LA Rams DC Staley will field multi-faceted Defense...

LA Rams DC Staley will field multi-faceted 3-4 defense

[ramblinfan.com]

The LA Rams new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is one of the NFL’s best-kept secrets. Secrets in that nobody is touting much excitement about the innovative “mad scientist” who is taking over the reins of the Rams steady-Freddie defense. Best in that he is the defensive equivalent of head coach Sean McVay, a young savant whose energy ideas and innovations turn the page to a new chapter of the NFL.

He is a young coach with just three years of NFL experience, but whose analytical mind has grasped every defensive concept he has been exposed to. And he has followed the career of NFL defensive genius Vic Fangio. While that is not a certain guarantee, it creates very fertile ground from which to grow his own defensive concepts and coaching tree. Now the question is, what will those be?

A 3-4 defense by any other name

The LA Rams are about to undertake a journey, a series of trial and error concepts as the Staley experiments with the defense to create the most effective version. These experiments will involve personnel packages, defensive formations, and unorthodox defensive assignments as he scrambles the defense to thwart each new offense the Rams face. That means that the defense can be as exotic in a formation as a 2-5-4, a 3-3-4, a 6-1-4, or any other version designed to confuse and deny the opposing quarterback’s ability to read the defense.

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Emphasizing versatility and player strengths? Let’s discuss that.

Able to adapt to many different functions

That word “versatility” is simply a buzzword today. When the season starts, it will be the bread and butter of the Rams defense. In short, it means that the LA Rams defense will be able to adapt to many different functions. How that works in defense is the key. Since offensive coordinators have become so effective at cracking the basic defensive formation codes, Staley’s route is to improve the encryption of the defensive formation.

The concepts will be based in the Fangio philosophy, where defenses show zone coverage, but transform into man coverage. That’s very similar to the defense Wade Phillips uses as well, and one of the key reasons why McVay sought Staley to be Phillips successor as defensive coordinator.

Match zone

The match zone defense is very much like basketball, where defenders play man to man with a receiver, but hand that player off to another defender to cover at a specific range. Former Rams DC Phillips explained the match zone like this:

“We say, ‘Hey, you’re playing this zone, but when a guy comes over there, you match with him,’” Phillips explained. “You pass it off, just like in basketball. When another guy comes there, you go there. That’s the simple way to tell you how we played matchup zone. We play a lot of match zone, but people think we’re playing man-to-man. Hopefully that confuses them. It probably confused you already.” – per interview with Rich Kurtzman, Broncoswire.usatoday.com

That begs the question, what are the differences we can expect for the Rams 3-4 defense right out of the gates?

3-4 defenses are like fingerprints

The LA Rams will not be blitzing much in this new defense. That’s part of the Vic Fangio DNA that has likely passed down to Staley. Phillips defenses tend to be formulated to the down and distance, a prescribed but a finite number of options for the defense, a base of “here’s our 11 best guys on defense, and we dare you to move the ball against them”. Defensive players have defined roles, and it was a coaching decision to blitz in order to create pressure on the quarterback.

But the new defense will be far more rotations. far fewer blitzes, and a host of “what are they doing” role-changing elements which are designed to pressure the quarterback at his most vulnerable spot- his ability to read the defense effectively. That means hesitation in the pocket, giving defenders more time to record a sack. Even more, it triggers misreads and running plays into a defense designed to thwart that play.

Mirage management

The Rams defense taps into the second-guessing nature that is embedded in each of us. So how does that work? As the Rams replace defensive players in situations to respond in unexpected ways, their confidence is soon erased with a need to diagnose unexpected personnel packages. Let’s walk through a scenario:

The season opener against the Dallas Cowboys finds the Cowboys at third down and six at their 24-yard line. The Rams show just two defenders as down linemen and Aaron Donald is in a two-point stance at linebacker depth. Seeing this, the Cowboys call an audible out of a pass to run the ball by Ezekiel Elliott. But by doing so, the Rams have dictated the offensive play by the confusing formation. The Rams are running a 2-5-4 defense on this play, with Aaron Donald over the center. Now the Rams can swarm to the runner on this play, and with Donald flexing, the offense has no chance to double team him. The result of the play? Elliot gets a one-yard gain, resulting in a fourth-down punt.

Different faces, same results

That same type of defense dictating the direction of offense happens any time the Rams throw a new wrinkle at the offense. That’s why the Ram emphasized versatility on the defense. Players like Terrell Burgess, Jordan Fuller, Adonis Alexander, even Clay Johnston give the Rams players who can line up in one role, but take on a different role as soon as that ball is snapped.

The Rams can even change up elite players into unexpected roles. The LA Rams traded a pretty stiff package of draft picks to bring in elite cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the team. So now that they have him on the roster, he’ll play shutdown outside cornerback exclusively, right? Not if you believe the recent statements Staley has made about his star defensive back. In short, Staley believes that Ramsey could dominate in virtually any defensive back role on the team.

Why mess with success? More success

The LA Rams will face San Francisco tight end George Kittle twice a season. In 2019, he feasted on the Rams for 13 receptions, 182 yards, and a touchdown in just two games. One of the first objectives for the Rams defense in 2020 is stopping that type of house burning performance from an opponent.

Kittle typically draws the slot cornerback. But what if the Rams were able to position Jalen Ramsey as his primary defender? That would force the 49ers to either throw into one of the NFL’s best pass defenders or direct the ball to another receiver. That not only shuts Kittle down, but it would force 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to read his progressions, giving Aaron Donald and the Rams defense more time to zero in on him. But if that’s the case, what are the goals of the defense?

Goals

So what are the defensive goals of Staley’s defense? His mentor, Vic Fangio, focused on points allowed, turnovers, and then yards allowed. The Rams are coming off the 2019 season where the defense was ranked 17th in the league for points allowed, and tied for 15th in the league in the takeaway/giveaway ratio. So there is definitely some ground to make up.

While the LA Rams were ranked 12th in pass defense in 2019, their run defense was ranked 19th in the NFL. That’s concerning, as the offense was able to score points. The Rams have taken strides to bolster their run defense in free agency by adding OLB Leonard Floyd and NT A’Shawn Robinson while re-signing DE Michael Brockers. All three will contribute to creating a solid run defense.

What are the takeaways from this Rams defense?

While the Rams defense has little to do with giveaways, the team will most certainly emphasize takeaways in 2020. The Rams did a good job in 2019, ranking 12th in interceptions and seventh in fumble recoveries. Can the Rams do more in 2020? Likely so. The Rams boasted six different defensive backs with two interceptions each. While the Rams no longer have either Marcus Peters or Cory Littleton, the Rams will not struggle with swapping out both starting cornerbacks in mid-season this year.

As the Rams emphasize deception, the likelihood of mistakes committed by the offense increases exponentially. A stiffer defense also plays into giving the offense opportunities to play higher percentages. In 2019, the Rams lost four times by double digits. Falling behind by that much in a game forces higher risk plays by the offense. That gives the offense better options to move the ball. Meanwhile, the defense focuses upon stopping the run, generating turnovers, and preventing scores. Strip away everything else, and the LA Rams are simply going to create unspeakable headaches for offenses in 2020. And their pain is the LA Rams gain.