LA Rams pose difficult quandary: Is it due to the talent or the scheme?

Look at who the Rams have done without

In the 2021 NFL off-season, the LA Rams lost: DT Michael Brockers, DE Morgan Fox, OLB Samsun Ebukam, OLB Derek Rivers, DB Troy Hill, and DB John Johson III. That’s three starters, two serious rotational players, and one spot rotational player.  The Rams also lost two starting ILBs, Micah Kiser and Kenny Young, pretty quickly in the season.

The team lost NT Sebastian Joseph Day by midseason, rookie DB Robert Rochell after Week 12. The Rams lost rookie ILB Ernest Jones after Week 16, and DB Jordan Fuller during Week 18. The defense even lost Darious Williams for three games mid-season. But the LA Rams faced the Arizona Cardinals in Week 14 without DB Jalen Ramsey and won.

Uh… some pieces are missing?

This is not a complete roster from that NFL-leading unit from 2020. It’s not even close. Even with so many defensive defections, the LA Rams stepped up to the podium with the 57th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft and selected an offensive player, wide receiver named Tutu Atwell, the first of four offensive skill players added to the roster. Due to fiscal constraints, the team parted ways with a full third of their defense from 2021 and simply did not replace them.

Now, that did not come as a surprise to anyone. In the 2021 NFL Free Agency market, LA Rams defensive players were scooped up quickly. They ended up all over the NFL with varying levels of success. But none seemed to seamlessly transition to their new teams. In fact, some have proven to be a bit of a disappointment on their new roster. Same player, new scheme.  Now that’s something we should make note of, right?

Rams scheme > Other team’s scheme.