5 reasons to look for much better LA Rams defense in 2023

Reason IV: Rams coaching staff getting serious upgraded

Changes happen all of the time. By their nature, changes are neither inherently good nor are they inherently bad. They are just different. But what the LA Rams have done in the past in the face of change has been a bit erratic and that has led to problems for the team. Changes happen all the time, but they can be managed when the changes are beyond control. Changes can even be initiated if an organization believes that it has been painted into a corner, and needs to 'jump the track,' to a new route that leads to the intended goals.

The Rams love to stick to what works, even when it no longer does. It was that way in 2019 when injuries across the offensive line forced the Rams to rethink their strategy. Ultimately the Rams embraced their 12-personnel package to bolster the offensive line's ability to pass protect, and both the running and passing attacks turned the corner. But in the off-season before the 2020 NFL season, the Rams insisted that QB Jared Goff learn to make completions out of sequence (quickly) and from multiple platforms (on the run, off the back foot, at different arm angles) because the coaching staff wanted better solutions to the problem.

Ch...ch..ch...changes. Turn and face the strange

In 2022, similar experiences occurred. The Rams pass protection was both inconsistent and undependable. The Rams ground assault never became a viable option, not from the inability to run but from the decision not to do so. And that offensive ineffectiveness placed considerably more pressure upon a defense that was built to protect leads, not create turnovers and shut down opposing offenses.

The trick to any remodeling or refurbishing is having a keen enough eye to know what part of the wall is veneer, what part of the floor is carpet, and what part of the room is solid hardwood. It's quite clear that the LA Rams have a strategic reforming of their coaching staff going on right now. The Rams are still very much invested in a number of key defensive coaches. There is no better defensive line coach in the NFL than Coach Eric Henderson. And the Rams know that their outside linebacker unit flourished remarkably well when Coach Chris Shula led that group, a position I expect he will return to overseeing in 2023.