Why LA Rams base 3-4 defense means very little

LA Rams DC Staley will field multi-faceted 3-4 defense

The LA Rams new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley is one of the NFL’s best-kept secrets. Secrets in that nobody is touting much excitement about the innovative “mad scientist” who is taking over the reins of the Rams steady-Freddie defense. Best in that he is the defensive equivalent of head coach Sean McVay, a young savant whose energy ideas and innovations turn the page to a new chapter of the NFL.

He is a young coach with just three years of NFL experience, but whose analytical mind has grasped every defensive concept he has been exposed to. And he has followed the career of NFL defensive genius Vic Fangio. While that is not a certain guarantee, it creates very fertile ground from which to grow his own defensive concepts and coaching tree. Now the question is, what will those be?

A 3-4 defense by any other name

The LA Rams are about to undertake a journey, a series of trial and error concepts as the Staley experiments with the defense to create the most effective version. These experiments will involve personnel packages, defensive formations, and unorthodox defensive assignments as he scrambles the defense to thwart each new offense the Rams face. That means that the defense can be as exotic in a formation as a 2-5-4, a 3-3-4, a 6-1-4, or any other version designed to confuse and deny the opposing quarterback’s ability to read the defense.

Emphasizing versatility and player strengths?  Let’s discuss that.