Week 4 Fan Q&A: Answers for the Defense

For the first time in several years, the Rams will get national attention in their matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. They’re riding the momentum of their suddenly potent offense straight into the national spotlight. I hit the Twitter machine on Tuesday and asked what y’all were thinkin about.

I’ll tackle both of these at once.

Switching to a 4-3 to a 3-4 is no small task. Under Gregg Williams’ leadership the Rams defense was always touted as a trendy breakout pick, but that never came to fruition. Given the talent on the defensive side of the ball, there was still hope that the breakout could happen - especially given Wade Phillips’ history of improving teams in his first year.

The fact of the matter is that this adjustment is going to take time. I think they’ll get better each week, but given the Cowboys strong running game and OL, I don’t think that this is the week the defense breaks out.

To be blunt, I don’t think they’ll handle it well. Ezekiel Elliot has struggled this year, but the Rams D hasn’t exactly been stout against the run. If they are going to be successful, it’s going to have to be behind Michael Brockers. Brock was dinged up last week against the 49ers and his efforts will be key against a dominant Cowboys OL.

Maybe it’s my upcoming trip to Vegas talking, but it feels like the Rams are playing with house money here. They’re leagues ahead of where I thought they’d be heading into Week 4. While I get the excitement of a 3-1 start and a firm grip on the NFC West lead.... I’m trying to keep a level head.

Given the defensive struggles, it’s still hard to look at this team as a playoff contender. They’re two wins have come against cupcakes and they struggled mightily against a fringe playoff team in the Redskins. Until the Rams show that they can win these types of games, it’s hard to look at them as a playoff team.

It’s really a matter of expectations. If you believe they can make the playoffs this year, yes it’s a must win. But for me it’s difficult to look at this as a must-win.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but they have no business spending money on anyone not named Aaron Donald. Their cap space is already extremely limited and the Rams have better things to do with their money than bring in an aging veteran for a short term fill in.

I’m not even thinking about the weakness of the Dallas defense to be completely honest. If I’m Sean McVay, I’m making sure that the run game gets going to protect Jared Goff. Sean Lee not playing today helps that cause and I fully expect the Rams to get the ground game going to keep Goff from getting hammered by NFL sack leader Demarcus Lawrence.