OFFICIAL 2025 Rams Defense Thread

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Rmfnlt said:
Back to the defense... and I apologize if anyone else already observed this but... I never thought I'd say this but I am getting tired of the media fawning over our defense. Statistically, yes, they are solid. But it feels to me that they just can't stand prosperity. Whenever the offense gets a good lead, it seems like they let up. And the opponent crawls back into the game. Sound familiar?

I'd feel better if I saw a few games where they were solid all 4 quarters.
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I get it. It can sometimes feel that way.

On the other hand, if we're gonna go by feelings, there will always be some frustration. I know I feel irritation whenever the opposing team scores.

That's why stats can be beneficial. They move us away from feelings into more objective data. At the end of the day, we're giving up 16.9 points per game. We couldn't do that if we weren't solid for all 4 quarters.
 
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Tano said:
His name was Rozeboom. A below average linebacker that found his face in the dirt more often than not after missing a tackle.

Speights made him look so much better than he was by putting him in the right spot.
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A few ex Rams on the Panthers.
Should make that game a little more interesting.....Id like to see ol Roze try to deal with that 13 set.
 
DzRams said:
Maybe we can move away from the narrative that the secondary is weak.

They are obviously greatly helped by an awesome pass rush, but I don't think even with this pass rush we'd lead the league in this category if it was a weak secondary.
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Ive always liked Forbes and thought signing him was a no brainer....a first round talent without giving up anything?
Darius Williams seems to be sort of settled in really nicely this year. His play is greatly improved from last year.
In my opinion, being an NFL DB and expecting to cover man is basically impossible. Shula has generally done a good job mixing zone, man and mixed coverages.
The biggest difference I have noticed in the Rams D this year is the tackling, across all units, is MUCH better.
 
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Rmfnlt said:
Back to the defense... and I apologize if anyone else already observed this but... I never thought I'd say this but I am getting tired of the media fawning over our defense. Statistically, yes, they are solid. But it feels to me that they just can't stand prosperity. Whenever the offense gets a good lead, it seems like they let up. And the opponent crawls back into the game. Sound familiar?

I'd feel better if I saw a few games where they were solid all 4 quarters.
Click to expand...
The Rams under McVay have not been able to handle the press clippings and pressure of being the favorite during the regular season. Every single time they have started to look like they were up to competing for that top seed they have shit the bed. Thankfully they got it done during one playoff run. But it is true they don't seem to handle being on top, at least in the regular season.

But maybe they just haven't had the team that was ready to do it. This is why I blame the slow starts. Also both Super Bowl years under McVay the Rams had a midseason swoon where they struggled then rebounded. Usually your top seeds are strong enough to avoid a stretch of shit ass results.

To the specific examples of defense not holding up, they have played a very strong schedule of good teams. Also this league has trended towards parity, and it feels like the refs make their calls towards that end, for exciting finishes. So many close games it's kind of crazy. Or maybe I'm just getting old idk. Either way we knew what this defense was prior to the season just by perusing the roster. They're a secondary that is dependent on the rush. And that is going to continue until they invest in at least one legit top corner to matchup with the top draw.

Cred to our corners too btw. They have performed better in many aspects than I expected. Durant for example is very close to being a good corner, he just can't tackle for shit. Forbes has been coming on, little too grabby for my taste but his tackling has improved a great deal. But no matter how you slice this secondary they're at a disadvantage vs their draws unless the rush is getting home.
 
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Merlin said:
The Rams under McVay have not been able to handle the press clippings and pressure of being the favorite during the regular season. Every single time they have started to look like they were up to competing for that top seed they have shit the bed. Thankfully they got it done during one playoff run. But it is true they don't seem to handle being on top, at least in the regular season.
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Spot on.
 
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Merlin said:
The Rams under McVay have not been able to handle the press clippings and pressure of being the favorite during the regular season. Every single time they have started to look like they were up to competing for that top seed they have shit the bed. Thankfully they got it done during one playoff run. But it is true they don't seem to handle being on top, at least in the regular season.

But maybe they just haven't had the team that was ready to do it. This is why I blame the slow starts. Also both Super Bowl years under McVay the Rams had a midseason swoon where they struggled then rebounded. Usually your top seeds are strong enough to avoid a stretch of shit ass results.

To the specific examples of defense not holding up, they have played a very strong schedule of good teams. Also this league has trended towards parity, and it feels like the refs make their calls towards that end, for exciting finishes. So many close games it's kind of crazy. Or maybe I'm just getting old idk. Either way we knew what this defense was prior to the season just by perusing the roster. They're a secondary that is dependent on the rush. And that is going to continue until they invest in at least one legit top corner to matchup with the top draw.

Cred to our corners too btw. They have performed better in many aspects than I expected. Durant for example is very close to being a good corner, he just can't tackle for shit. Forbes has been coming on, little too grabby for my taste but his tackling has improved a great deal. But no matter how you slice this secondary they're at a disadvantage vs their draws unless the rush is getting home.
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Mcvay teams have a tendency to shit the bed when they start getting the spotlight? Mcvay has a winning record, more playoff births than not, multiple NCF champs, NFC West champs, two SB appearances, and one SB trophy. Sure you can say whatever youd like but fact is mcvay is a winner and really the only reason why he had a couple of losing seasons was due to injuries.

The NFL is hard, 31 other teams trying to achieve the same goals.
 
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DzRams said:
I get it. It can sometimes feel that way.

On the other hand, if we're gonna go by feelings, there will always be some frustration. I know I feel irritation whenever the opposing team scores.

That's why stats can be beneficial. They move us away from feelings into more objective data. At the end of the day, we're giving up 16.9 points per game. We couldn't do that if we weren't solid for all 4 quarters.
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Do you know a defense that's ALWAYS at peak??? Name them! I've been watching foot ball some 61 years, and I've seen great defenses but never perfect ones. They all had ebbs and flows during a game.

This Ram defense is good, that's what they need to be. Last week, when the offense wasn't clicking because of the Seattle defense, the Ram defense delivered. That's how it is in TEAM sports.

There's a Tampa team they face tomorrow. Let's see how they do...
 
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Jacobarch said:
Mcvay teams have a tendency to shit the bed when they start getting the spotlight? Mcvay has a winning record, more playoff births than not, multiple NCF champs, NFC West champs, two SB appearances, and one SB trophy. Sure you can say whatever youd like but fact is mcvay is a winner and really the only reason why he had a couple of losing seasons was due to injuries.

The NFL is hard, 31 other teams trying to achieve the same goals.
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Nuance is hard on message boards.
 
Tano said:
His name was Rozeboom. A below average linebacker that found his face in the dirt more often than not after missing a tackle.
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Rozeboom.... Panthers leading tackler and second on team with solo tackles...
Who knew?

1763833473059.webp
 
Merlin said:
The Rams under McVay have not been able to handle the press clippings and pressure of being the favorite during the regular season. Every single time they have started to look like they were up to competing for that top seed they have shit the bed. Thankfully they got it done during one playoff run. But it is true they don't seem to handle being on top, at least in the regular season.

But maybe they just haven't had the team that was ready to do it. This is why I blame the slow starts. Also both Super Bowl years under McVay the Rams had a midseason swoon where they struggled then rebounded. Usually your top seeds are strong enough to avoid a stretch of shit ass results.

To the specific examples of defense not holding up, they have played a very strong schedule of good teams. Also this league has trended towards parity, and it feels like the refs make their calls towards that end, for exciting finishes. So many close games it's kind of crazy. Or maybe I'm just getting old idk. Either way we knew what this defense was prior to the season just by perusing the roster. They're a secondary that is dependent on the rush. And that is going to continue until they invest in at least one legit top corner to matchup with the top draw.

Cred to our corners too btw. They have performed better in many aspects than I expected. Durant for example is very close to being a good corner, he just can't tackle for shit. Forbes has been coming on, little too grabby for my taste but his tackling has improved a great deal. But no matter how you slice this secondary they're at a disadvantage vs their draws unless the rush is getting home.
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I think that that most every secondary is at a disadvantage when there's little or no pressure on the Q.
The rules are geared more to the benefit of the offensive skill players, especially the receivers in today's game. Receivers used to be less inclined to initiate any contact while running their routes, but now it is part of their "game" to do it.
Officiating has also played a part in the trend, when we have inconsistent OPI vrs DPI calls that are made.
I think the last DPI call against Forbes on JSN was a payback for the previous play's whining that JSN did, and HE initiated the contact, IMO.
They were both doing a little tugging and pushing on both plays during that last chickens drive, from what I saw. Officials are probably calling the PI on the defense 75% of the time, when the call really could have gone either way.
 
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DzRams said:
Maybe we can move away from the narrative that the secondary is weak.

They are obviously greatly helped by an awesome pass rush, but I don't think even with this pass rush we'd lead the league in this category if it was a weak secondary.
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I am with you. All we need now is a bigger CB so that bigger, more physical WRs cannot just bully their way to monster games. Getting Spoon back should help with that at 6'2", 200lbs. Forbes has great length but size-wise overall does not move the needle. I would not say our secondary is weak in terms of ability, but they are still a bit weak physically, which is a problem considering the other highly seeded teams in the NFC generally have a big receiving option or two that can be imposing.
 
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