Did LA Rams Week 13 win get DC Raheem Morris off the hot seat?

The expectation that the LA Rams defense can clean up every field position mess that the offense and special teams have dumped on them is a bit of the problem with the fans’ perceptions of this team. After all, it seems that the team put on a very impressive performance in Week 13, albeit against one of the less potent offenses. But nobody factors that in when comparing the defenses of other teams, do they?

Through the ‘losing streak’ in the midst of the 2021 LA Rams schedule, when the offensive output was at its lowest performance of the season, the outcry was to fire the defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris. That was despite the offense slump, falling from an average of 31 points per game to 18 points per game. But that wasn’t all, folks.

Thanks to pick-sixes and turning the ball over deep in their own territory, the offense gifted 14 points to their opponents in each of the three games during that losing streak. That’s a total of 42 points, against incredibly competitive opponents, that the LA Rams gave away. That was a pretty poor winning strategy if you ask me.

In essence, fans called for the job of a defensive coordinator for being unable to hold the likes of the Tennessee Titans, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Green Bay Packers offense to a field goal or less.  Oh, don’t forget the fact that the Rams defense played nearly twice as long in each game.

In 20/20 hindsight, the LA Rams‘ tendency to panic and throw all of their offensive weight into the passing game was exactly what the opponents wanted in those four losses. It’s a far easier task to force an opponent to be one-dimensional because that allows a defense to attack in any number of ways. No matter how strong of an arm Matthew Stafford has, the modern NFL pass rush can get to him before he can release the football. Need proof? Stafford was sacked 7 times in the first eight games. He’s been sacked 10 times in the last four games.