On The Rampage: The Los Angeles Rams head into training camp this year carrying real weight on their shoulders.
The Los Angeles Rams head into training camp this year carrying real weight on their shoulders.
Coming off a 12 and 5 season, both rookies and veterans are set to report on July 25 to Loyola Marymount University, and what unfolds over these next several weeks will decide whether an aggressive, headline filled offseason actually turns into a championship run. Three storylines stand above everything else as camp opens, and a fourth question, one that hasn’t gotten nearly enough attention, might end up mattering just as much as any of them. Read the Full Article and Report on the Los Angeles Rams Substack!
Rebuilding the defense around Myles Garrett
The first and most consequential storyline centers on how the Rams reshape their defensive identity around Myles Garrett. This is not the first time this front office has made a bold, headline grabbing move in pursuit of a title. The blueprint traces back to the trade for Von Miller and the addition of Odell Beckham Jr. ahead of the franchise’s Super Bowl LVI triumph, and this offseason’s acquisition of Garrett follows that same aggressive instinct. Garrett arrives in Los Angeles as one of the greatest pass rushers of his generation, fresh off a season in which he set a new single season sack record, and his arrival alone raises the ceiling of an already loaded roster. Still, no team gets to celebrate a championship before playing a single down, and how quickly Garrett meshes with defensive coordinator Chris Shula’s system will be one of the more closely watched developments of camp. Shula has already made clear he intends to let Garrett operate the way he always has, rather than force him into an unfamiliar role, even as the rest of the scheme keeps its own core principles intact. That balancing act matters, because the production Garrett is replacing didn’t come from one player alone. Byron Young led the team with twelve sacks a season ago, Kobie Turner added seven, and Braden Fiske chipped in three, and together that trio combined for twenty two sacks last year, a number Garrett’s own record breaking twenty three effectively replaces on paper as he steps into the role vacated by Jared Verse, who was sent to Cleveland as part of the deal. None of this is as simple as plugging one dominant player into another man’s old spot. Under former Cleveland defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Garrett operated largely as a one man wrecking crew, racking up fifty one sacks over the past three seasons and establishing himself as arguably the most feared quarterback hunter in the sport today. Just how much of that singular dominance carries over into a new scheme, a new city, and a new group of teammates should start to come into focus over these next several weeks. Read the Full Article and Report on the Los Angeles Rams Substack!