Blog: Opinion: Los Angeles Rams’ pricey defense has to vanquish New Orleans Saints to reinforce its worth – USA TODAY

This was the purpose of all the wheeling, dealing and splash headlines: Super Bowl or bust.

Now the Los Angeles Rams are 60 minutes away from that stage.

“What grade will you get? Well, it won’t be an ‘F,’ “ Rams general manager Les Snead told USA TODAY  Sports, assessing the moves of the past year while ramping up for the rematch against the Saints in the NFC title game in New Orleans. “Whether it turns out to be an ‘A+’ is to be determined.”

And how. After getting eliminated on their own turf in the wild-card round last season, the Rams won the offseason in convincing fashion. They signed centerpiece defensive tackle Aaron Donald and star running back Todd Gurley to mega-money extensions. Traded for cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters. Lured the signature presence of Ndamukong Suh. Dealt for big-play receiver Brandin Cooks. Franchise-tagged versatile safety Lamarcus Joyner.

Let the money talk. With the NFL’s biggest offseason spending spree, the Rams committed more than $200 million in guaranteed money from the deep pockets of team owner Stan Kroenke.

It’s time to cash in, folks.

Snead knows. As much as the Rams’ foundation is built for long-term success with Donald, Gurley, franchise quarterback Jared Goff and whiz-kid coach Sean McVay, winning big on the NFL landscape means doing so in a year-to-year window.

It’s no wonder that, asked about the pressure to win now, Snead said, “The farther you get, the magnitude of the pain from a loss is much stronger.”

The difference – and pressure – seemingly rests with what was to be the best defense that money could buy. Sure, McVay’s prolific offense needs to produce. Yet after a stunning offseason makeover, the defense is about to face its stiffest test yet: Trying to contain Drew Brees and Co. in the raucous Superdome with a conference title on the stake.

It almost looks like the moves to shore up the defense were made specifically to match up against the versatile Saints. Not quite. They were driven largely to transition to the 3-4 scheme employed by defensive coordinator Wade Phillips after years in a 4-3 defense under former coach Jeff Fisher.

Whether the Rams needed to handle the Saints or the Falcons (who beat L.A. in the NFC wild-card round last season) or anyone else, the idea was to build a Phillips-styled unit – which includes using cornerbacks extensively in man-to-man coverage to allow for flexibility with blitzes. The transition explains why the Rams were willing trade two of their former first-round talents from last year’s defense, defensive end Robert Quinn (to the Dolphins) and inside linebacker Alec Ogletree (Giants), who were deemed better fits in a 4-3.

No, that defense wasn’t so special in Week 9, when the Saints scored 45 points in a shootout that marked L.A.’s first defeat. Wide receiver Michael Thomas, covered largely by Peters, burned the Rams for 12 catches and 211 yards, including the back-breaking 72-yard TD late in the fourth quarter.

But it’s a different deal now. Talib – who according to Next Gen Stats hasn’t allowed a touchdown all season – missed the Week 9 affair while on on injured reserve with an ankle ailment. And the unit as a whole played better down the stretch, seemingly peaking at the right time. Undoubtedly, the chemistry is better as the pieces have had time to jell. And with Talib back in the mix after missing eight games, the unit reduced the rate of “explosive” plays of 20 yards or more over the last month of the regular season.

“We’re just gaining a lot of confidence,” outside linebacker Dante Fowler, Jr. told reporters this week.

Fowler, too, is a new addition, obtained from Jacksonville in a midseason trade. Like Talib, Peters and Suh, he entered the NFL as a first-round pick. He maintains that with weeks to adjust, he’s able to play faster in the Rams scheme than he was when making his debut in that Week 9 experience.

Then there’s Suh, playing on a one-year, $14.5 million free agent contract. He had his best game yet with the Rams against the Cowboys on Saturday night, controlling the trenches as they held NFL rushing champ Ezekiel Elliott to 47 yards on the ground. And it was Suh who clogged the lane on the critical fourth-and-1 stuff of Elliott in the fourth quarter.

“That’s one of the reasons we brought Ndamukong in,” said Snead, mindful of how the Falcons shredded the middle of L.A.’s defense in the playoffs last season.

With Suh aligned next to Donald (expected to repeat as NFL defensive player of the year), the Rams intended to dominate with football’s best interior tandem. Yet it hasn’t always looked that way, even with Donald leading the league with 20 ½ sacks. Against the run, the Rams allowed an NFL-worst 5.1 yards per carry during the regular season.

Suh believes the unit can learn from Week 9, when it adjusted to slow the Saints long enough to assist in a rally from a 17-point, second-quarter deficit to tie the game at 35. 

“We need to be focused on starting a lot faster, tackling the football,” Suh told reporters. “We struggled a little bit with that in the beginning.”

Of course, all eyes will be on Peters, who jabbed Saints coach Sean Payton after the Week 9 setback, insisting then that he expected to see New Orleans’ leader again and looked forward to sharing gumbo with him.

Peters denies having a serious rift with Payton, explaining that he spoke out of anger after a bad game. Still, he acknowledged the carryover effect in at least one regard.

“You all have fun spinning the gumbo thing all week,” he told reporters.

What’s different this time?

“I got an extra person out there with me,” Peters said, referring to Talib.

It matters. According to ESPN, the Rams allowed just four touchdown passes and collected 10 interceptions this season (including the playoffs) when Talib and Peters were both in the lineup. When either of them was off the field, the marks flipped to 28 touchdowns and 8 picks.

“You’ve got two dogs,” Peters said, alluding to the effect on Phillips’ strategy. “He’s going to call his defense and he’s going to expect for his dogs to hold up on the outside.”

That theme applies all across the board. After all, defense wins championships.

And the Rams’ defense is so challenged to prove its worth.

Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell.

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