Chris Shula...

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Last year the defense peaked down the stretch. This year the defense stated well and faded down the stretch. Did it get figured out or were they just worn down with attrition and minor injuries? If the defense had been able to get off the field on that last drive Stafford may have had another comeback in him but we will never know. Would having guys like Donald and Ramsey on the field help the Rams stifle Seattle on that last drive? I think so.

They struggled to contain big pass plays against Carolina and Atalanta, not exactly elite offenses. Explosive plays skyrocketed even though their style is bend don't break. Well, they broke on multiple occasions in the later half of the season. So, what changed? BY hampered, Forbes banged up, Lake going out. Did they wear down? They rolled the dice on their secondary and it became exposed. Witherspoon hurt, Forbes looked like he might be emerging into something then the wheels fell off and then he hurt his shoulder, Durant inconsistent as usual, Lake hurt, an aging DWil in and out of the linen up, Wallace hurt for a while.

For the most part the Rams avoided any catastrophic injuries but maybe the injuries to the secondary were enough to hamper a defense that did not have elite level talent to begin with especially on the back end.

The defensive front was only good, not great and the defense was sort of predicated on them carrying the day. Against Seatle they did not.

I don't really blame Shula but some adjustments should have been made. That last Seattle drive was the killing blow to the Rams season. Even if the Rams had actually scored and not failed on the fourth down I actually don't think the defense was good enough to stop Seattle from going down to score and win the game.
That's the thing that I'm not a fan of with Shula. Why not try to mix up the defense more earlier on in the game? It wouldn't have hurt to try things as Seattle was dicing this defense up anyways. Guess I just want more innovation vs this let's play prevent the big play only. It is such a passive D that can also allow offenses to gain momentum while also wearing out our D in the process.
 
This is an excellent example of the Rams failures in the secondary this year. They failed to make adjustments and it cost them.

I really enjoyed this segment.
Agreed, horrible secondary play on those two plays they highlighted. No clue what Lake was doing on that Kupp touchdown. And not shifting coverage over to the bunch side on JSN's TD was ridiculous. They looked like rookies out there.
 
Agreed, horrible secondary play on those two plays they highlighted. No clue what Lake was doing on that Kupp touchdown. And not shifting coverage over to the bunch side on JSN's TD was ridiculous. They looked like rookies out there.

It's interesting to hear a former DB that understands adjustments on the fly and how the rams failed to make those continued adjustments by mid season. He eluded to by Thanksgiving opposing teams know your tendencies and know where you do and don't make adjustments, which is what the Seahawks and other teams exploited.

Which begs the question, do the Rams let their players make on the fly adjustments or do they make them stay in base formation concepts? We'll never know, but either way, if it's the coaching or the players and the lack of football acumen it says a lot about how much this teams needs to grow in coverage.
 
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Only the Cardinals and Raiders are left without a coach to them. Wonder if Shula will stay with LAR or leave for greener pastures.
 
This is an excellent example of the Rams failures in the secondary this year. They failed to make adjustments and it cost them.

I really enjoyed this segment.
It almost feels like mentally the Rams players expected the rush to force the ball out by the time those first breaks occurred underneath. Like they're basically playing rush roulette.

Because Landman saw Smith go in motion. He reacted to Smith going in motion. And he sat down over the middle like that was the end of his job, didn't even try to flow with or behind him and undercut or get in the way of the throw.

Rams really stepped on their dicks rushing to lock up Landman. It felt like one of their older moves to me by the front office, when they locked up Ogletree. And I wonder how he would have played down the stretch without that security the deal gave him, because he was playing balls out every snap prior to getting that paycheck.

Anyway clearly the Rams could use an ILB. And this year there's a couple good ones slated in round 1. Would prefer the wideout or corner, but there's a lot of ways the Rams could skin this cat.
 
It almost feels like mentally the Rams players expected the rush to force the ball out by the time those first breaks occurred underneath. Like they're basically playing rush roulette.

Because Landman saw Smith go in motion. He reacted to Smith going in motion. And he sat down over the middle like that was the end of his job, didn't even try to flow with or behind him and undercut or get in the way of the throw.

Rams really stepped on their dicks rushing to lock up Landman. It felt like one of their older moves to me by the front office, when they locked up Ogletree. And I wonder how he would have played down the stretch without that security the deal gave him, because he was playing balls out every snap prior to getting that paycheck.

Anyway clearly the Rams could use an ILB. And this year there's a couple good ones slated in round 1. Would prefer the wideout or corner, but there's a lot of ways the Rams could skin this cat.
Landman's contract is easy to get out of after 26'. Very little dead cap ($2.25M). The cap savings is $5.5M.

After 27', only $125K of dead cap

6398.webp
 
It almost feels like mentally the Rams players expected the rush to force the ball out by the time those first breaks occurred underneath. Like they're basically playing rush roulette.

Because Landman saw Smith go in motion. He reacted to Smith going in motion. And he sat down over the middle like that was the end of his job, didn't even try to flow with or behind him and undercut or get in the way of the throw.

Rams really stepped on their dicks rushing to lock up Landman. It felt like one of their older moves to me by the front office, when they locked up Ogletree. And I wonder how he would have played down the stretch without that security the deal gave him, because he was playing balls out every snap prior to getting that paycheck.

Anyway clearly the Rams could use an ILB. And this year there's a couple good ones slated in round 1. Would prefer the wideout or corner, but there's a lot of ways the Rams could skin this cat.

To be fair, we're not sure whether it's Landmans job to align the safety or Lakes job, we know they are both team captains and both wear a green dot, so they both get the calls. I would think it's on Landman to get the front 6 aligned and Lakes job to get the DBs aligned. Again, I'm just guessing here.

If you remember the Rams locked up landman later in the season, teams were adjusting to our tendencies around that time which is when & why we saw the defense start to struggle. As I stated above I don't know who's job it is for DB alignment but either way it wasn't the first time we've had this issue this year.

As far as his contract goes, I'm glad we signed him, he's good to great against the run, and that's what the Rams brought him in to do. They didn't bring him in to Cover JSN or other WR's. To me, that's on the rams staff not knowing your personnel or not having another LB in place to bring in on Passing downs. We all know what Landman is and what he's not. And he's not a good cover ILB, and that's always been his wrap.
 
To be fair, we're not sure whether it's Landmans job to align the safety or Lakes job, we know they are both team captains and both wear a green dot, so they both get the calls. I would think it's on Landman to get the front 6 aligned and Lakes job to get the DBs aligned. Again, I'm just guessing here.
This is true. And alignment is a whole other part of this.

But in that moment Landman electing to sit down feels wrong to me. It's not the instinctive decision. When you have an area of responsibility and see a threat run through like that there should be a trigger in your mind to do something about it.
 
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Only the Cardinals and Raiders are left without a coach to them. Wonder if Shula will stay with LAR or leave for greener pastures.
I've seen no more interest for Shula for head coaching spots anywhere.

On a side note I wonder how difficult it would be for McVay to move on from his long time friend if the defense underachieves in 2026. Would he get more rope that he should?
 
I've seen no more interest for Shula for head coaching spots anywhere.

On a side note I wonder how difficult it would be for McVay to move on from his long time friend if the defense underachieves in 2026. Would he get more rope that he should?
He should first get some help in the way of better players whether it’s through the draft or free agency. Most likely a combination of both. If he gets some good players in the backend and the defense continues to underperform then it would be a no brainer to move on. The Rams didn’t address the secondary in this past draft or free agency so someone over valued the talent they had. Shula might have to be more vocal in the lead up to this draft and free agency. Rams have a couple of corners and a safety that have expiring contracts and they have to make a decision whether to pick up Forbes fifth year option. There’s definitely going to be some new faces in the secondary next year.
 
He should first get some help in the way of better players whether it’s through the draft or free agency. Most likely a combination of both. If he gets some good players in the backend and the defense continues to underperform then it would be a no brainer to move on. The Rams didn’t address the secondary in this past draft or free agency so someone over valued the talent they had. Shula might have to be more vocal in the lead up to this draft and free agency. Rams have a couple of corners and a safety that have expiring contracts and they have to make a decision whether to pick up Forbes fifth year option. There’s definitely going to be some new faces in the secondary next year.
It's possible that person could have been Shula.
 
The concept that McVay’s preference dictates the type of defense that the Rams play is laughable even for a TST wannabe writer to suggest. You play the style your personnel dictates. Rams have smallish, slow footed safeties and corners. They play soft coverage to try to make teams work their way down field. Press coverage with this secondary personnel would look like Darious Williams trying to trip up Shaheed in the opening drive on Sunday. Luckily he was able to trip him up to prevent the touchdown on the play but that’s what the whole season has looked like in the secondary. Rams have to invest some money in the back end of the secondary. Need for some speed has never been so great. McVay’s defensive philosophy will change once they get some players that they can trust in the back end of their defense.
Are your familiar with Jourdan Rodrigue? She initially reported, back in 2019 or so, that Morris was not running his own scheme, because Mcvay requested a particular kind of defense. She said that continued the entire time Morris was here. I know it sounds crazy, but she was the most reputable reporter that the Rams ever had. I agree with you that they need better personnel though.
 
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