This popular free agent signing is just what the LA Rams needed for 2024

When the LA Rams established goals for the 2024 NFL season, it was clear that creating turnovers had to be a priority. The team finished with a record of 10-7, but no thanks to the way the team created turnovers in 2023. In fact, the Rams defense created just 10 interception and five forced fumbles, a combined 15 takeaways that put the team no better than 30th place in NFL rankings for the season.

Even while the team's ball security was pretty good, allowing just 18 giveaways which was good enough to be the sixth best in the league, the combined effect resulted in a net turnover of (-3). That landed the team tied at 21st place.

Need I say that is not a great starting point for a team that has Super Bowl LIX aspirations this season?

Turnovers are not easy to accomplish. In fact, creating a turnover-rich secondary is one of the most difficult units to design in the NFL. The reason behind that difficulty is that it requires a front office that is shrewd and savvy enough to target not just quality defensive backs, but the RIGHT defensive backs. You see, taking a chance on picking off passes makes the secondary vulnerable to more completions. So for every ball-hawking defensive back, there must be a high-quality defensive back in the play to ensure pass coverage does not lapse.

Then there is a matter of coaching for interceptions. Not every pass play is apt to create a turnover. Coach Aubrey Pleasant must instill in his players the patience required to wait for and pick their spots. They will happen. Sometimes multiple times in a game. But it is not something that the secondary can control. It's a scenario that randomly happens, just like a high hanging fastball over the middle of the plate that just begs to be hit out of the ballpark. And the coach must drill into his defensive backs to pick their spots.

Finally, the players themselves must be a tightly-knit group of defensive backs who are willing to sacrifice their opportunity to intercept a pass so that the team succeeds. What that means is that the Rams secondary cannot have defensive backs flying around the football field, with everyone taking aim at every football in the air. Someone has to cover the receiver for every pass. That means that if a cornerback plays the football, he must be certain that a safety has that receiver covered.

No, it's not easy to create turnovers. But, when it happens, it can change the momentum and the outcome of the football game.