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Cortland Finnegan says Rams defensive coordinator was 'over his head'

The players felt the same way about Tim Walton as we did.

Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

You won't find many St. Louis Rams fans pining for Tim Walton's return to the defensive coordinator role Jeff Fisher fired him from (thought I distinctly remember a few saying to give him another year). Turns out Cortland Finnegan wasn't a fan either.

Finnegan called Walton's scheme "atrocious," in an interview with the Miami Herald.

From the game plan to technique to fundamentals, they weren't in line with a defensive coordinator who knew what he was doing. He was a great defensive backs coach, but when you're in over your head, it's kind of tough... Here coaches know to play guys to their strengths.

Walton's experience up to that point had been as a defensive backs coach in Detroit. His turn as the Rams DC in 2013 was his first NFL coordinator's gig. And it showed. The only thing that seemed to work regularly was the pass rush. Everything else, especially the secondary, was a total mess.

The context for Finnegan's interview was him hoping for a fresh start in Miami. All the best. Finnegan dealt with injuries that compromised his effectiveness last season, and he just never looked to be as quick as he once was, going back to the later part of 2012 too. When you're small, you've at least got to be quick.

Finnegan speaks for himself in this one, but I can't imagine the frustrations aren't shared by a few of his former teammates.

Kinda makes you wonder how players on the other side of the ball really feel about Brian Schottenheimer.