Both the 1973 and 2023 Rams Defenses Had Major Overhauls on Defense

 By John Turney 

2023 preseason - Chargers at Rams

In 1973 legendary Los Angeles Times writer and original Hall-of-Fame voter Bob Oates wrote an article entitled, "Merlin Olsen and the ??????????"

Read: Merlin Olsen and the 10 question marks.

It was a commentary on a Rams' defense that had gone through a lot of changes from the previous year, with Olsen -- a future Hall-of-Famer -- the only known quantity. All the rest were question marks. Fifty years later, someone could write a similar article with the same headline, only substituting "Aaron Donald" for Olsen because he faces the same kind of season.

And perhaps worse.

What Oates detailed 50 years ago was that though there would be some 1972 returnees, the Rams had doubts about how well they'd perform in new uniforms ... under a new head coach ... and a new defensive coordinator ... with a new defensive scheme.

As examples, Oates offered Isiah Robertson, Dave Elmendorf, Jack Youngblood, Larry Brooks (the starter in the last half of 1972) and Fred Dryer. As it turned out, all thrived in the new defense. But in the Summer of '73 that was no sure thing:

-- As a rookie in 1971, Robertson was a Pro Bowler. But he regressed in 1972. Would he rebound to his previous level of play? He did -- making the Pro Bowl again and was a first-team All-Pro for the first time. He picked off three passes and, in "Butch" Robertson style, returned one 49 yards for a touchdown on Monday Night Football, earning raves from announcer Howard Cosell.

-- Fellow rookie Elmendorf was a fine free safety in 1971 but moved to strong safety in 1972. So, 1973 would be his second season at that position where he'd be the leader of the secondary in only his third NFL season. Could he do it? The answer was yes. He was the glue of the secondary and was even honorable mention All-NFC.

-- Yet to show his Hall-of-Fame ability, Youngblood was the predominant starter at left end in 1972 when he led the club in hurries. One problem: He never seemed to get out of coach Tommy Prothro's doghouse. One year later, he was a preseason question mark in Oates' eyes ... and rightly so. He would stay at left end, but there was no way to know what would happen. What happened was he produced 16-1/2 sacks, 13-1/2 tackles for losses on run plays and was voted second-team All-Pro. He also went to his first Pro Bowl.

-- Brooks took over the right defensive tackle position at midseason in 1972, so '73 would be his first full year as a starter. As a rookie 14th-round draft choice, he was accomplished. But, one year later, he had to prove he was legit. Could he? Absolutely. He had nine sacks and led the Rams' defensive linemen in tackles.

-- Dryer was known more as a pass rusher when he was a starter for the New York Giants, but he'd have to play the run to fit into what new coach Chuck Knox wanted. 

"We want to stop the run,"Knox said, "and get the other side into an obvious passing situation and get into our best pass rush and pass coverage."

Dryer spent 1972 as a nickel rusher in the Rams' "57 defense" -- a passing-down package that featured three defensive ends and Olsen. The 6-6, 222-pound right defensive end (listed at 240 but nowhere near that) could get after the quarterback. But could he defend the run? Time would tell.  And it did. He played the Ray Malavasi "butt technique," taught to stop an offensive tackle's charge, and still managed to sack the quarterback 10 times -- including three in one game vs. Green Bay where two produced safeties, setting an NFL single-game record. 

On the second level, aside from Robertson, the Rams were going to start Ken Geddes and Jack Reynolds. Both had been with the Rams, but Geddes kept breaking bones (an arm and a leg in 1972), and Reynolds could never beat out veteran middle linebacker Marlin McKeever.

But in 1973 the man known as "Hacksaw" finally did, leading the team in tackles, while Geddes stayed healthy.

1973 preseason - Chargers at Rams

The left cornerback position had several changes from camp right up to the season opener. The competition featured one of the Rams' starters from the previous year, a journeyman and future Hall-of-Famer Herb Adderley (brought in for a few day-stint). But the Rams looked elsewhere and traded for veteran Charlie Stukes. 

So that was a question-mark position. Could the 30-year-old Stukes still cover? He could, leading the Rams with five interceptions

The right side was just as dubious. Gene Howard was excellent in 1971, slumped in 1972 and was beaten out by rookie Eddie McMillan in 1973. So the question there was: Could the rookie keep up? McMillan did, picking off four passes and voted to the All-Rookie team.

In 1972 the free safety was converted cornerback Jim Nettles, who was adequate in coverage but wasn't known for his tackling. To remedy that, the Rams drafted 6-1, 225-pound Cullen Bryant (later converted to running back) to play there. Nettles was moved back to corner and then was cut. So Bryant played most of the preseason. But he couldn't hang on to the job, and the Rams moved in another direction.

They signed journeyman Steve Preece. 

The Rams were his fourth team in five years, so the question there was obvious: How talented was this guy? The former Saints', Eagles' and Broncos' safety started all 14 games, had two interceptions and fell on two fumbles.

Bottom line: The questions posed during a 2-3-1 preseason were answered later that year, with the Rams going 12-2 and reaching the playoffs for the first time since 1969. The defense ranked first overall, first vs. the run and allowed the fourth-fewest points, while Olsen went to his 12th consecutive Pro Bowl was the NFLPA NFC Defensive Lineman of the Year.

By all accounts, the retooling worked. In all likelihood, Aaron Donald probably won't fare as well.

Returning with the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year are off-the-ball linebacker Ernest Jones and Jordan Fuller, though it's no guarantee he starts. It's possible it will be former Rams' safety John Johnson III. Russ Yeast has a lock on one of the safety positions, but Fuller (one of the team captains) seems to have the edge on the other at this moment.

Yeast is in his second season, and his next start will be his second in the NFL. Meanwhile, Fuller is coming off an injury that cost him 14 games in 2022, while Johnson is back after two years in Cleveland. All three are question marks, no matter who starts.

Jones was not the lead inside linebacker in 2022. Bobby Wagner was. Since the third-year 'backer out of South Carolina will be the play-caller for the first time, that makes him a question mark as the Rams' "green dot" guy.. 

In the base 3-4 defense Christian Rozeboom is penciled in as the inside linebacker to be paired with Jones. He's played 27 NFL games but never started one. But the Rams play base about 1/3 of the time or less, so his playing time will be limited, and his impact less than others.

Michael Hoecht was moved from the defensive line to outside linebacker last year by coordinator Raheem Morris, and the move worked: In six starts he had 4-1/2 sacks -- not bad for someone who never played the edge in the NFL or college. But he's still unproven. We haven't seen if he can be productive for a full season.

Opposite Hoecht, the other edge will probably be manned by third-round pick Byron Young. He had 23 snaps in the preseason, mostly because coach Sean McVay doesn't believe in playing starters in meaningless games. That means the former Dollar General manager has almost as much NFL experience as the number on his jersey (zero).

Add another question mark to the list.

On the back end, one presumed starter is cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon. Signed as a free agent from the Steelers, Witherspoon never played a full 16/17-game schedule and has really been a starter one season -- 2018 when he started 12 of 14 games for the 49ers. The question here is: Is he a placeholder for rookie Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson? Nobody knows. Either way, Hodges-Tomlinson played well in the preseason and is aggressive. Ability isn't the question with him. Size is. 

Another presumed starter is Derion Kendrick, who may be the slowest starting cornerback in the NFL, while Cobie Durant is the nickelback, slot or "Star" as the Rams like to call the position. He's shown promise but is only in his second season and didn't play the entire year as a rookie. Though his ability is apparent, it's only fair to ask questions about him, too.

Two more questions are the nose tackle and defensive lineman opposite Donald. Bobby Brown III is the nose. At 6-4, 324 pounds, the former Texas A&M Aggie has the size and athleticism to play the position, but he's in his first year as a starter. So he's an unknown.

So is the defensive end/tackle. It could be Earnest Brown IV, Jonah Williams or Mr. Irrelevent, seventh-round Desjuan Johnson, a rookie out of Toledo who played well in preseason.  Brown IV reportedly is bulked up and ready to start, but who knows? Williams has 208 NFL snaps but only 28 tackles and a 1/2 sack. That is not inspiring. 

Then there's rookie Kobie Turner. He'll be in the rotation at defensive end or nose tackle and may get snaps spelling Donald. Any way you look at it, other than Donald, the defensive line is a big-time question mark.

But this isn't the first time the Rams' defenses have been overhauled. There was one in 1966 when George Allen came to town, and it worked. There was another in 1983 when John Robinson was hired, and the Rams went to a 3-4 defense. That worked, too. Then, in 1991 Jeff Fisher was hired by Robinson to switch the defense to a "46"-based 4-3. That failed, and Robinson was fired. 

After a terrible defensive performance in 2000, while trying to defend the 1999 NFL title, coach Mike Martz hired Lovie Smith to bring in the Tampa-2 defense. That worked for a few years until Smith was hired to coach the Chicago Bears.

This year it remains to be seen what happens. But, on paper, it doesn't look good. Nevertheless, games aren't played on paper, and maybe the 10, 11, 14 or however many players are on sub-packages these days fare better than presumed. And maybe 2023 will be less like 1991 and more like other rebuilding seasons.

Maybe.

We'll talk again at mid-year. By then, we'll have answers to those questions.