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Over at NFL.com, Bucky Brooks has ranked the top 10 offensive and defensive coordinators and thrown them into a comprehensive top 20 rankings and St. Louis Rams Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams made the cut.
Brooks has Williams as the 9th-best defensive coordinator and the 14th-best from either side overall:
The ultra-aggressive defensive master earns high marks for his ability to craft unique blitzes at the point of attack. Despite living on the edge with his reckless Cover 0 (all-out pressure) tactics, Williams' creative brilliance makes him one of the most difficult defensive coordinators to face on game day.
I think it's also worth pointing out Williams is very experienced with DC stints in Tennessee (with Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher), Washington, Jacksonville, New Orleans and now St. Louis. He also had a three-year run as head coach of the Bills back from 2001-2003. So looking at some of the less-experienced coordinators around the NFL, I'm not surprised he comes in as highly as he does.
With the defense remaining the strength of the Rams, you have to wonder how well the D could perform in 2015...and what the demands should be/
For all the revisionism, the Rams have been a mediocre defense in terms of points and yards allowed the last two years. There' s a fair argument to be made about the defense acting as a lone column holding up the entire weight of the team with the offense being as bad as it's been under Jeff Fisher, but the numbers stand nonetheless. And for all Williams' creative brilliance, the Rams had the least sacks through the first five games in NFL history in 2014 en route to a 1-4 start. And even though part of the reason why they were struggling to take quarterbacks down was the offensive strategy of quick passing, there's a necessary defensive adjustment that has to be made. The Rams were a very good team in the 1st quarters of their 2014 games. Responding to adversity was where they struggled and where you need good coaches to guide the ship to warmer waters.
In any case, Williams has a huge opportunity ahead of him in 2015. The Rams' defense has added quality in DT Nick Fairley and LB Akeem Ayers while bringing back key young players in DT Aaron Donald, CB Lamarcus Joyner, Alec Ogletree and T.J. McDonald who will all be asked to step up in more meaningful ways in 2015. And with the veterans they bring back, there's no excuses for the defense this season.
As for the offense...well, maybe they should've held on to their offensive coordinator in 2011 who led them to the least offensive points in the NFL...who Brooks had #1 overall on his coordinator big board: Josh McDaniels.