are mistaking “don’t know yet” for “they have nothing.” When we don’t know yet we don’t know yet, and that’s not the same thing as authentic pessimism. I think odds are a lot of the guys we don’t know about yet will actually work out and stick.

The D depends on a lot of developed 2nd through 4th year players. We don’t yet know how much talent that amounts to. It all depends on guys like Hoecht and Copeland etc. Most if not all of the new starters have been in the system and know the coaches.

From the looks of things it will not only be a re-tooled defensive rosters but also a new strategic approach. In the off-season Rodrigue reported that Morris and the Rams staff were (direct quote) “sick to death” of constantly facing quick ball control passing. They strategically shifted away from a team built around Donald and Ramsey to being a team whose front 7 is more aggressive and quicker.

From what I can tell right now, it’s really only 1 rookie who might start (Young). We know Fuller will start at safety though I have no idea who the other safety will be–most likely a 2nd year guy. I will just do the other 9, though warning–I haven’t researched this in any thorough way and am just doing it off the top of my head. The rest are all 2nd through 4th year players, the main candidates being Hoecht, Copeland, Brown, Rozeboom (I think), Durant, Kendrick. Of those that’s 3 2nd year players (4 if you count my unnamed 2nd safety) and 3 3rd-4th year players. That’s along with the previous starters–Donald, Jones, and Fuller. So they could have possibly 1 rookie, mixed in with 3 former starters, and 7 2nd through 4th year new starters.

Having said that, it might be hard to name “starters” are every position for a while. Odds are they will do a lot of rotating, so at some positions the “starter” just may be situational. Like (just a wild guess) Young and Hardy sharing a spot and rotating.

How about 2001 as a comparison? The main reason for the defensive re-tooling in 2001 was the complete collapse of the defense in 2000. in 99 the Rams D was 4th in points and 6th in yards, in 2000 they were 31st in points and 23rd in yards, in 2001 they were 7th in points and 3rd in yards. So what they did in 2001 worked.

In terms of the additions, the 2001 D started 4 free agents/trades, 2 rookies, and 6 carry over players (counting Little so making it 12). Of the carry overs, 3 had been starters previously.The 2023 D will start: no FAS, at most one rookie, 3 previous starters, and 7 2nd to 4th year carry overs who had not started previously (though many of them played previously). They don’t have the veteran FAs 2001 did, but unlike 2001 it’s not a new defensive system.

Is that a lot of turnover? Yes. But it’s also a lot of players who know the system and coaches. I could see a situation where they start out at 1 level then cohere during the season and take it up a notch. Not promising a top 5 defense in 23 but it could be a lot better than the more pessimistic accounts tend to think it will be.

Conclusion: I doubt the changes in 23 will be as dramatic as in 2001 (of course), but I also am betting it won’t be as bad as some are predicting.

joemad wrote:

Trivia, the Rams kept 1 of their top 8 tacklers from 2022…  Name that player… and it ain’t AD.

Jones!

He was 66/114 last year.