No, the LA Rams shouldn't panic and blow things up after losing to Eagles

The Rams defense is not the worst in the league, but it should be

So what happens if we pivot and examine the spending habits of the team on the defensive side of the football? To no surprise, we quickly discover that this team is the cheapest defense in the NFL. The LA Rams are spending just $40.2 million on the defensive side of the football. That is nearly half of what the next cheapest NFL defense costs. The Carolina Panthers are paying their defense $70.6 million.

To make this more understandable, the Rams are trying to win a race with a 10-speed bicycle and a bus pass, while other teams have the last NASCAR stock vehicles. So how can the defense compete? They shouldn't be able to. And yet, after Week 12, the Rams' defense is ranked 26th in the NFL in terms of yards allowed. Likewise, this defense is 26th in terms of points allowed.

Curiously, the same Panthers team that is outspending the Rams on the defensive side of the football are the worst defense in the NFL. And here is another fun fact to consider. The Carolina Panthers blew up their team and are rebuilding, again.

Special teams need improvement, but every aspect of the team does

The LA Rams have a very young special teams bunch of players. ST skill players joined the team in 2023 or 2024. It's that youth and inexperience that poses the greatest challenge for the team. While the Rams' special teams ranking runs the gamut from bad to good, depending on the category, I believe that the Rams' field goal accuracy has set the fans to call for the release of rookie kicker Joshua Karty, and the outright firing of ST Coordinator Chase Blackburn

But is that objectively fair?

The team did Blackburn no favors. In 2023, the team did nothing to restock special teams specialists, with the lone exception of drafting Wingate punter Ethan Evans. In 2024, the Rams drafted rookie kicker Joshua Karty, As we pointed out earlier, rookie kickers take time to harden into NFL-consistent kickers.

The Rams have not lost a game from an errant kick this season. But some fans, eager to name a scapegoat, have thrown Karty to the wolves multiple times. He is not the problem right now.

If you want to know what is the problem? Check out the next slide: