LA Rams new DC Brandon Staley’s defense stumped McVay, so he hired him

Staley hopes to restore stalwart defense to LA Rams

The LA Rams defense has been good enough under head coach Sean McVay to balance out the team’s high powered offense. When the offense sputtered in 2019, the defense simply did not have enough to shut down opposing teams. The Rams defense, strong as it was, was too vanilla to win games where the offense did not jump out to the strong lead and allow the defense to pin their ears backs and defend the pass only.

The Rams simply cannot count on running up the score in 2020.  Other teams have gotten better on defense. And even more teams still have adapted the Rams offensive concepts.  Defenses now are familiar and prepared to stop the Rams offense.  To counter that, the Rams need to stop opposing offenses as well. That must translate into stopping the run.

The Rams have not focused on defending the run in the past. That will change in 2020. With the Rams building around five time All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and most certainly sliding in defensive back standout Jalen Ramsey, the team has their share of marquis defenders.  The last piece is to sign Ramsey to a long-term contract.  After that task is accomplished, the team can turn the focus towards the supporting cast and scheme to take full advantage of their unique talents.

With a standout defensive backfield in place, the Rams will need to focus this off-season around the right personnel for the front seven. The Rams must decide whether to, and how to, afford re-signing OLB Dante Fowler Jr., DE Michael Brockers, and ILB Cory Littleton.  They can all be re-signed if the team restructures existing contracts, but new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley may elect to target other defenders this off-season.  In the end, the defense is about the right scheme combined with the right players. At the moment McVay brought Staley aboard, refocusing the defense became a top priority for 2020.