5 crazy claims for LA Rams Week 1 game against the Bills

Crazy Claim IV: Rams ILB Bobby Wagner will record 14+ tackles

There is a lot to love about the fact that All-Pro inside linebacker Bobby Wagner is now playing for the LA Rams. On Thursday Night Football, he will add another 14 or more reasons. That number represents the number of tackles that I expect him to make for the LA Rams in the opener.

While the LA Rams were one of the best rushing defenses from 2021 in terms of yards allowed, sixth-ranked to be exact, the Rams struggled to keep offenses out of the end zone on the ground. The Rams surrendered 18 rushing touchdowns, good for no better than a 23rd-ranking. Of course, the Rams were cycling through Troy Reeder, and Kenny Young, with an occasional presence of rookie Ernest Jones and a cameo appearance of Travin Howard.

Well, Bobby Wagner will be defending the heart of the LA Rams defense this season, and I don’t believe that the LA Rams have ever had a player of that caliber at inside linebacker under LA Rams head coach Sean McVay. But the Raheem Morris defense depends upon an enforcer who holds everyone accountable and everything in front of him. Wagner is ideally suited for this defense.

Some Seahawks fans shared that they believed that Bobby Wagner has lost a step. But fatigue will do that to you. The guy accounted for 12 percent of the defensive tackles, nine percent of the interceptions, and three percent of the quarterback sacks. Just for comparison’s sake, Bobby Wagner recorded 170 tackles last year. The highest number of tackles on the Rams’ defense was DB Jordan Fuller, who made 113 tackles to lead the team. The highest number of tackles by an inside linebacker was Troy Reeder, who made 91 tackles last season. Wagner will likely repeat that total in this defense.

But what nobody has talked about is the fact that in the Seahawks’ defense, there was always at least one helmet coming at Wagner on each play. Don’t look for blockers to focus on Bobby Wagner in the LA Rams’ defense. The Bills will likely be sending two or three blockers at DL Aaron Donald on each play. As a result, a clean and free-roaming Bobby Wagner is going to thump some Bills ball-carriers in a big way.