Green Bay Packers v. LA Rams: Behind Enemy Lines Week 12
By Paul Bretl
Coming off a Week 11 loss to Minnesota, the Green Bay Packers are looking to bounce back at home against a tough Los Angeles Rams team in a game that will carry major playoff implications.
At 8-3, the Packers are the NFC’s No. 2 seed, one game behind Arizona, and half a game up on the 7-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, and LA Rams. A win will go a long ways in helping to create a little separation at the top of a crowded NFC playoff picture. A win will also help keep the 5-5 Vikings at a distance in the NFC North race.
The good news is that this game is being played at Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers are 18-2 during the regular season in Matt LaFleur’s tenure, and they’ve also never lost back-to-back games with him as the head coach. But both of those impressive stats will be in jeopardy against a very talented Rams team that is also coming off their bye–not to mention that Green Bay is continuing to deal with a number of injuries.
To help provide some insight into this Rams team, I’ve once again teamed up with Bret Stuter of Ramblin’ Fan, where they cover anything and everything about the Los Angeles Rams. Bret was kind enough to answer five of my questions about the 2021 Rams and gave us an excellent look into this team.
Let’s take a closer look at the Green Bay Packers’ upcoming opponent, the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams had the best defense in football last season. How have they compared in 2022 without Brandon Staley? And is it a similar defense under Raheem Morris?
Ramblin’ Fan: While it’s always a tough task to follow up after playing to the top defense in the NFL, the LA Rams situation was further complicated by the fact that their one-and-done defensive coordinator Brandon Staley signed on to become the new head coach of the cross-town NFL team, the Los Angeles Chargers. While the Rams sought a defensive coordinator, the team lost linebacker coach Joe Barry to the Green Bay Packers, becoming their new defensive coordinator. The team also lost cornerback’s coach Aubrey Pleasant, who signed on with the Detroit Lions to assume their secondary coach position.
The Rams also lost quite a few key starters and rotational players from the defense. Starting safety John Johnson III and cornerback Troy Hill signed on with the Cleveland Browns. Rotational outside linebacker Samson Ebukam signed on with the San Francisco 49ers, while defensive end Morgan Fox signed on with the Carolina Panthers. To cut payroll, the Rams even traded starting defensive lineman Michael Brockers to the Detroit Lions for next to nothing.
As a result, the LA Rams have had more challenges on defense than a year ago, while their overall production is not nearly as bad as many fans believe it to be. The Rams are the 12th-ranked defense in terms of yardage and the 15th ranked defense in terms of points allowed. But there is a major caveat. In the past two games, turnovers have resulted in two quick pick-sixes, putting 14 points on the scoreboard while the defense watched from the bench. Further complicating the matter is the fact that the Rams sat starters in the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans and the New York Giants. The Rams’ backups allowed the opponent to put up 30 points on the scoreboard while the starters rested. Filtering those anomalies out pulls the defense down to 183 points allowed, or among the Top-3 in the NFL at this point.
The two main differences in the defense this year from a year ago fall into two noticeable categories. For starters, the LA Rams’ ability to stop opposing teams on third down has plummeted this year. Per Team Rankings, the Rams are currently allowing offenses to convert on third down 42.86 percent of the time. A year ago, that number was at 35.76 percent and among the top defenses in the NFL.
Perhaps even less discussed, but an even greater failure has been the defense’s ability to react to what the opposing offense is doing. Last year, the Rams defense could be counted on to shut down opposing offenses after the half. Seldom did the Rams allow an opponent to score more than once in the third and fourth quarters. This season that is not the case. The Rams defense seems to struggle at diagnosing flaws in their game plan and outright fail to deploy an appropriate corrective response.
The two positives for the Rams defense are the team’s ability to force turnovers at a faster clip than a year ago, as well as create pressure on the quarterback. It’s the conclusion of many that the Rams’ addition of Von Miller and the return to health of young OLB Justin Hollins will help the defense even further in that regard.