5 Eye of the Tiger players from the LA Rams Wildcard Round victory

The LA Rams are the type of team whose roster boasts some pretty recognizable names amidst NFL circles, and to be fair, some are recognizable even to persons who do not follow American professional football. For the rest of the players? They play in the shadows of those NFL stars. For the most part, that’s okay with them.

But success in the NFL Playoffs simply does not happen if everyone stands back and waits for one of the stars to outshine everyone else on the football field. Opponents recognize the dangers of confronting the hot-handed player too directly. And so, they try to minimize that star’s impact upon the game.

For a defensive star? It means the offense will try to go a different direction with the football. For an offensive star? It means that the player will be shadowed by two or more defenders, daring the offense to try and make a play.

But if other players step up? Then the opponent gets caught in a snare. By focusing on attacking the wrong player, they themselves have been blindsided by a player who has stepped up to the challenge of their rival. The LA Rams benefitted from a number of players who stepped up. Who will do so this week?

The defensive line shows up big

It’s pretty plain to see that A’Shawn Robinson often gets lumped into the category of the ‘other guys.’ But in the Wildcard Round of the NFL Playoffs, he stepped up to lead the team with seven tackles. No quarterback sacks or hits. Not one tackle for a loss. Just fundamentally sound football for a defensive lineman who only played 32 snaps in the game.  That’s some very solid production.

There is something about a blue-collar performance that is incredibly satisfying, and that is exactly what Marquise Copeland delivered against the Arizona Cardinals. Copeland played a total of 15 defensive snaps and did not record a single tackle. How did he make it onto this list? Well, while still engaged in a block by an offensive lineman, Copeland saw that the football ricocheted up into the air from a deflection, and settled right into his arms. That’s an incredibly difficult feat and is worth getting his name listed here.

More heroics from unexpected sources

Early in the season, CB David Long Jr. seemed to be a liability for this defense. In recent weeks? Not so much.  While he was only on the football field for 19 defensive snaps (due to an injury suffered during the game), he was very effective. He was solid in pass coverage, and his heads-up play at the three-yard line resulted in a pick-six that propelled the team out to a 21-0 halftime lead.

I continue to be very impressed by the special team performance of RB/KR/PR Brandon Powell. He has single-handedly turned the ship around this season on special teams. In the Wildcard Round, he was once again a key contributor, returning two punts for a total of 19 yards, and two kickoffs for 28 yards. Even more than that, the fact that he has scored a touchdown on a punt return keeps that threat in the back of the mind. He’s electrified the LA Rams return game, and just in time for the playoffs.

The prime-time version of punter Johnny Hekker stepped onto the football field on Monday Night Football, and it was so good to see it. He punted five times for the Rams for 198 yards. That wasn’t the good part. So what was it?  All five punts were downed within the 20-yard line. The Arizona Cardinals started out after a Hekker punt with the following field position:

1st and 10 yards to go from their own 9-yard line (2nd possession)
1st and 10 yards to go from their own 1-yard line (5th possession)
1st and 10 yards to go from their own 10-yard line (7th possession)
1st and 10 yards to go from their own 14-yard line (8th possession)
1st and 10 yards to go from their own 9-yard line (12th possession)

These are all performances that do not always make the highlight reels. The guys who get fewer than half of the snaps for a unit, and yet turn those small number of opportunities into big impacts.

In the end, it is more about making a lot of little impact plays that lead to success. The LA Rams’ entire roster showed up big in the Wildcard Round. Now the team is just three wins away from hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.