LA Rams defense worth more than individual player stats

Brandon Staley has been very effective in scheming the LA Rams defense in 2020, proving that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

The first thing you realize as you start to hold up the LA Rams defense, player by player, to analytics evaluation is the basic question of how they are as successful as they are. Certainly, the team boasts the play of All-Pro Aaron Donald. And yes, the team has an incredible defensive back lining up in Jalen Ramsey.

But this team seems to fail when you dissect the units into the component parts. What do I mean? Well, at the midpoint of the season, the LA Rams allow, on average, fewer than 20 points per game.  No single running back has piled up 100 yards rushing against the Rams so far this season. The defense allows fewer than 200 yards passing against them per week. That’s because the team averages just 6.3 yards per passing attempt, best in the NFL.

More D news

And the team allows fewer than 100 yards rushing against them per week. That’s not just on few attempts, but at a rate of 3.9 yards per rushing attempt. So the Rams have been good against the pass. The Rams have been good against the run.  But what about fantasy football?

The LA Rams are ranked as the third-best defense/special teams in the NFL per FantasyPros.com. We know that the Rams have not exactly been tearing up the league in terms of interceptions. So the strength of the defense is stinginess over yards, over points allowed, and a swarming pass rush that has resulted in a lot of quarterback sacks.

In short, this LA Rams defense has played very well this season. Incredibly well. So who is responsible for this team’s success?s

To whose credit?

So who do we have to give credit to? This is a dominating defense, and surely somebody is playing well. Of course, the obvious answer is to check individual statistics.  But the flaws in those types of measurements simply are the inability to measure the performance of each player on the defense for doing what he was responsible to do.

The Rams run a unique blend of the 3-4 defense, where the coverage scheme is part of the strength of this defense. In short, the defense is effective because the opponents continue to guess at coverage and tactics.  And it’s that advantage that shifts the responsibility and credit of this defense to executing the responsibilities in this defense, not just racking up tackles, sacks, and interceptions.

Beware counting stats alone

The goal of the defense is to stymie, thwart, and deny the opposing offense from scoring, and from advancing a football. Covering receivers results in that quarterback throwing the ball away. Who gets credit for that play? If a linebacker takes on two blockers to allow a defensive back a free path to tackle a ball carrier, who gets credit on that play?

The Rams defense oftentimes bends in the early stages of the football game. But this is a very smart defense as well. The players and coaches are learning as the game progresses. Each play gives the Rams a better idea of how to defend on the next snap. As a game progresses, the defense seems to have a better handle of what the offense is trying to do, and where they are trying to go with the football.  But it comes back to players playing within the system.

Can PFF grades tell the whole story?

Where so many would-be analysts slip on the process of analyzing an NFL defense is a concept of mathematics. In short, many believe that the Rams defense as a whole is equal to the sum of the component players, or parts. So the next obvious answer is to list the Rams starters on defense, and investigate their Pro Football Focus current year grades at a minimum.  So let’s check out their performance.

We can break it down by the units at the midseason mark.  The starters on the Rams defensive line are Aaron Donald, with an outstanding PFF grade of 93.1. Next up is Michael Brockers, with a surprisingly low PFF grade of 59.4.  Finally, there is Sebastian Joseph Day, with another good PFF grade of 70.4.

Can Rams linebackers be THAT bad?

Next, we come to the Rams linebackers unit. Starting outside linebacker Leonard Floyd has a PFF grade of 61.2.  Part-time starter Samson Ebukam has a PFF grade of 55.1. Inside linebacker Micah Kiser has a horrific grade of 38.0 from Pro Football Focus. His teammate, Inside linebacker Kenny Young, is even worse, coming in at a paltry 36.2, one of the lowest grades awarded to an NFL starter this year.

So far we’ve discovered that the LA Rams defense is not composed of 11 All-Pro defenders. In fact, in some eyes, only Aaron Donald is an unquestioned contributor to this defense this year. The interior linebacker grades are horrific, and yet, the Rams have yet to allow a single running back to put up 100 yards against them.  In 2019, the LA Rams defense allowed five different running backs to gash them for over 100 yards. Against the Dallas Cowboys, two running backs rushed for over 100 yards in the same game.

Secondary second-to-none

Now we have a chance to begin evaluating the individual grades for players from the LA Rams secondary unit’s performance. Defensive back Jalen Ramsey has earned a pff grade of 72.1, which is surprisingly close to that 70.4 awarded to Sebastian Joseph Day. Teammate Darious Williams is actually graded better than Ramsey, coming in at a grade of 73.7 so far this season. The third and final cornerback to be graded is LA Rams Troy Hill, who comes in with a surprisingly low grade of just 56.5 so far this season.

The Rams safeties are the last, but not least, to be examined. Rookie Jordan Fuller has an outstanding grade of 72.4 for his rookie season. Teammate Taylor Rapp is in close pursuit, coming in at a solid 68.5 in the Rams defense. Finally, veteran safety John Johnson III comes in best of all, second to just Aaron Donald on defense, with an incredible grade of 74.7.

Sum of parts less than the whole

Winners of a Nascar race do not break down individual vehicle parts performance. It’s the performance of the entire vehicle that delivers the victory.  So too is the Rams defense right now. The defense depends heavily upon communication and players filling their roles. I’ll stand behind each player on this defense. Some can argue over the attributes of other players as better fits, but who can truly argue about just how effective this LA Rams defense has been this year?

Sometimes the sum of individual parts is far less than the whole. That’s the magic of this LA Rams defense. I am okay to be alone when I believe that the Rams depend upon each and every player on the field.  Jalen Ramsey is a superstar, not just for what he does, but for the way he forces quarterbacks to throw the ball elsewhere.  You can argue that Michael Brockers does not generate enough quarterback sacks. But tell Aaron Donald that he no longer can line up next to his friend and longtime teammate.  There is a chemistry, a trust, on this defense that cannot be measured but should never be ignored.

Sometimes the best method of analyzing something is to simply observe the overall performance. This defense is absolutely for real. If you don’t believe me, rewind games and watch how difficult they make it for opponents to score in the second half.