When the Los Angeles Rams replaced departing defensive tackle Bobby Brown III with Poona Ford, formerly of the Los Angeles Chargers, it was viewed as a solid move. While Ford is older and shorter than Brown, his 11.5 career sacks and potential pass-rushing abilities were seen as valuable assets for Chris Shula’s defense. Notably, Ford’s compact stature makes him a challenging opponent for opposing centers.
Jason Kelce on Los Angeles Rams Free Agent Poona Ford
Jason Kelce, the retired All-Pro center from the Philadelphia Eagles, offered a significant compliment to Ford on the “Pardon My Take” podcast. Kelce admitted that he sometimes struggled against players like Ford, saying, “I was always, for some reason, like not the best guys sometimes who gave me issues like Poona Ford. Like backup nose guards sometimes gave me the most fits out of anybody.”
He elaborated on the difficulties Ford posed, citing his shorter stature and longer arms, which negated Kelce’s usual leverage advantages. “Poona started in Seattle, played really good this year, kinda had a down year in Buffalo, but he had longer arms than me and he’s shorter than me. So, like, for me, it’s like, alright, at least when I play a bigger guy, I can get up under them and win the leverage battle. And if I play a shorter guy, at least I have long arms, so when you play somebody shorter with long arms, it’s negated every technical advantage I have, I have no mass advantage so it’s tough.”
Kelce playfully dubbed Ford the “Jason Kelce stopper” and also praised former Rams player Aaron Donald. “The best player I ever played against was Aaron Donald, for sure,” Kelce said. “Luckily, he chose to be a nightmare for the guards more than he was for the centers, so I didn’t have to deal with that too much. But he was a freak.”
The fact that Kelce mentioned both Donald and Ford in the same context is noteworthy. While this doesn’t guarantee the Rams will dominate the NFC West, it does highlight Ford’s potential to significantly improve the Rams’ run defense and pass rush.
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