Los Angeles Rams: 5 grades as they hit the bye week

For those who think the Rams defense is not an issue, you’re fooling yourself. There are simply too many games where you can point to a unit who simply hasn’t lived up to the hype. That said, the bye week allows defensive coordinator Wade Phillips an opportunity to get back under the hood, and hopefully find some answers for the stretch run.

The bright spots aren’t many on a defense of name brand players. Yes, Aaron Donald is back to his DPOY form, but not much else has worked particularly well. While Samson Ebukam was great Monday night, the interception by the biggest disappointment in 2018, Marcus Peters, was something of a layup.

Granted the injury to Aqib Talib hasn’t helped, but it’s also not much of an excuse. His return is expected in Week 13 against the Detroit Lions and fans will have to wait and see how his presence helps Peters.

Beyond that the expectation and hype just didn’t pan out. That doesn’t mean however that some kind, any kind of improvement, doesn’t move the needle for a team tracking towards a long postseason run.

As the Rams hit a long awaited bye week, the defense remains the lone Achilles heel for this team. While scoring 30 plus, 40 plus, or even 50 plus is almost reasonable for the offense, expecting it to do so, or worse relying on those kinds of points, is a recipe for disaster given what was expected from this unit heading into this season.