One of football coaches’ favorite cliches is “complementary football.” On the macro level, it means the offense and defense are making plays that support each other — turnovers leading to points, the offense stringing together first downs to allow the defense to rest. On the micro, it can mean a strong run game setting up play-action passes.
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Or on defense, a pass rush that doesn’t let a secondary cover too long, and a secondary that gives a pass rush time to get home.
The last two years, the Rams relied too heavily on the pass rush to help the secondary instead of finding a balance between the two. Sometimes it worked. But often it led to the defensive front being unable to reach the quarterback before a receiver got open for a big play. This put a hard ceiling on the Rams’ defense at “good” but never “great,” and oftentimes “average” or worse.
This offseason, head coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead decided they had had enough of the misbalance that had cost the Rams in each of the past two postseasons. They sent four draft picks, including a late first-rounder, to the Chiefs for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, then signed his running mate Jaylen Watson in free agency. Two physical man corners, with no fear in the run game, bring exactly what the Rams needed to transform their secondary.
If the McDuffie trade was a hint to the NFL that Snead was back to his “[expletive] them picks” ways, what happened next was a towering billboard in Times Square, as the Rams shipped Pro Bowl edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick and two additional picks to the Cleveland Browns for three-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.
Adding two All-Pros – one in Garrett who is arguably the best player in the entire NFL – and high-priced starter in Watson is a far cry from last offseason, when the Rams’ premium additions on defense were Poona Ford and Nate Landman.
And as the Rams open training camp Sunday at Loyola Marymount University in Westchester, there are no more expectations that the pass rush should carry the secondary, or that the offense should carry the defense.
When they are done putting the pieces together, the Rams should have an elite defense to help with their Super Bowl goals if they have done their jobs correctly.
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“The reality is that we’re not naïve to the things that are said, but that doesn’t affect us and we have to be humble. We have to stay connected,” McVay said. “Inevitably, there is going to be some adversity that we have to be able to deal with and the separator is going to be handling those storms and not allowing any of those external things to affect our ability to be in the moment right now, to be present, to be grateful and to continue to be courageous.”
There are still some issues to resolve, such as the rotation in the secondary.
McDuffie provides one of the Rams’ favorite characteristics in a defensive back, namely versatility with the ability to line up at outside corner or nickel. But when he slides inside, it leaves an opening opposite of Watson. Emmanuel Forbes started last year for the Rams but didn’t display the physicality they want out of their corners this year.
Then there’s how the Rams incorporate Garrett into the defense, the definition of a champagne problem. Garrett has always played as a 4-3 defensive end, but with the Rams he worked out with the outside linebackers at OTAs.
Defensive coordinator Chris Shula said the Rams will stick with their 3-4 philosophy with two outside backers at the line of scrimmage, but the Rams aren’t going to ask Garrett to drop into coverage.
“You’re not going to take Michael Jordan, LeBron [James], all those guys and pull them out of their comfort zone,” Shula said. “We’re going to let him do what he does best and we all know exactly what he does best.”
It’s a different kind of training camp for the defense. There’s no hoping for breakout stars, but putting together the pieces of what is supposed to be a Super Bowl-caliber unit. There’s no room for excuses after the moves the Rams made this offseason.
“I’m not going to get into what the ceiling is and what it’s not. It’s more of just, we’re going to take it day by day and we’re just trying to get better,” Shula said. “Just focusing on putting these guys in the best position, being connected and just kind of stacking days, day by day. If we do that and stay inside out, it’s all going to handle itself.”
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