3 biggest surprises from the initial 53-man LA Rams roster that have shocked fans

Ernest Jones trade was a 'business decision' that seems incomplete

The sudden spike of Rams rumors over the imminent trade of ILB Ernest Jones ran counter to everything the team had been saying at the onset of the new NFL season. And so, if you simply swallow everything stated by the team, you end up completely surprised by the events of the latest 72 hours.

And yet, were there signs that something was amiss long before the team chose to part ways with the player? After all, this was a new defensive scheme under DC Chris Shula, and as such it was vital for his signal caller, ILB Ernest Jones, to not only be suited up, but to remain in lock step with his defensive coordinator.

But as we heard (if you paid close attention to HC Sean McVay's messaging in his press conference), this is a brand new defense, and Ernest Jones nagging knew issues not only stunted the coaches' ability to assess his performance in this new defense, but McVay stated outright that the injuries placed Jones into 'catch-up' mode that he was unable to recover from.

A curious point.

We know each defensive coordinator leaves his thumbprint on how he runs the defense, even from a similar base set. DC Wade Phillips was a master of creating pressure on opposing quarterbacks, forcing them to make mistakes. Where DC Brandon Staley disguised coverages, DC Raheem Morris flexed his secondary to keep everything in front of them and hoped that an upgraded ILB could clean up plays across the middle.

While we haven't seen DC Chris Shula's defense in action just yet. But we do know that you can expect a variety of different formations that will dictate what offenses can do on any given play. And the defense will use a variety of formations: From a base 3-4-4, to a nickel 4-2-5, to a 5-1-5 formation. And it's those formations that will show up throughout the game to create mismatches for the defense and to dictate how offenses can attack them.