As St. Louis Rams players ready themselves for the team’s impending preseason kickoff, all eyes are on new head coach Jeff Fisher as he attempts to steer a turnaround for the team with the worst five-year stretch in NFL history. The daunting task seems nearly impossible to many, but instead of the frantic pacing, hair-pulling or anxiety you might expect from the Fisher King, the confident coach manages practices at Continuity X Training Center in his signature shades with a cool, unconcerned demeanor. The reflective lenses of his Costa Del Mar sunglasses reveal a likely reason for his tranquility: his defense.
On its way to a brutal 2-14 campaign last season, the Rams team defense ranked 26th in the league in terms of points allowed. Despite the fact the team routinely gave up big plays, shockingly, the team’s ranking fell just behind the 2012 Super Bowl champion New York Giants. With Fisher’s desire to develop a consistent rushing attack to improve the woeful, second-to-last ranked offense (total points scored), a strong defense must be key to any team turnaround. That strength must start at the corners.
Besides the heavy duty haul of draft picks received for the rights to Robert Griffin III, the team’s splashiest move of the offseason was signing former Tennessee Titans CB Cortland Finnegan. The former Pro Bowl player signed a 5-year, $50 million deal this summer and immediately upgraded a much maligned secondary. Known for his attacking, never-back-down style of defense, the 5’10”, 188-pound intimidator was just what Fisher needed. While Finnegan is humble and affable off the field, between the lines his tremendous intensity is contagious.
“A Jeff Fisher defense is a defense that’s flying around to the football, making plays with an attitude. If that happens to be in an aggressive style, that plays into my favor,” said Finnegan.
Along with his responsibilities to cover the best receiver opposing teams can throw at his defense, Finnegan has also inherited the responsibility of mentoring two very talented rookies, cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson. Jenkins, the 2nd round pick out of North Alabama, has impressed everyone and appears to be a shoe-in for the #2 CB alongside Finnegan. Johnson has also shown some solid playmaking ability and will likely find his way onto the field on Sundays. As a veteran who has played the game at a high-level, Finnegan focuses on life lessons for his proteges.
“[I talk to them off-the-field about life and football,” Finnegan told The American. “[They] are coming in coachable, staying after practice and always willing to do the extra thing. So I think they’ll have no problems becoming good pros.”
‘Good pros’ may be an understatement if Jenkins is as good as advertised when the games begin. ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently stated the young CB has showed “Pro Bowl potential” during training camp. Coach Fisher seemed to agree with the analyst’s assessment.
“[Jenkins] can do everything required of a corner – an elite corner,” Fisher stated. “Good footwork, change of direction, ball skills, tackling and [he] understands the defense.”
The cornerback crew should be further bolstered by the return of Bradley Fletcher, who recently returned from a season-ending ACL injury.
Of course, the corners aren’t the only key cogs in transforming the defense from pedestrian to high-performance. Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis will man the middle of the field. Upfront, the team recently re-signed Chris Long, who’s coming off a career high 13 sacks. He’ll pair up with second-year DE Robert Quinn, who’s looking to fulfill the potential that prompted the Rams to select him in the first-round a year ago. Lastly, free-agent signee Keith Langford and rookie standout Michael Brockers will be expected to close the colossal holes opponents used to batter the Rams into submission in 2011.
While it’s an old adage that successful teams are built from the inside-out (one it would seem Coach Fisher subscribes to), in today’s pass happy league it seems only fitting that Rams, will need to rely on its corners to prevent the team from remaining on the outside looking in.
