It's becoming clear at camp that Rams must answer these 5 burning questions

(2) - Can this defense stop the run?

The Los Angeles Rams' defense was the cheapest in the NFL in 2024. While the young defense rallied for stingy efforts as the team made its playoff run, the defense struggled to stop the run. Of course, any defense that faced Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was bound to struggle, and the Eagles shredded the Rams run defense twice last season: Once during the regular season, and once in the NFL Playoffs.

So the question that has to be answered this year is whether the defense can stop the run. Not only are the Eagles on the Rams Schedule this season, but the Rams defense must face the top four running backs from last season. So the run defense must be a huge priority this year.

It's no surprise that the Rams did not master the new defensive strategy of DC Chris Shula in 2024. It was Coach Shula's maiden voyage running the defense, and evidence of unfamiliarity among players, coaches, and even the front office was everywhere. The teams traded away the projected starting inside linebacker and leading tackler, Ernest Jones IV, just before the season arrived.

The defense was down two key defensive backs in Week 1 and lost another key DB by Week 3. Even starting ILB Troy Reeder suffered a season-ending injury in Week 7. So, along with learning a new defense, the team had to roll with the punches suffered by an endless stream of injuries. Of 11 defensive positions, the Rams played more than 30 different players.

The lack of familiarity with the new defense was amplified significantly by a drastically changing roster, and the lack of understanding of how to optimize players as they rotated onto and off the football field.

With so many distractions, defensive players struggled to tackle. Seems pretty bleak, doesn't it? Well, never believe that something that is broken cannot be fixed.

Rams focused on boosting the run defense

If you consider the players added to the defense in the offseason, two repetitive themes emerge. The team wanted to ensure that veterans and rookies could defend the run, and the defense opened the door for versatile defenders. Players who can slide between two or more roles on the defense offer far better utility to a defensive coordinator who loves to use every tool in the box to frustrate offensive coordinators.

The additions of NT Poona Ford, rookie DT Ty Hamilton, ILB Nate Landman, and rookie ILBs Pooh Paul Jr. and Shaun Dolac afford the defense enough run stuffers and wild cards or concoct multiple anti-run strategies that will keep offenses off-balance.

Perhaps the greatest obstacle in this defense is raising the bar of tackling. While the obvious solution is to dedicate plenty of training to executing effective tackling, that is not any way to guarantee that players will carry over that skill into games. The Rams coaching staff must emphasize tackling, but not to the point of adversely affecting the pass rush or pass coverage.

Another method of improving tackling is ensuring that players tackle. Give players who consistently miss tackles less playing time. Eventually, tackling rates will trend in the right direction.