5 keys for LA Rams for Week 15 win

Rams getting solid defense from ILB Ernest Jones

I liked the LA Rams pickup of rookie inside linebacker Ernest Jones when the team selected him with the 103rd pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. Well, I loved it. In a write-up that follows any rookie’s selection to the team, I could not stop talking about the guy’s passion, a firey throwback to yesteryear when the guy in the heart of the defense was perhaps the most dangerous player on the field.

"‘He simply understands his limits, his role, and he brings a bit of better-than-expected play because he knows how to turn up the dial in key moments in the game.’ – Per LA Rams: A (new) defense(iv)e emotional spark has arrived. ILB Ernest Jones is lit."

What did the team think of him?

Yes, he has brought the heat.

Demolition man

But he’s also brought a renaissance of NFL toughness to the Rams defense. In the modern-day culture of selfies and stomping on the opponent’s logo as a staged taunt, he is the guy that rips the ball from the ball carrier’s hands, throws him to the ground, and then urges that tackled player to get back up so he can do it all over again.

In Week 15, it appears that the responsibility of calling the defensive plays will fall to Jones. Right now, DB Jordan Fuller, the team’s signal-caller, is on the Rams COVID list. Will he be up to it? Well, according to contributor Jay Blucher, you bet he will. Jones is a rookie who has never played a bigger role for the Rams than this game. But they will continue to become larger still.  The LA Rams chose Ernest Jones for games like the one they’ll play in Week 15. He will deliver.