LA Rams failed to add a big bully to stuff the run along the defensive front

All-Pro DT Aaron Donald's retirement was always going to leave the LA Rams weaker along the defensive line, but the group is missing a different kind of player to the surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer. Donald was the most dynamic interior pass-rusher of his generation, but now the Rams need a big body to clog running lanes and bully offensive linemen.

Not having a man mountain up front has left an injury-hit defense too easily overpowered through two games this season. Both the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals had no trouble shifting the first line of the Rams' front seven.

It's a problem some, including Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic, anticipated before the season. Writing ahead of roster cuts back in August, Rodrigue pointed out how a "general lack of size along this front (and a lack of Aaron Donald) may make them vulnerable to the run."

The Rams didn't heed the warning, so this is now a tricky issue for general manager Les Snead to fix.

Rams getting pushed around in the trenches

Struggles along the offensive line are understandable when so many key starters, including center Steve Avila and guard Jonah Jackson are on a crowded injured reserve list. There's no such excuse on the defensive side of the trenches, one of the few areas where a brittle Rams team isn't short of options.

That means last season's breakout player Kobie Turner, incumbent Bobby Brown III and rookie Braden Fiske have all been on the field. Their presence hasn't stopped teams from beating up a beleaguered defense on the ground.

It started against the Lions in Week 1, when 224-pound running back David Montgomery bludgeoned the Rams into limp submission in overtime. Montgomery took over the game late, averaging 5.4 yards on 17 punishing carries, according to Pro Football Reference.

His most decisive carry was for the game-winning touchdown, highlighted by WXYZ Detroit Sports Director Brad Galli. Notice how quickly nose tackle Brown (95) was cut to the ground and how easily defensive tackle Turner (91) was pushed back off the ball.

This score is a snapshot of the Rams biggest problem on defense. An inability to win physical battles in the mixer.

It was the flaw of parting ways with ILB Ernest Jones. Jones diagnosed plays and stuffed the run. Whether it was knees or personality conflict, the team failed to comprehend that neither Troy Reeder nor Christian Rozeboom are aggressive enough to make tackles for a loss. For that matter, neither player is particularly effective at tackling either.

The Cardinals likely studied Montgomery's TD scamper over and over because they used a similar formula to bully the Rams in Week 2. This time it was James Conner slamming 233 pounds into the soft underbelly of an overmatched front seven.

Conner keyed Arizona's 41-10 rout with 21 carries for 122 yards at an eye-popping 5.8 average. The Cards' dominance running the ball was summed up by this stat from Nate Tice of Yahoo! Sports: "12 out of James Conner's 21 designed rushes were successful (57.1%)."

Tice highlighted how the Cardinals used "Plenty of Duo with snaps of Counter, Pin-Pull and Power, plus some read stuff with Kyler Murray dropped in" to pummel the Rams.

The irony here involves the Rams getting a taste of their own medicine after they used "duo" and power concepts to revive their own rushing attack in 2023. That was with a fully healthy offensive line.

Now other teams are taking turns displacing the Rams' D-line. Little resistance up front is putting pressure on every layer of defensive coordinator Chris Shula's unit.

Look at how easily the Cardinals got blockers off defensive linemen and onto Rams linebackers for this Conner run highlighted by Robert Mays of The Athletic.

Things like this don't happen as often when there's a big bully able to occupy and split double teams. Unfortunately, this roster just doesn't have one of those.

Rams have personnel problem up front

The problem is personnel. Turner is a quick inside defensive tackle in a similar mold to Donald. Brown offers size, but he doesn't always play as big as his 328 pounds.

Things wouldn't necessarily change if rookie Tyler Davis entered the lineup. The sixth-round draft pick is another light, active nose tackle who can win with quickness and leverage, but the Rams need linemen who can alter the line of scrimmage with brute force.

Finding those will be tricky because the veteran market offers slim pickings. The Rams missed a trick when natural run-stuffer Lawrence Guy joined the Cincinnati Bengals on September 17.

Guy is what this defensive front is missing, but journeymen like Armon Watts and Al Woods could still help. Bringing in one or both would at least give the Rams a better chance of fixing what is proving to be a fatal flaw.