2020 or bust for 5 Ram defenders...

2020 or bust for 5 Ram defenders

[ramblinfan.com]

The LA Rams are all about winning now. Not tomorrow. Not down the road. Now. That’s life in professional football. You see, life comes at you fast when you are in the NFL. So it should come as no surprise that the clock is ticking for these five defensive players to show up in a big way in 2020. You either show-up or go home culture in professional football. And teams have become far more impatient over the years. The average shelf life for an NFL head coach is decreasing rapidly. So too are the careers of NFL general managers. So with shorter careers at the top, there is ever-increasing pressure to deliver as a player.

The Rams are a bit to blame for that pace. After all, it was just two seasons for the Rams to land in the Super Bowl after hiring on head coach Sean McVay. To many, that feat came after many years at the helm of a team. And if it only required two seasons for McVay to get there, how much patience do you truly expect to occur to see him return?

Prove it time

The NFL has committed to veterans in a sort of “prove it” mentality as more and more teams are embracing one-year contracts. While that offers virtually no long-term financial security for a player, nor long term players for teams, it does give both sides an opportunity for a short term trial-run to explore how well the team and player fit each other’s expectations. The pressure is overwhelming, and the only way to salvage careers is to give both the player and the team trial periods to see how well their chemistry works.

Unfortunately, the team is facing a fork in the road with some players. An NFL team is very competitive, both for playing time and for salary dollars. Sometimes players underperform, and other times the math simply doesn’t work out for the role on the team any longer. So these five LA Rams players must either prove their worth or pack their bags. It’s that simple. First on the ejector seat? Defensive tackle Greg Gaines.

DT Gaines

Greg Gaines is a powerful 6-foot-1 312-pound defensive tackle for the LA Rams. He arrived at the team with a great deal of hoopla and hype. Although he is just entering his second season, it’s quite obvious that the bar was simply set too high for the young man. Is it too soon to draw a line in the sand for Gaines in 2020? Not really. His Pro Football Focus grade from 2019 was an impressive 74.4. Unfortunately, that was based on too few plays.

When the LA Rams selected Greg Gaines, the hype machine applauded the move as a tremendous find by the Rams in landing a potential replacement for outgoing defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh. But that never truly happened. In his first season, the LA Rams defensive front consisted of Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, and Sebastian Joseph Day. Despite the limited options for defensive rotations, Gaines only saw the field in ten games and for just 17 percent of the defensive snaps. What’s worse, his pedestrian speed limited him to just 11 snaps on special teams play. For a fourth-rounder, that’s not going to cut it.

Fish or cut …Gaines?

With so much anticipation of what Gaines might do, the reality is that Gaines didn’t do enough to validate those hopes. Was it the player not earning playing time? Or was it a matter of not enough opportunities for a promising young player? We may never know the answer, but it’s a glaring challenge for 2020. Gaines must step up and perform this year. With the defense emphasizing multiple role players, can Gaines find his niche?

Surprisingly, yes. It won’t be handed over to him, but there are plenty of minutes to be earned in 2020. New defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s defense depends heavily upon strength at the line of scrimmage (defensive linemen), speed and agility in the second tier (linebackers), and extreme versatility in the defensive backfield. Gaines has plenty of power. This year, he simply needs to get snaps and make plays. If not, the Rams have too many talented young players waiting for their chance.

OLB Floyd

Outside linebacker Leonard Floyd is the right player for the LA Rams needs in 2020. But it will be up to Floyd himself to validate that need, and prove to the Rams that both the role he will fill as well as he as the player are integral components to the success of this defense. How will it all play out? That’s what we are here to find out.

The LA Rams signed former Chicago Bears outside linebacker Leonard Floyd in free agency, and analysts immediately compared him to outside linebacker Clay Matthews. Days later, Matthews was cut by the team, indicating that the Rams sign Floyd as a younger replacement for Matthews, and not to take over for outgoing free agent Dante Fowler Jr. While that seemed a bit disorienting at first, the LA Rams’ strategy seemed to take focus when the team landed outside linebacker Terrell Lewis in the 2020 NFL Draft. Lewis was often compared to the Rams Fowler by analysts.

A younger version, but is he as effective?

So in one year, the Rams got far younger and less expensive at the outside linebacker roles. But will the two new players be as effective? In the case of Floyd, he has one shot. When the LA Rams signed up Floyd, they did so with a one-year prove-it deal. That’s the deadline. Floyd has one-year to show up big on this Rams’ defense, or find another team to pick up his option.

Floyd was not a shot-in-the-dark signing. He was coached by Staley with the Chicago Bears, and it was likely that connection which persuaded the Rams to bring him aboard. After all, he is the linebacker leadership all but vacant in the room for the Rams right now. And he knows the new system, which means he has a huge advantage in 2020. Previously, Floyd played as the straight man to the Bears’ pash rushing Khalil Mack. This year, he will have a more balanced role in both pass rushing and coverage. Can he deliver? Many of his former coaches believe that he can. The Rams are not as confident, forcing Floyd to deliver in 2020 before making a longer-term commitment.

ILB Young

Inside linebacker Kenny Young can play with intensity and vigor for the right defensive scheme. The only problem is, can he do so for the Rams? While he was truly a midseason acquisition for the team in 2019, he never saw a single defensive snap. Previously, he saw plenty of action for the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens loved him so much that they gave him three starts in both 2018 and 2019. Not based on seniority, but because he performed well on the field.

Linebacker Kenny Young will forever be tagged as “that guy we got in the Marcus Peters trade with the Baltimore Ravens”. While that is true, there is a good reason why the Rams insisted on adding Young to the exchange. He showed flashes of starting potential with the Ravens but showed nothing but special teams play with the Rams.

Older Young

That could all change this year. Kenny Young is one of the few interior linebackers on the roster right now with starting experience. Beyond that, if there was ever a time Young needed to step up, that time is now. After all, the Rams roster is loaded with raw talent at the linebacker position. But raw is not refined, and the defensive scheme in 2020 is all about refinement.

While Young must earn playing time for the Rams this season, the spotlight is his to lose. That’s not a compliment. Other players on the Rams roster can survive not winning a starting role on the team this season. In all likelihood, many additions to the team will survive an assignment to the practice squad this year. But Young? His time is now or never. Without a breakout season, the team will likely conclude this is a bad fit and will move on. Kenny Young is playing for his Rams’ career this season. Hopefully, he understands that urgency and finds a way to earn the starting role.

DE Fox

Defensive end Morgan Fox almost did not make this list, because the Rams had already parted ways by failing to tender a qualifying offer to him earlier in the year. And therein lies the urgency for his future with the LA Rams. He is playing with house money right now. In other words, he is benefitting from a mulligan.

Defensive end Morgan Fox was almost not re-signed to the team, despite promising signs of becoming a solid contributor for the team. While he is a four-year veteran, he lost the entire 2018 season due to an ACL injury. But he did manage to return to the field in 2019 and even started three games for the team at defensive end. Despite starting, the season only generated 32 percent of the Rams’ overall defensive snaps. While that’s still pretty good action for a rotational player, the numbers are not enough to warrant bringing him back next year without a step forward in production.

Crazy like a Fox

It’s difficult not to appreciate Morgan Fox’s play. If a play is made on the defense and I find myself asking “that was impressive, I wonder who did that?”, the answer if commonly defensive end Morgan Fox. In two seasons for the Rams (2017 and 2019), he’s played 687 snaps, generated 4.5 quarterback sacks, made 37 tackles, accounted for six quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss, and one safety. But that was not enough to ensure he was re-signed.

The Rams need to find contributors to the pass rush in 2020. That is a role that Fox must fill this year. Even upping his sack total to five or six this year would be enough to warrant bringing him back. Right now, the list of quarterback sack specialists on this team is short and rather inexperienced. Defensive lineman Aaron Donald will need help getting to the quarterback. That’s Morgan Fox’s signal that he needs to go crazy at sacking the QB this year. Otherwise, he may not be back in 2021.

S Johnson

LA Rams safety John Johnson delivers everything a defensive coordinator could ask for, as long as he is on the field. Can he stay healthy in 2020? If he does, he has an opportunity to showcase his talents in what could very well be his career-best season. If he cannot, then the team will have a very easy decision when his contract expires at the end of the season. But will it be that easy? After all, Johnson explodes on defense when he plays.

Safety John Johnson is one of the players who could be elite in 2020. In 2018, he generated 119 tackles and four interceptions. In just five games in 2019, he had already racked up 51 tackles and two interceptions. Projected over 16 games, that equates to 164 tackles and seven interceptions. That’s incredibly impressive, particularly considering that the NFL leading tackler, Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner, accounted for 159 tackles in 2019.

Won’t go back again

Much like the Rams dilemma with wide receiver Cooper Kupp, the team faces a narrow path to re-sign Johnson in 2021. If Johnson has an outstanding season, the LA Rams will certainly seek to re-sign him to the roster. But that performance will attract suitors from many other NFL teams, all seeking to sign a solid player at the position. And so, a good to great year could price Johnson out of the Rams’ price range.

But if he doesn’t perform well, what is the incentive to bring him back? He missed most of 2019 with an injury, and should 2020 prove to underwhelm, then the team has every right to focus upon starting one of their younger safeties in 2020. With his talent, the likely only scenario is another injury-shortened season. While the Rams could roll the dice, the pain from paying players who are oft-injured is still too fresh. And the Rams have plenty of options to spend salary cap dollars in 2021.