“Jalen’s wild” as DC Staley deals winning hand for LA Rams D

DC Staley using Jalen Ramsey as a wildcard in LA Rams 2020 D

The LA Rams new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is a complex, many-layered, but fun case-study in the realm of NFL defense construction.  After all, where else can you talk with a straight face about a new defensive coordinator who has never called a single defensive play in his entire NFL career. While that is not unheard of, it does tempt the eye-roll reaction from anyone who hears it for the first time.

With all that said, he has had the good fortune of coaching up to four future NFL HOFers? He is a refreshing matter-of-fact voice from someone who is neither star-struck nor hollow when he talks football. He is simply the guy who knows so much about the game that he understands he doesn’t know everything.

JCU tree of NFL coaches

He comes from the JCU pipeline, John Carroll University which has the uncanny distinction of turning out future NFL coaches and executives. The school’s reputation is so widespread that Ashley Bastock of Sports Business Daily.com wrote a feature article about the connection while Brandon Staley was still the outside linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears.

While I won’t attempt to draw a cause and effect relationship, I will point out that there is a fraternal bond for persons who graduate from the same alma mater. That in itself gives Staley a huge network of NFL experienced persons to draw upon, beyond his own direct contacts made during his career. And it’s perhaps that which has helped Staley’s own command of the game, blended with an undying willingness to learn new innovations as well.

Staley is a true student of the game

A pupil and instructor in the same conversation. That’s simply who Brandon Staley is, and will be. He is a vulnerable genius, the smartest-guy-in-the-room who will listen intently and consider all voices in that same room. He is constantly reformulating, questioning, deciding, and then re-evaluating.

McVay’s defensive doppelganger

He is what LA Rams head coach Sean McVay meant to the offense version to an NFL defense.  He’s only coached at the NFL level for three years. That means he’s very young and light on experience, particularly for someone to hold the title of defensive coordinator. In spite of that, he has been given complete oversight and philosophical rights to the performance of both All-Pro Aaron Donald and All-Pro Jalen Ramsey.

Why is that significant? Who else would ask the question: What else can Aaron Donald do on the defensive line? What else can Jalen Ramsey do in the defensive backfield? There are likely few, if any, other defensive coordinators who would dare to pose those questions to NFL stars. Those questions are not aked out of ignorance, but out of the belief that the defense can offer both players

Brandon Staley reinventing NFL All-Stars

Could this LA Rams defense be any more suspense-filled? What will the LA Rams defense truly be if the defensive coordinator is bold enough to ask a star player like cornerback Jalen Ramsey “what else can you do?”  Some players might not be warm to the idea of answering the question, but Jalen Ramsey is more mature and dangerous than ever.

Staley is banking on a versatile defense. What does that mean for All-Pro Aaron Donald? Perhaps the Rams stand him up like an interior linebacker and run a 2-4-5 defense?  If you have seen any of Donald’s workouts, you know he has that type of athleticism.

Ramsey as a defensive back

What does all this mean for the future of cornerback Jalen Ramsey with the LA Rams? For starters, it means that the LA Rams enter games with offenses having to plan for shutdown-cornerback Jalen Ramsey playing virtually anywhere in the defensive backfield. If the Rams go with either a 3-3-5 or a 2-4-5 defensive formation, Ramsey can play the extra defensive back role.

That means Ramsey can play in the slot, at either outside corner, as either an in-the-box or deep safety, or simply as a wild card defensive back who reads the quarterbacks eyes to play on the ball.  That could be the most dangerous role for him to play overall.

Dictating to the offense

Of course, as soon as the Rams line up on defense overloaded to defend the pass, the offenses they face will shift to two tight-end run packages.  While that may sound like a huge challenge, here’s where this becomes fun.  Let’s walk through a scenario for the Rams defense.  Let’s say that the Rams play a 3-3-5 defensive front, and the offense goes big with a two tight-end set. The Rams then stand up Aaron Donald on the play to assume an interior linebacker role, and slide nose tackle A’Shawn Robinson out to the gap between the guard and tackle, countering as a 2-4-5 formation.

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If the offensive decides to run, they face Aaron Donald with a head of steam up the middle, plus a linebacker. If they opt to run outside, they face the down lineman, outside backer, and the inside linebacker crashing in from the inside lane. This defensive adaptability is the bread and butter of the Vic Fangio defensive philosophy.

Jalen Ramsey wildcard

NFC West offenses have had a predictable time of it when they faced the LA Rams: 3-4 base, nickel package on any obvious passing down, it was as though offenses could predict the Rams defense by the down and distance. That ability to know now the Rams planned to defend gave good offenses an upper hand when facing the Rams.  While the Rams did pick off opposing quarterbacks 13 times in 2019, the net effect for the Rams takeaways was zero. Takeaways were one of the most consistent indicators of a playoff team in 2019. How can the Rams defensive coordinator try to enhance takeaways?

Jalen Ramsey is the key to the turnover ratio. In his career, Ramsey has never had more than four interceptions in any one season.  How can the LA Rams enhance that?  Simply by redefining his coverage responsibility. Many defenses have assigned Ramsey in man coverage against the offense’s top receiver. But what if he could play an even better role on defense?

Asante Samuel role reprised

The role Jalen Ramsey may fill for the Rams could resemble the role once filled by NFL cornerback  Asante Samuel on defense. In those defenses, there was no strict role for Samuel to fill. While he was called cornerback, schemes typically allowed him to flow to the ball as a wildcard defensive back. He proved incredibly effective in that role, as in one game against the Indianapolis Colts, Samuel was able to read the eyes of Peyton Manning and pick off two passes for drive-ending changes of possession. Manning did not throw many picks, so that was just how effective that defense could play

Ramsey is an ideal defender for that type of role for the Rams. He is incredibly intelligent and can diagnose what the offenses want to do and where the quarterback is likely to throw the ball. In a rigid defensive role, he can only defend “his guy” or “his zone”. If the quarterback throws elsewhere, then his defensive skills are ineffective.

More freedom means more effective

As the Rams defense frees Ramsey, the team also gains more from him. Don’t take it from me, take it from defensive coordinator Brandon Staley himself:

"“With Jalen, what’s awesome about him is he can play anywhere. He can play outside or inside or safety. So we can move him around if we need to.I think there’s a lot more in him than he’s shown in the NFL. I mean, he’s shown himself to be one of the premier guys. But I know there’s a lot more in him for him to showcase,” Staley said. “Certainly, looking for him to provide a lot of leadership and production in that defensive backfield.” – per J.B Long’s interview of Brandon Staley"

That mutual respect signifies great things for the LA Rams defense and terrible news for opposing offenses.  Imagine a starting quarterback trying to read the LA Rams defense, and being unable to spot Jalen Ramsey as you line up under center? Unless the play is a running play, that’s enough to force a time out. Ultimately, the Rams defense wants to win long before they ever take the field. As long as DC Staley makes the offense second guess each play, the game is already won.