4 lessons learned in Week 9 to help LA Rams in Week 10

Rams defense is taking shape

As frustrated as fans have been with this defense, the group seems to be the best of the three team’s components at improving over time. There is no doubt that the team has stitched together three tremendous efforts in the past three games.  Over that span? The Rams have used 23 different players in various rotational roles.

Mixing and matching that many players take patience and a lot of effort to master, and the Rams may not be done just yet. Veteran outside linebacker Von Miller will see his debut for the defense this week, and likely will be used in a rather sizeable portion of the defensive snap count. The Rams’ defensive line will likely rely upon Aaron Donald, A’Shawn Robinson, Greg Gaines, Michael Hoecht, and Bobby Brown at the line of scrimmage.

Troy Reeder and Ernest Jones will handle the middle of the defense. The team will bookend the front with outside linebackers Leonard Floyd, Terrell Lewis, and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo.  The secondary will be handled by some mix of Jalen Ramsey, Darious Williams, Robert Rochell, Dont’e Deayon, David Long Jr., Taylor Rapp, Jordon Fuller, and Terrell Burgess.

While the defense is still improving, those improvements are happening both with players and coaches. With the addition of Miller, I expect the Rams line of scrimmage to reach an entirely new level of performance. Von Miller employs a nearly perfect technique of getting upfield to seal off the edge and then turning in towards the quarterback. Teamed up with Leonard Floyd and Aaron Donald, the Rams defense could catapult back to among the best NFL defenses for the rest of the season.

It starts in Week 10. Can the LA Rams rebound at the expense of a team that has given them fits over the past two seasons? If they learned their lessons from Week 9, they can.