LA Rams News: CB Jalen Ramsey maturity more dangerous than ever

LA Rams News: Cornerback Jalen Ramsey newfound maturity makes him even more dangerous to opposing receivers in 2020 and beyond

Have the LA Rams been a positive influence upon cornerback sensation Jalen Ramsey? So far, that appears to be the case. The LA Rams traded to lift Ramsey out of a bad situation with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019. While the price to do so was very steep: two first-round picks and one fourth-round pick, the Rams hope to realize the significant value traded away with Ramsey’s performance on the defense this year.

In the NFL, there are three ways to express yourself in terms of great performance. A player can tell everyone how great he is.  A player can show everyone how great he is on the football field. Or the player can simply play the game with humility and let others sing his praises. The LA Rams have been blessed, in that All-Pro Aaron Donald has chosen the third path to express himself. Now, it appears that Rams stellar cornerback Jalen Ramsey may be following suit.

Perhaps it’s the effect of self-quarantine and introspection? Perhaps it is the normal cycle of a player who has dominated on the football field, and is now learning to dominate himself? Perhaps it is the awareness of his presence in the company of another great football player in teammate Aaron Donald? It’s certainly a positive change.

Sphere of Influence

Whatever the case, Ramsey has been maturing before our eyes on social media. And as scary as the younger version of Jalen Ramsey may have been on the football field, this more mature version seems much scarier.

Maturity comes at a different pace and is measured differently by third-person judges. While it varies from person to person, one of the primary characteristics and attributes of a mature athlete is a focus inward. It is the ability to turn one’s attention inward and shut out the noise of others. It’s more than self-confidence, rising to the level of self-awareness.  The difference is a belief in one’s ability to accomplish a task versus the knowledge of exactly what it will take to do so.

Coaches will stress to rookies and veterans alike in the principle of controlling only that which can be controlled. Focusing upon your sphere of influence allows a young professional athlete the advantage of limiting the concerns of the day to that which can be impacted by the athlete’s actions. Training in the weight room is doable. Controlling how the referee interprets a play cannot be controlled. So athletes are training repeatedly to focus upon their own skillsets, their own athleticism. In short, athletes are trained to work within their own sphere of influence and become the best version of themselves.

Ramsey competing with Ramsey

The greatest competition for an athlete is not to best others, but rather to be the best version of oneself. While not many professional athletes realize this during their NFL careers, the ones who do so find many benefits from the process. What exactly are those benefits?

The first and foremost benefit is a true measure of success. As Jalen Ramsey learns how to compete against himself, he becomes his own master. To sum it up, he can develop a laser-sharp focus on things only he can control. In layman’s terms, “run your own race” removes the unhealthy contests, valid-or-not, with other NFL athletes.

LA Rams All-Pro DL Aaron Donald is the perfect example of that mindset. Despite his performance as one of the best NFL players in his day, he continues to applaud and celebrate the deeds of others.  That’s because he does not compete with them in his mind. His only competition is against himself.

Another benefit is that Ramsey competing with himself allows him to define what success truly is for Jalen Ramsey. Elite athletes don’t lobby for the highest-paid contracts, nor for annual awards. They master themselves, their game, their role, and allow the money and honors to follow behind. Money is not a measure of success. Nor is a single season. True success in the NFL is the ability to elevate one’s own play while elevating the play of others. It’s that point in time when an athlete no longer uses words to pull others down to his level, but rather mentors and encourages others to raise their performance up to his.

How does this translate into scary good?

From the moment cornerback Jalen Ramsey begins the process of truly competing with himself, he becomes far more coachable. Beyond that, he begins to self-coach, asking the questions of “how do I do that better?” frequently. But creating an inner-coach means more than questioning, it creates a source of constant positive feedback.

It’s that point in a player’s career when a bad play or call by a referee is paused for a moment to glean whatever lesson it contained, and then instantly discarded. Imagine a cornerback who surrenders a first-down in one play, but who gets an interception in the very next play. That’s who Jalen Ramsey is unleashing upon the NFL now.

Many athletes fail to reach elite status, not from a lack of athleticism, but from the inability to synchronize their brainpower to their body’s athletic performance.  Elite athletes do both, simultaneously.  It’s that ability to diagnose self, others, scheme, and opportunities as the play develops before them that gives the truly elite athlete the edge upon all others.

Ramsey is not a pick-six type of defensive back. In his four NFL seasons, he has picked off just ten passes for one touchdown. But he is a formidable pass defender, He holds the completion rate for passes thrown his direction at an estimated 60 percent. In 2020,

That rate may fall to his 2018 best of just over 50 percent. During his time with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the defense managed over 50 quarterback sacks once, in 2017. That happened to be the same year that Ramsey terrorized opposing quarterbacks, recording four interceptions and defending a career-high 17 passes.

Projecting 2020 numbers

Jalen Ramsey is not just another cornerback for the LA Rams. He was a player the team acquired at a great price because he is truly a difference-maker. While his impact for the Rams was just a 4-4 record in eight games, it was turnovers and a porous Rams run defense that spelled the team’s demise in the four losses.

Opponents averaged just 210 yards through the air,  With a much-improved run defense this year, the Rams defense can shock the NFL this season. Even with a bad offensive line, the Rams offense was among the top-ranked teams in the NFL.  Improving the Rams scoring defense from 17th in the NFL in 2019 to among the top 10 in the league will propel the team into the playoffs.

Jalen Ramsey is a young but savvy veteran leader to a very young but promising LA Rams defensive backfield. Perhaps it’s that youth that compels so many to overlook the Rams chances of success in 2020. The Rams pass defense was  ranked12th in the NFL last season in yards, and 13th in scoring, despite the turmoil of swapping out both starting cornerbacks and a starting safety in midseason.

That was just a half-season of Ramsey, a full season of veteran Eric Weddle, and just six games of standout safety John Johnson. The LA Rams secondary in 2020 will not only play better run defense but disguising coverages will lead to a host of problems for opposing quarterbacks who fail to recognize what the defense is running.  That means the Rams 2019 interception total of 13 picks may be dwarfed by the 2020 total of the team pushing for 20 or more interceptions.

The Rams offense weathered poor offensive line play in 2019 to remain among the best offenses in the NFL at both moving the ball and at scoring.  That means that the Rams defense will have opportunities to create turnovers and opposing offenses attempt to keep pace.  All it requires is LA Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey to be the best version of himself this season.