St. Louis Rams defense has reached elite status

The St. Louis Rams defense are making a clear statement in the National Football League this year. After holding the San Francisco 49ers to 189 yards in Sundays 27-6 victory, the Rams have moved up to sixth in the NFL in total defense. The past couple of years, the Rams defense has slowly improved, yet it has never been able to ranked this highly so late in the season. Total defense is based on yards allowed per game, and the last seven games the Rams have given up 328.1 yards a game. The best total defense in the league goes to the Denver Broncos who give up 261.1 yards a game. On the flip side, the worst total defense goes to the New York Giants who have given up 427.5 yards a game. This St. Louis Rams defense means business, as it has shown in each of the games so far this season.

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Besides being ranked 6th in total defense, the Rams also rank top 10 in other defensive categories. The Rams rank fourth in NFL scoring, (17.9) points a game, first in red-zone defense (31.3 percent TD Rate). But wait we are not done yet, they are eighth in third-down conversion defense (34.0 percent) and are tied for second in sacks (26). Add up all of these categories, with the improvement week by week, and this St. Louis defense has reached elite status.

With a head coach like Jeff Fisher, he is willing to go above and beyond to have the best defense in the league. During the celebration of the Rams beating their rivals the 49ers last sunday, Fisher got his team together and said some interesting things.

"“I told the guys inside, ‘12 points in two weeks is too many, “That’s the approach you have to take. We got off the field on fourth down a couple of drives and once they get down there, we’re stressing field goals, field goals, field goals.”"

To hear Fisher, tell his team that giving up 12 points in two weeks is too many, is the way both Fisher and defensive coordinator Greg Williams set up this defense for success. The Rams are finding their motivation and Fisher is not going to stop and tell this defense they are playing great. Fisher knows how to create an elite defense, and I’m pretty sure the Rams are in that category now. If you liked those stats above, wait until you read some more. The Rams ranked fifth in yards per play allowed (4.97), sixth in yards per carry allowed (3.73), and ninth in yards allowed per pass attempt (6.39) Every single category for defense the Rams are ranked in the Top 10.

Oct 13, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams strong safety T.J. McDonald (25) and St. Louis Rams defensive end Eugene Sims (97) tackles San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin (81) during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

With the Rams defense ranking higher and higher each week, so is the teams actual power ranking in the league according to multiple sources. The Rams cracked the top 10 in week 9 power rankings for the first time this season. It’s been a great run for the Rams defense so far, however they will face another tough opponent this sunday. The Rams are on the road in Minnesota to take on the (5-2) Vikings with the powerful running back of Adrian Peterson. If the Rams can stop the Vikings offense, The Rams will be a strong playoff contender because of their defense. I can feel this team becoming something special this season, let’s see if they can back me up this sunday.

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