Green Bay Packers v. Rams: Behind Enemy Lines – The Divisional Round
By Paul Bretl
2. We know Donald, Ramsey, Woods, etc., but who is one player that Packer fans may not be as familiar with but could make a big impact on Saturday?
Bret: The LA Rams have plenty of players who remain under the radar. And they have found success by the contributions of the many. For the defense, keep an eye on the resurging outside linebacker Leonard Floyd.
He was formerly from the Chicago Bears, is very familiar with the Packers offense, and is a custom fit for the Rams at the edge position. He finished the season with 55 tackles and 10.5 sacks, both career highs. Then he sacked Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson twice in round one of the playoffs. He is a keystone to the Rams defense.
3. The Rams have the best scoring defense in the NFL, but for the teams who have beaten them this season, what has been their formula for success?
Bret: Yes, the Rams have a pretty intimidating defense, but the team did lose six games. The common strategy was a smothering defense to create turnovers and good field position for their offense. To avoid the Rams pass rush, offenses used a series of misdirection running plays and loaded up on short passing games. Oftentimes, the Rams were beaten because they had key defensive injuries, and the replacement players simply were overwhelmed by the speed of the offense and the necessary reads.
The San Francisco 49ers (twice) and the Miami Dolphins devastated the Rams offense with zero coverage blitzes, and the Rams fell too far behind due to turnovers to truly recover. The Rams fell behind the Buffalo Bills because they were able to find WR3 Cole Beasley the entire game. The Rams lost to the Seattle Seahawks in their second encounter because the offense simply could not get on track. And the New York Jets was simply a Rams team looking past the lowly Jets to the NFC West matchup with the Seahawks.
From the defensive standpoint, the only team to have significant success against the Rams was the Bills. In that game, the Rams were still learning the defense, were traveling to the East Coast for the second consecutive week, and were down 28-3 before the offense woke up.