NFL Take Dump: The Rams might be the only team that can stop the Chiefs
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ftw.usatoday.com]
Steven Ruiz
A solid season for the Take Dump only got even stronger on Sunday as the Steelers were fully exposed as the frauds we’ve been saying they were all season and Jalen Hurts redeemed our pleas for the Eagles to make a change at quarterback weeks ago. The Chiefs also ascended to the top of the league standings with an effortless win over a good Dolphins team, which is good for the Take Dump brand. But I can’t, in good conscience, brag about a “the Super Champs are really good” take.
Besides, now is no time to celebrate. With the playoffs right around the corner, it’s time to turn up the heat. So without further ado, let’s dump some takes. Here are my four biggest takeaways after a long day of watching football…
The Rams would be the Chiefs’ most dangerous matchup in the playoffs
As my colleague Charles McDonald wrote Sunday, the Chiefs’ win over the Dolphins showed us why they’re far and away the NFL’s best team, and, at this point, it feels like every other team is just playing for second. While I’ve been on record as saying this is a one-team league, football is a game of matchups and the Rams are the one team that I think matches up well with Kansas City. On both sides of the ball.
We’ve seen two versions of these 2020 Rams: The one that can run the ball and keep Jared Goff out of third-and-long situations and the other one, which can’t run, and struggles to get anything going offensively. Well, running the ball shouldn’t be a problem against this Chiefs defense, which ranks 30th in run defense DVOA. If the Rams are moving the ball on early downs and get that play-action pass going, they’ll score enough to keep up with Mahomes and company.
Now, the bigger concern when playing the Chiefs is slowing down the offense, which must feel like an impossible game of whack-a-mole. Solve one problem this offense presents and five more pop up elsewhere. But this Rams defense, led by first-year coordinator Brandon Staley, has all the ingredients needed to give the Chiefs problems. They have shown they can defend the run without committing numbers to the run box. By being able to keep the run box light, they’re able to defend RPOs while also cutting off deep crossing routes. Those are two of the biggest weapons in Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy’s arsenal.
.@RamsNFL DC Brandon Staley using a similar scheme to Vic Fangio (spent 3 yrs together in DEN & CHI)
Rams & @Broncos – only teams to align pre-snap w/ 2-High safeties (Middle of Field Open) on 60+% of def snaps per @PFF & employ light boxes on 75+% of def snaps per @NextGenStats pic.twitter.com/ddYQQ1LZsv
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) December 3, 2020
If you want to stop Kansas City, limiting explosive plays is a good place to start. The Rams have been the NFL’s best team against deep passes and it hasn’t been close. They’ve allowed exactly one touchdown pass that traveled more than 15 yards past the line of scrimmage. They’re allowing the league’s lowest Success Rate on those attempts and lead the league in EPA allowed at -17.7. There’s an 8.5-point gap between them and the second-place team.
Having Jalen Ramsey, who has proven he can hang with Tyreek Hill one-on-one, will be a big help. Hill’s gravity opens up so much space for the Chiefs passing game and his presence forces teams to offer deep help. Ramsey doesn’t need it, which would allow the Rams to allocate extra resources to stopping Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins.
Staley came up under Vic Fangio and is using a lot of his scheme. We saw that same scheme give this Chiefs offense a lot of problems two weeks ago — even though Denver cannot match the talent the Rams have on their roster — on both sides of the ball.
Of course, in order for the Rams to meet up with the Chiefs, they’ll have to make it through the NFC playoffs. Unfortunately, they do not match up with teams like the Saints and Packers nearly as well, so we may never find out if this take was any good.
