The Los Angeles Rams welcomed a new defensive coordinator to Sean McVay’s coaching staff this offseason after moving on from Wade Phillips. While Brandon Staley uses the same 3-4 scheme that Phillips has utilized throughout his career, there are stark contrasts between the two.
For starters, Staley has no experience as a defensive coordinator and is 35 years younger than Phillips. Staley is also expected to be more diverse and unpredictable from week-to-week than Phillips, who didn’t typically make major changes to his scheme.
Where they’re similar is in the way they value versatility with their players. Phillips utilized Ndamukong Suh, Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald in a variety of ways, also featuring Mark Barron, Lamarcus Joyner and Marqui Christian on defense.
Staley puts a big emphasis on players being able to line up at multiple spots, specifically on the defensive line and in the secondary.
“That’s something you’ll probably hear me talk about a lot, having the versatility to play any place in the front, any place in the back,” Staley said, via the team’s official site. “We’re fortunate that we have that here, guys that have played a lot of roles. Groups that are connected, (because) those groups depend on each other a lot.”
There are a lot of examples of versatile players on the Rams defense. Taylor Rapp can play safety, linebacker or cover the slot. Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill can both play in the slot and outside, while John Johnson can play either safety spot (free or strong).
Up front Brockers has experience at nose tackle and defensive end in the Rams’ 3-4 scheme, and Donald can rush from the edge or the interior. Brockers, of course, is a free agent, but Donald isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Staley shouldn’t have much trouble maximizing Donald’s skill set and using it to his advantage. Finding production from the nose tackle position, as well as defensive end, is a different story, though.
That’s one of the bigger challenges for Staley, especially if Brockers leaves in free agency.
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