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LMU93
... to me either will or will not come from an improved pass rush. I like seeing strong run defense as much as anyone but I agree with those that say it's just not a major area of focus for Phillips' defense.
That said, they did replace their DL coach with Henderson- so they obviously were not pleased with the DL production. Gaines is a nice add in the middle. Replacing Barron at ILB with some combination of Kiser, Matthews and maybe Ebukam could help. Rapp is a very good open field tackler. Etc.
This is not a team that needs a top 10 run defense to win but they have to get out of the basement. Even 4.4 or 4.5 YPC would be a big plus.
This verges on the pedantic. I mostly agree but there's some details. First, they are replacing Barron with Littleton. They then need to replace Littleton's old spot with Kiser, or maybe Ekubam. Matthews is a wildcard IMO who lines up anywhere depending on different situations, and he probably (just guessing) factors in big when they field nickel and dime sets. I don't think he's slotted to play a lot of straight-up ILB.
The entire point of Gaines is rush defense. They could also use better gap discipline. Though clearly Wade is as you say--run defense is not the priority overall, yet at the same time they are clearly addressing it (Kiser and Gaines are 2 down run defenders).
Still. Here are his last 5 run defenses before the Rams:
2016 Denver, 28th rushing yards/18th yards per attempt
2015 Denver, 3rd yards/1st ypa
2013 Houston, 23rd yards/22nd ypa
2012 Houston, 7th yards/9th ypa
2011 Houston, 4th yards/11th ypa
So he's kind of inconsistent but was top 7 in yards 3 times and anywhere from top 11th to 1st in ypa 3 times.
