The Los Angeles Rams 1-4 start absolutely sucks and it is certainly antithetical to the good vibes everyone was feeling not that long ago. A big reason for their struggles comes down to injury with Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, Steve Avila, Darious Williams, Rob Havenstein, Jonah Jackson, and John Johnson missing chunks of time. Alaric Jackson‘s own idiocy cost him the first two games and Bobby Brown III missed time due to (Wait. He’s been healthy all along. Never mind. Honest mistake).
It’s not just injuries that are to blame, however, as the Rams also are in the hole they’re in because of errors in execution and communication, especially on defense. The Rams’ young defense is struggling to avoid costly penalties and is prone to getting beaten deep.
The Rams’ defense is routinely a punching bag and why wouldn’t it be? They rank near the bottom in DVOA and don’t finish sacks despite generating a decent amount of pressure. You can run on them and beat them deep, and even when they’re able to get stops it’s been negated by dumb penalties.
Diagnosing the Rams Defensive Problems And The How To Fix Them
One of the major culprits comes in the form of Tre White. White was coming off of an Achilles tear and the logic in bringing him in on a one-year deal was that he’d be a low-risk/high-reward guy. Unfortunately, he’s struggled in coverage often leading to an unnecessary pass interference or holding penalty.
McVay and Shula had to start him largely out of obligation both injury-related because up until the Packers game Darious Williams was unavailable. They dragged their feet on signing Ahkello Witherspoon but once the two of them started at corner with Cobie Durant being rotated in. And things looked BETTER. Yes, there were still plays that showed this unit needs to gel but Williams and Witherspoon were the more ideal tandem.
Shula looks to continue with this so that in and of itself is a major victory.
Furthermore, rookie Kam Kinchens was entrusted to be a rotational piece but while he’s shown flashes, he needs more seasoning. John Johnson’s absence unfortunately made that tough until the Rams called upon fellow rookie Jaylen McCollough. He had the bizarre pick-six off Jordan Love and seemed more disciplined than Kinchens.
Upfront, the absence of Aaron Donald of course looms LARGE. Jared Verse and Braden Fiske have definitely shown flashes of why the Rams were so HYPED during training camp. Whether it was the lack of pre-season reps or just rookie growing pains, those flashes are countered with whiffs on the QB. Every game Verse and Fiske should’ve come away with multiple sacks, Verse especially because he leads all rookies with a pressure rate of 24 percent and is right there with the likes of Aidan Hutchinson in that regard and yet he can’t finish.
This puts even more strain on second-year studs Kobie Turner and Byron Young. The other problem is that they don’t have another reliable defensive tackle. Bobby Brown III has been MIA and thus the Rams are hoping the addition of Jonah Williams can be someone who can get a push and be an additional source of frustration for offensive lines.
Most of the Rams’ personnel can be solved with addition by subtraction but unfortunately, a time machine is the biggest way to solve their issue at linebacker unless the Rams are willing to rip the band-aid off and demote Roseboom and or Reeder with rookie pre-season legend Omar Speights and 2023 punching bag Michael Hoecht taking their place. This seems unlikely as Reeder wears the green dot, but that should change because both of those guys as the kids say are NOT IT.
It’s unclear at the moment whether Chris Shula is inept or simply a victim of his personnel but depending on how he adjusts going forward both schematically and how the defense communicates, it’ll become much clearer. The defense is young and limited but has shown that they CAN make stops, it’s just a matter of cleaning up the stupid mistakes, miscues, and missed tackles. Barring a trade they’re stuck with this unit but that doesn’t mean it can’t coalesce into something presentable rather than gruesome.
The Rams Season Isn’t Over
A lot of these fixes don’t seem as dramatic as throwing Shula out on his ass, making a dramatic trade or two, or cutting someone. The Rams don’t actually need to do that in order to improve. They’ve largely beaten themselves the first six games of the year and all they really need to do is execute and not do dumb things.
Their next stretch of games are winnable. They play the Raiders who are (um) in flux, the Vikings will be coming off what should be a tough game against the Lions on a short week, and then they get 10 days to prepare for Seattle who are flawed. Then a Monday game against a Dolphins team that with or without Tua have struggled as Mike McD goes through more vape cartridges than play calls. After that they have the Patriots who are breaking Drake Maye in.
That stretch can be conquered and then the Rams at best could be 6-4 heading into a game against Buffalo.
Look, this all sounds like wishful thinking and as everyone knows optimism and hope are CRINGE but it’s true. The Rams aren’t an irredeemable disaster just like last year they’re a young team being asked to play like a veteran team. McVay can get it out of them it just takes time and mental toughness. Here’s hoping it all starts to come together against Vegas.