The Los Angeles Rams introduced their new coordinators on Thursday. New Rams Defensive coordinator Raheem Morris took the podium for the first time as he answered questions from the media. Raheem Morris will be the Rams’ third defensive coordinator in as many years as he takes over for Brandon Staley.
The biggest question about Morris taking over is what he would do with the Rams defense and what his scheme would look like. The Rams have been in a 3-4 base defense over the last four years under Wade Phillips and Staley. Some thought that the Rams might move over to a 4-3 with Morris as that’s what the Falcons ran in Atlanta.
I will have a ton of takeaways in a column up this afternoon, but on this note, while one could say “3-4 base” in application to Morris’ defense, because they will be multiple and in subpackages at a higher percentage, it would not be accurate to confine them into a “base” per se https://t.co/T3hK7cSzRK
— Jourdan Rodrigue (@JourdanRodrigue) February 11, 2021
It’s very rare that teams in the modern NFL run a true 4-3 or a true 3-4. With offenses running so many different personnels, defenses have been forced to be more multiple. However, the bases of those two schemes typically remain intact. According to The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, Morris will stay in a 3-4, but that most of the formations will remain multiple much like they did with Staley.
Said Rodrigue, “Morris’ hopes to continue to scheme around top players and continue to blend a little Wade, a little Staley/Fangio and a little of his own scheme into this defense.”
This is a good thing for the defense. Despite playing multiple fronts, it takes time to get the linebackers and defensive linemen in place. The Rams have just found their nose tackle in Sebastian Joseph-Day and their linebackers are still a work in progress.
With so much changeover at the coordinator spot, if the Rams can find a way to remain somewhat consistent and implement some of the same schemes, that is a good thing. It looks like that is something that Morris hopes to do while using some of his own stuff as well.
We won’t know what this defense looks like until at least training camp. Hopefully with Morris they can remain near the top of the league as a unit.
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