A Look at the Rams Rushing Defense Struggles

Just wanted to provide some stats on our rush defense and discuss how we can improve it.

Defensive Rushing Rankings:

RNK NAME ATT YDS AVG YPG LNG TD

1 San Diego 78 266 3.4 66.5 15 1

20 St. Louis 133 603 4.5 120.6 39 6

32 Tennessee 182 862 4.7 172.4 73 8


18 out of 32 teams have allowed more than 100 yards per game.

So yes we are bad, but it seems most are this year. Is the level of talent at the RB position getting that good? Or is it the coaching figuring ouit ways to exploit most teams defenses? Or do that many teams have that bad of a run defense? Maybe a combination of the three I think.

Now let's look at the five teams the Rams played against and how they faired against us and the rest of the league rushing.

Teams vs the Rams:

Week 1 vs Denver:
CAR YDS AVG TD LNG
25 161 6.4 1 39

Week 2 vs San Francisco:
CAR YDS AVG TD LNG
33 127 3.8 1 32

Week 3 vs Arizona:
CAR YDS AVG TD LNG
28 101 3.6 1 10

Week 4 vs Detroit:
CAR YDS AVG TD LNG
21 93 4.4 2 35

Week 5 vs Green Bay:
CAR YDS AVG TD LNG
26 121 4.7 1 19


These same teams vs the rest of the league:

RANK NAME ATT YDS AVG YPG LNG TD

4 Denver 123 566 4.6 141.5 39 1

8 San Francisco 142 611 4.3 122.2 32 5

31 Arizona 127 352 2.8 70.4 14 2

32 Detroit 86 298 3.5 59.6 35 5

26 Green Bay 124 446 3.6 89.2 19 1


There we have it; every team we have played, no matter how good or bad their running game is, has done better against the Rams.

The question is now, what can we do about it, starting with our next game against Seattle? I'm not blaming any of our front four, or Haslett for drawing up a bad plan to stop the run. I'll leave that for you all to do. :) I just wanted to provide the stats that expose our obvious weakness and get some discussion about it started.

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So yes we are bad, but it seems most are this year. Is the level of talent at the RB position getting that good? Or is it the coaching figuring ouit ways to exploit most teams defenses? Or do that many teams have that bad of a run defense? Maybe a combination of the three I think.

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I think it is a combination of all three. That stat does not look very good,and the run D hasn't improved; BUT if you review last Sunday's game, you'll notice Kennedy made a few run stopping plays. There is hope, it all starts up front. in the middle and it seams that Kennedy is starting to get the fell of the game. I think the LB's need to do a better job of containment on running plays.

I think it's down to the failure of the front four to provide consistent pressure on the opposing line and our consequent need to blitz to do it. Send more guys and it means you have less people at the second level who can clean up the mess as it were. Also, don't discount that Haslett may have been giving teams the run as the lesser of two evils, hence our 8 picks on the year. He's made some vague comments in that direction.

I would also point out that what's blurred the lines a little is that whilst we've defended the run well at times, we've had a tendency to get gashed with a big play. The Bells did it in week one, without that draw Jones only has 18 carries for 60 yards, and without the play where Tino had an off-play, Gore has 20+ carries for 90 or so. Noah Herron? well, that I can't readily explain......................:(

It's a difficult question to get a grip on.

If we make Maurice Morris look like Mercury Morris, we're really in trouble.

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If we make Maurice Morris look like Mercury Morris, we're really in trouble. -- R8rh8rmike

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Good one, Mike! I remember that speedster alright.

The Sawks are probably going to resort to their good FB, Mack, too. :x

:r Yes indeed, we need to get Glover / Kennedy / Fisk ready! DEs too!

Why is it such a surprise that we don't have a good run defense? We haven't had a good one in years, so its not surprise that it MAY take time for that to heal.

There's no doubt we are looking weak vs. the run. Seems like Haslett is willing to allow the opposition to run on us to a certain extent and protect against the big pass play and create pressure on the opposing QB. Also he has the D blitzing alot more than we're used to seeing. I honestly feel like we are a better tackling team than last year. The additions of Witherspoon, Chavous and Brown combined with Hasletts agressive play calling has turned us into a turnover machine. I truly believe Haslett understands that we don't have a shut em down defense yet. So consequently he has had to adjust to 2 of 3 areas on defense that agrees with his style. In my opinion our approach is the way to go. Let's face it, a running, grind it out offense takes alot of patience. I would say that alot of Head Coaches in the NFL will run the ball some but ultimately want the pretty, sexy plays that involve the pass.

Can't argue with success....After all we are 4-1......who cares if we win by 1 or 21 a win is a win.

I like everyone else would like to see a nice comfortable win. I don't see that happening this season.

Man I wish Shaun was back...

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Originally Posted by bela

Man I wish Shaun was back...

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Me too. Then there would be no questions and no excuses.

Heres' my take on this.

It's a fact that our front four is the root cause of our run coverage weakness. Afterall, running lanes are created when the blocker beats the defensive man opposite him, at least at the initial point of attack. If the running back gets an open lane through the first line of defense, LB's are supposed to fill the gaps. So, we have a problem, first and foremost, with getting beat off the line, which should not be a surprise because as someone else mentioned, it's been our problem for many years. Our D interior line is not one of the best. Secondly, our LB's have a tendency to overpursue and get caught out of position, albeit due to their aggressiveness. If you haven't noticed, cutback style runners have their share of success against us. Teams have also found success by running on us when we go "nickel".

Also, offenses will "take what you give them". Since the Rams are prone to breakdowns in the run protection, teams will continue to focus on the run. Until we get some more help at the interior line positions, or somehow get the current guys to step it up, we'll continue to struggle. Haslett has been doing a pretty incredible job, I think, with the talent he has to work with.

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Originally Posted by Varg6

Why is it such a surprise that we don't have a good run defense? We haven't had a good one in years, so its not surprise that it MAY take time for that to heal.

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I'm not surprised at all, I was just looking at the stats for the season so far and was wondering what we could do, if anything, to improve right away. And if nothing can be done right away, I always like to look ahead to the draft and who will be a free agent next year.

And I agree that Haslett is doing alot with what he has, I just hope our front 4 can take it up a notch and do a little better.