How the LA Rams have schematically transformed their secondary

How the LA Rams have schematically transformed their secondary

The LA Rams saw problems arise during the 2020 offseason surrounding their secondary. The NFL has become a heavy passing league, and the secondary has become a harder place to find a living in the NFL as a result.  The team believed that they had all the answers at the beginning of 2019 too. But the team lost veteran CB Aqib Talib due to injury. Then, an exposed Marcus Peters proved that he wasn’t a good fit. The team retrofitted its secondary mid-season.

The Rams had to add assets in the 2020 NFL Draft, selecting defensive back Terrell Burgess in the third round, and safety Jordan Fuller in the sixth round. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey was awarded a lucrative contract as well, becoming the highest-paid player at the cornerback position. All of this was done with the hope that the secondary would become a strength for the Rams.

Assembling the pieces

The pieces that they have added are certainly talented. From Ramsey to both of the rookies (Jordan Fuller has been a monster so far this season), and between Troy Hill, John Johnson, Taylor Rapp, and Darious Williams, the Rams have found a formula that is so far working effectively and limiting opponents to under 20 points per game.

In a passing league, successful defenses need a sound secondary.  That means more than just raw talent. That means that the LA Rams need to have a plan in place to get the most out of that talent. Let’s take a couple of minutes to discuss this schematic change that the Rams have made to better utilize their secondary.

Starting with the base zone defense

Because the NFL has become such a heavy-pass league, most defenses have adjusted to this by switching their base defense to a nickel formation, where there are five defensive backs on the field at the same time. This has increased the value of a “rover safety,” or a smaller and faster linebacker who has the capability to drop into coverage if need be.

Fortunately, for the Rams, they found their starting rover safety in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, that player being Jordan Fuller. That’s why he has been so important so far this season on this defense.

The Rams have one of the best cornerbacks in the game, being the shutdown cornerback Jalen Ramsey. He’s been so good in the league that he’s been avoided by almost every team he has played against and been forced to find other ways to impact the game. He’s become a good boundary run defender and tackler in the meantime.

King of the Hill

Troy Hill usually plays on the opposite end of Ramsey, although he has found an important role in the slot, and Darius Williams has found a large role on the field as a cornerback/safety hybrid. John Johnson has played almost every snap this season as the deep end safety. Taylor Rapp, the twitter darling, has seen a minimal snap count this year.

It’s a strict zone defense, Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley spent the previous three seasons in Chicago as the outside linebackers coach. He comes from the Vic Fangio line of thinking – lots of zone coverage and confusion. We’ll get into that here in a little bit.

Defending the middle of the field (Involving the linebackers)

In this type of scheme, the linebackers are important in pass coverage too. This season, the Rams have settled on linebackers Micah Kiser (week two NFC defensive player of the week) and Kenny Young. Let’s talk about how these two players are critical to passing coverage in this scheme.

Let’s start by talking about the traditional setup of linebackers in the NFL. Typically, you had a middle linebacker in a four-down front who played the heart of the field. The best middle linebackers are rare talents who can play sideline to sideline. As the game evolved, the rare talents became diamonds in the rough, especially when the downhill-run-bruiser style of linebacker rapidly declined.

LBs are more than run stoppers

Linebackers have to almost be defensive backs now. They are asked to plug gaps on run plays,  cover running backs out of the backfield (that are becoming better receivers every year), and tight ends downfield (becoming more athletic every year). The role of the traditional linebacker has become almost impossible for a single person to perform.

Brandon Staley has found a way to break this role into three players without compromising the interior of the defense. It is that approach that has enabled the Rams defense to flourish so far. Here’s what he has done.

Future NFL defense

Young and Kiser split the fields into halves – left and right. Their assignments revolve around those directions. One guy is always going left, one guy is always going right. Playing half field allows the linebackers to play more confidently, especially when a play moves toward the perimeter. It also allows them to react better to receivers moving in their zone.

This is the future of the NFL defenses: a four-man front with two linebackers splitting the field. The weak point of this defense is where the two linebackers switch directions, the middle of the field. The rover safety oftentimes plays this part of the field, and that’s why this position is so important.

Making the secondary confusing

Now that we have established the role of the linebackers and the rover safety, let’s get back into the part that I mentioned that we would talk about confusion. The Rams have three safeties that they really, really like. John Johnson has been valuable in this secondary for the last couple of years, and Taylor Rapp did a great job with the team last season, but Jordan Fuller has been the perfect final addition for the team.

In base cover two and four coverages, both Johnson and Fuller drop into coverage. However, the Rams are playing more cover three in this defense. It allows the players in the scheme to be more versatile. But where is Taylor Rapp? I was asked a question regarding this on Twitter last week, and here was my explanation: