Troy Reeder leads the Rams donut defense again, and it's uglier than ever

When the LA Rams hired Brandon Staley to become their new defensive coordinator in 202, the defense was loaded with elite playmakers. The defense boasted both All-Pro DT Aaron Donald and All-Pro DB Jalen Ramsey. While not heralded, DB John Johnson had a Pro Bowl season for the Rams as safety, and Darious Williams was a perfect high-volume defensive back complement to Ramsey. The Rams front line boasted two solid run defenders in DTs Michael Brockers and Sebastian Joseph-Day.

And because NFL offenses had never witnessed the Rams ninja-style of deceptive pass coverages. it took offenses weeks, if not months, to figure out how to attack them creatively and effectively.

The Rams had the NFL's third-best rushing defense, and the best pass defense.

But when the Rams lost to the lowly New York Jets by a score of 23 to 20 in Week 15, something unusual was detected by offensive coordinators. Unlike other victories over the Rams that year, the Jets defense did not stomp a mudhole in the Rams offense. It was not a jailbreak of turnovers and big plays.

Instead, the Jets offense detected that the best way to attack the Rams defense was to salvo the heart of the defense. Runs between the tackles, crossing routes by wide receivers, and simply letting running backs and tight ends run routes hoping to be defended by the Rams inside linebackers. They won because the Rams had horrific play from Kenny Young, Micah Kiser, and you guessed it, Troy Reeder.

In the NFL Playoffs, the Green Bay Packers exploited that same weakness, that donut hole in the heart of the defense. The Rams allowed 188 yards of rushing offense, while allowing Packers QB Aaron Rodgers to complete 23 of 36 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns.

The Rams lost that game by a score of 32-18