[PARAM]

Will the versatility of our safeties allow for more corner blitzing? I love a good corner blitz and it often has an impact. It's possible we see more of it under Shula. Lake and Curl are great in coverage and Kinchens is the prototypical center fielder. We might have a very active defense that plays off a very potent offense. It should be interesting to watch.

[Dare]

Personally I think we will see a lot of snaps with Jackson and Hampton as OLBs. Either one off of either side would probably be better than a safety blitz. Or they could move Hoecht more inside at LB and he would probably be a pretty good blitzing LB. He has speed and power.

Regardless with this deep roster, Shula will have all kinds of options. But if they play one gap with the DL it will make penetration faster and more disruptive. Playing the NT in a 0T two gap alignment and everyone else playing a gap and a half is a big reason there wasn't a lot of pressure. Just like he was in both Atlanta and Tampa, Raheem was big on defending the LOS not disrupting the play in the backfield. It's why he played so much soft zone behind them.

We will have to wait and see how Shula plays his defense. Personally, I anticipate some man (like Phillips) and probably some zone match (like Staley). Use his OLBs like Hampton and Jackson to contain mobile QBs. With this roster, there is a lot Shula can do. I think Shula will be a very good DC.

[snackdaddy]

I'm in wait and see mode. I don't know if White will be ready to start the season. Darious Williams is 31. How much does he have in the tank? Kurl is young enough. And a good safety.

I'm thinking they wanted more experience in the secondary because there were too many blown coverages resulting in easy touchdowns and big plays. If White is healthy I can see him and Williams on the corners along with Lake and Kurl at safety. Kinchens might see some playing time in the nickle with Lake moving to slot corner. Kendricks should not be left alone on an island. But the slot position might be something he could excel in.

We'll have to see how Durant progresses. He showed promise his rookie year. But regressed some last year. Could be because of the lack of experience around him. If he can show improvement we could have a deeper secondary this year.

I think the front 7 will be fairly formidable. Depends on how long it takes the rookies to adjust from college to NFL. They could be very good later in the season. I would like to see some improvement at ILB. Jones is good but I think the other guys are JAGS.

[Elvis]

I remember when a corner blitz was a blitz. I don't think there was any other kind, and it was radical.

Supposedly McVay likes the Fangio shell, don't give up big plays approach to defense so i'm not sure we're gonna see the old corner blitz. Ramsey did some blitzing but that was from the star position i think?

[ramsman34]

We have some corners who can blitz, especially off the slot; Durant and Williams. I bet Tomlinson would be good at it. As Elvis stated, from the Star also so Lake and Curl who have experience.

[Dare]

I've got a feeling Hoecht will play as an ILB this year. One interesting thing is Hoecht has dropped a lot of weight. He's below his college weight of 285 lbs and reportedly around 265 lbs which is good. When he played lighter he had very good speed. Right now he's looking like a very good ILB. The problem with Rozeboom is he lack of size. People tend to overlook that Hoecht played originally as a 3T behind Donald. Hampton reportedly impressed at OTA's so he would make a better rotational edge or OLB.

Moving to ILB would be a good move for Hoecht. He's bigger and faster than Jones. He would be a logical choice for an inside blitzing LB. Before his weight gain to play IDL, Michael had a very first step off the snap. I could see him taking snaps from Rozeboom. Shula could play Hoecht as a WIL and Jackson as a SAM with Jones as MIKE.

Regarding Durant I think much of his problem stemmed from the style of play Morris dictated for his CBs. Durant was known to struggle in strictly a zone style coming out of college. If Shula goes to man or zone match it will be a better fit for him. White is signed on a one year deal. Williams would be playing on option years in 2025 & 2026 with minimal guaranteed money. Both these CBs are place holders. Durant and Tomlinson looked good in OTAs from reports.

Frankly I don't expect them to keep Kendricks on the roster. Taylor like Lake can play CB if needed. At 6' tall and running a 4.5 in the 40 he has the length and speed to play as a zone CB if needed.

This roster is deeper than most realize on both sides of the ball. Importantly for the first time in a long while the Rams look like they have solid depth on their OL with Noteboom, Limmer and Leveston. It will be interesting to see if they move Bruss back to OT. People have been hard on him for his play at OG but he was playing out of position. Bruss was a very good RT prospect in the draft. He's got the "good feet" you look for in that position. People don't understand that the technique in playing OG is very different than OT. Logan has the length and feet to play RT.

[snackdaddy]

I've got a feeling Hoecht will play as an ILB this year. One interesting thing is Hoecht has dropped a lot of weight. He's below his college weight of 285 lbs and reportedly around 265 lbs which is good. When he played lighter he had very good speed. Right now he's looking like a very good ILB. The problem with Rozeboom is he lack of size. People tend to overlook that Hoecht played originally as a 3T behind Donald. Hampton reportedly impressed at OTA's so he would make a better rotational edge or OLB.

Moving to ILB would be a good move for Hoecht. He's bigger and faster than Jones. He would be a logical choice for an inside blitzing LB. Before his weight gain to play IDL, Michael had a very first step off the snap. I could see him taking snaps from Rozeboom. Shula could play Hoecht as a WIL and Jackson as a SAM with Jones as MIKE.

Regarding Durant I think much of his problem stemmed from the style of play Morris dictated for his CBs. Durant was known to struggle in strictly a zone style coming out of college. If Shula goes to man or zone match it will be a better fit for him. White is signed on a one year deal. Williams would be playing on option years in 2025 & 2026 with minimal guaranteed money. Both these CBs are place holders. Durant and Tomlinson looked good in OTAs from reports.

Frankly I don't expect them to keep Kendricks on the roster. Taylor like Lake can play CB if needed. At 6' tall and running a 4.5 in the 40 he has the length and speed to play as a zone CB if needed.

This roster is deeper than most realize on both sides of the ball. Importantly for the first time in a long while the Rams look like they have solid depth on their OL with Noteboom, Limmer and Leveston. It will be interesting to see if they move Bruss back to OT. People have been hard on him for his play at OG but he was playing out of position. Bruss was a very good RT prospect in the draft. He's got the "good feet" you look for in that position. People don't understand that the technique in playing OG is very different than OT. Logan has the length and feet to play RT.

I haven't heard about Hoecht dropping weight. Where did you hear that from? I always though he was too big to be a OLB. At over 300 pounds you would think he'd be better suited to play inside more. If he really is that much lighter and faster he could add depth to OLB.