Turf Show Times
Heading into the season, the Los Angeles Rams were expected to have a strong defense but over the last few games the team has really struggled against the pass, especially in crucial moments of the game. Despite allowing 342 yards passing to San Francisco 49ers backup QB Mac Jones in last Thursday’s loss, Rams head coach Sean McVay made it very clear in his weekly interview series The Coach McVay Show that the team currently has no plans to bring in any outside secondary help, whether that be via free agency or trade.
“That hasn’t been something that we’ve talked about,” he said about the prospect of adding more cornerbacks to the roster. “You know, we’re always looking at ways to be able to upgrade the roster. I think, those guys did a good job and and we’ll continue to lean into them.”
Currently, the Rams are playing a combination of Darious Williams, Cobie Durant and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. at cornerback. Those three accounted for 81, 61 and 24 defensive snaps in the Week 5 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Josh Wallace also played three defensive snaps, while recently added Tre Brown didn’t play any.
All three of the previously mentioned starters were expected to get plenty of snaps this season, so it’s not like LA is reaching in the bottom of their metaphorical barrel when it comes to their cornerback room, but one player missing from that group could be the answer to why Los Angeles is struggling so much against the pass.
The Rams lost starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon after he broke his clavicle Week 2 against the Tennessee Titans. Since then, LA has given up at least 225 passing yards in each of the past three games without Witherspoon. This comes after the team allowed an average of just 147 passing yards in the first two games of the season with him.
In that same time frame, the team has also allowed six passing touchdowns after only allowing just one total prior to Week 3. Witherspoon was known as kind of a journeyman corner at the point he first signed with Los Angeles in 2023, but since then he has proven to be the best outside corner on the roster for arguably the last two years.
The loss of Witherspoon wasn’t expected to be so impactful with the depth LA has in the secondary, but it’s clear that both Williams and Forbes on the outside has been a really step down in physical play. Witherspoon is skilled at blitzing, positions himself in the places he needs to be when he’s dropping into coverage, and understands route patterns. In comparison, Williams looks to have lost a step and Forbes undersize frame has caused him to miss some tackles that one has to wonder if the bigger bodied Witherspoon would have been able to make.
Now, the Rams secondary is not the only reason they’ve lost games, as their special teams unit...
