Would you want to see Hager get the nod over Laurinaitis next week?

[-X-]

And if so, what would you think about him getting absolutely punished by the Steelers offense? Excuse it and give him more time to figure it out? Would you want to put Laurinaitis back in after something like that, or just be done with JL for good and scramble to get a replacement until you find one (e.g., trade him)?

And do your best not to assassinate his character, heart, or dedication if you so please. I just wanted to see if anyone else (yes, anyone ELSE) would like to figure out if this is a personnel problem, or a scheme problem by trying something different for a short while.

I'm JL's biggest fan, but re-watching this game made me cringe a little.
Shedding blocks and diagnosing the play wasn't his strong suit on Sunday.

 

[LetsGoRams]

I'm a big JL fan... but what I've seen from him recently - he's getting overwhelmed at the point of attack, can't shed blocks, and can't cover that well. I think an upgrade is needed, and it pains me to say it.

 

[UKram]

I didn't see the game sunday so cannot comment on how bad JL was but not sure i'm not ready for Hager to replace him just yet cant we out it put it all down to a bad game by all ?
'
and cant we give Wash and the coaching staff a little bit of credit for taking away our strengths (from everything I've read a lot of chop blocks and not kicking to tavon seems like a good plan to beat the rams )

 

[Athos]

JL55 suddenly looked very old out there. Like Manning looked old in the first half of the KC game. Except all game for James.

Maybe he needs a benching to realize his poor play. Maybe all the starters need to be benched for one drive each. D and O.

Not sure Fisher has the balls for that tho.

I mean, can you do worse at MLB than JL55 played the other day?

 

[12intheBox]

Rather than go straight to Hager, I wonder what it would look like if Tree took over at MLB and we tried a combination of Ayers and Barron at the other LB spot. I wonder if Tree is ready to call the defense if needed.

 

[TheDYVKX]

Last game was brutal, but I'm not sure Hager will do any better. Maybe Hager does better in the physical aspect. Maybe he sheds blockers better, gets to the football faster, covers better, which is great, but what about the mental aspect? Laurinaitis has a wealth of football knowledge up in that brain. He knows a lot and has seen a lot. He puts our D in the right position to succeed, in the right looks to succeed. He controls a large portion of the defense and has a lot of say in what we do on each play.

Could Hager do that? I'm not so sure. Maybe Hager does better than Laurinaitis on half the plays. But does he put us in those same good positions on the other half? Does something that Laurinaitis does (because he's so experienced) not happen with Hager, just because he doesn't recognize something? In which case, will it just be a wash? Hager makes plays Laurinaitis doesn't, Laurinaitis makes plays Hager doesn't?

I love JL, I'm all for him. He's done a lot for this franchise. But if replacing him is the way to go, I'm all for that too. Just not sure as of now Hager is the best option. Next year, that's quite possible. Right now though, that experience might serve us better than a physical upgrade.

 

[lockdnram21]

dont see any difference. Imo hes always been overrated.

 

[Zombie Slayer]

All I have to say is that if he doesn't pick up his game soon, it may be time to try something else. You can't continually have your MLB being blown up and not being able to get off blocks. I've seen a number of posters the last couple of years who have been saying how JL is not really that great, to which they got a lot of flak about it. After seeing the game on Sunday, more people are starting to come around to that line of thinking. It is hard to say what they should do. But if I were them I would draft another LB fairly high. If JL continues to struggle, I would like to see Hager in there more. JL may have a lot of tackles, but what good is it if most are five yards from the line of scrimmage?

 

[LACHAMP46]

It's tough when a favorite player loses a step....I never could admit when Jack Youngblood slowed down...Tommy Polley...Even the great Marshall Faulk...I sure wanted to see more SJ#39 his rookie year.

JL55 has been in decline for at least 3 years....I only noticed it in 2012 because of the incredibly high ypc averages opponents put up against what I thought should be an outstanding defense...And he shouldn't be REPLACED by a rookie....He should switch positions with Ogletree....Ayers needs to stay on the field more...The snaps need to go to him. JL55 needs to go to SLB, but removed in passing situations....No, he's not the entire problem, just one of them. I'll wait for a db/missed tackle thread to go after McLeod...who is actually a bigger concern than JL55. Check out this (CLICK ME) below:

• St. Louis Rams vs. Washington: Snap Counts, Playing Time And Personnel Analysis
  By 3k
  
  @3k_ on Sep 21, 2015, 6:18p 9
  
  
  
  
  Matt Hazlett/Getty Images
  The Rams made some minor adjustments to their personnel from Week 1 to yesterday's 24-10 loss to Washington.
  
  Offense
  Rodger Saffold T 52 100.00%
  Rob Havenstein T 52 100.00%
  Jamon Brown G 52 100.00%
  Tim Barnes C 52 100.00%
  Nick Foles QB 52 100.00%
  Greg Robinson T 52 100.00%
  Kenny Britt WR 48 92.31%
  Stedman Bailey WR 39 75.00%
  Tavon Austin WR 39 75.00%
  Jared Cook TE 37 71.15%
  Tre Mason RB 28 53.85%
  Lance Kendricks TE 23 44.23%
  Benny Cunningham RB 22 42.31%
  Chris Givens WR 16 30.77%
  Cory Harkey TE 8 15.38%
  The Stedman Bailey bump was huge; Steddy played just 31.67% of snaps in Week 1 compared to three-quarters of the snaps yesterday.
  
  Tre Mason's return split time between he and Benny Cunningham, though you have to wonder how obviously things were being telegraphed between the two. Despite 28 plays for Mason to Cunningham's 22, Mason had seven rushes to just one for Cunningham. That means 21 of Benny's plays were passes...
  
  And Cory Harkey's time got halved as well. The game got away from the running strategy, but this was still something I didn't expect.
  
  Defense
  T.J. McDonald SS 72 100.00%
  Rodney McLeod FS 72 100.00%
  Alec Ogletree LB 71 98.61%
  James Laurinaitis LB 71 98.61%
  Trumaine Johnson CB 68 94.44%
  Janoris Jenkins CB 63 87.50%
  Robert Quinn DE 58 80.56%
  Aaron Donald DT 57 79.17%
  Michael Brockers DT 52 72.22%
  Chris Long DE 50 69.44%
  William Hayes DE 36 50.00%
  Akeem Ayers LB 27 37.50%
  LaMarcus Joyner CB 25 34.72%
  Mark Barron SS 24 33.33%
  Ethan Westbrooks DT 17 23.61%
  Nick Fairley DT 15 20.83%
  Marcus Roberson GB 13 18.06%
  Cameron Lynch LB 1 1.39%
  It's hard not to point to the Rams' lack of 4-3 usage as a reason Washington came out eager to attack with the run. Even though Akeem Ayers' usage tripled to counter the run and LaMarcus Joyner's PT halved, it clearly wasn't sufficient.
  
  Trumaine Johnson's ability to play a full game adjusted things as well for Joyner and CB Marcus Roberson.
  
  Special Teams
  Daren Bates LB 28 93.33%
  Cameron Lynch LB 23 76.67%
  Maurice Alexander SS 23 76.67%
  Bradley Marquez WR 23 76.67%
  Bryce Hager LB 23 76.67%
  Isaiah Pead RB 20 66.67%
  Cory Harkey TE 17 56.67%
  Benny Cunningham RB 15 50.00%
  Jake McQuaide LS 12 40.00%
  Johnny Hekker P 12 40.00%
  Marcus Roberson GB 8 26.67%
  Stedman Bailey WR 7 23.33%
  Demetrius Rhaney C 7 23.33%
  Garrett Reynolds G 7 23.33%
  Tavon Austin WR 6 20.00%
  T.J. McDonald SS 6 20.00%
  Rodney McLeod FS 6 20.00%
  Janoris Jenkins CB 6 20.00%
  LaMarcus Joyner CB 6 20.00%
  Robert Quinn DE 5 16.67%
  Aaron Donald DT 5 16.67%
  Michael Brockers DT 5 16.67%
  Chris Long DE 5 16.67%
  William Hayes DE 5 16.67%
  Greg Zuerlein K 5 16.67%
  Trumaine Johnson CB 4 13.33%
  Mark Barron SS 3 10.00%
  Rodger Saffold T 2 6.67%
  Rob Havenstein T 2 6.67%
  Jamon Brown G 2 6.67%
  Lance Kendricks TE 2 6.67%
  Andrew Donnal T 2 6.67%
  You can see why Daren Bates is so crucial to this team. It's oversimplifying, but the Tyler Lockette punt return in Week 1 vs. the clean coverage (and that's probably understating it -- they were damn good) in Week 2 isn't entirely attributable to Bates...but it's not unrelated.
  
  Shout out to the 2015 UDFAs in Cameron Lynch, Bryce Hager and Bradley Marquez. I was a Lynch and Marquez fan, but Hager's certainly earned his stripes.
  
  Something important to look ahead for, and for your Saturday TSTers to keep in mind: Isaiah Pead. He's in his contract year, and there's just no way he's around in the offseason in four months. Who fills in for him in special teams? Do the Rams need another running back? Even if the answer's no, we all realize Jeff Fisher is going to spend a pick in the first three rounds on one, right? You thought Jeff Fisher might not be around next year? What are these "standards" you have and how do they apply?
  
  Drop your snap counts reactions in the comments.

Basically, it's position, with plays, and percentage of plays....I'd like to see if Hagar can play...but not this year...But Ayers, we KNOW he can play...Barron...WE KNOW he can play....these two, while removing McLeod, and shifting JL55's responsibility to primarily run defense, could make an immediate impact.

 

[ChrisW]

Rather than go straight to Hager, I wonder what it would look like if Tree took over at MLB and we tried a combination of Ayers and Barron at the other LB spot. I wonder if Tree is ready to call the defense if needed.

Tree is a bit small to play the mike. I don't want him blowing up lead blockers.

 

[PA Ram]

I loved Hager and Lynch in preseason. They both showed a nose for the ball, great instincts and enough athleticism to get there and make plays. I may be mistaken but I believe Hager was the leading tackler in preseason. Both of these guys have a bright future. But the keyword there might be "future". At a basic level--not real complicated defense(pre-season) they showed great stuff--but in Williams defense, setting the defense or whatever else they may have to think about may expose them as not quite ready for the real league. I guess I'd like to see Hager relieve JL for a play here or there to get his feet wet--less than an outright replacement at this point.

But of course, I don't see any of that happening. JL is one of Fisher's core guys and certainly loved by his teammates. I'm not sure pulling him in game 3 and starting the rookie won't be a bit divisive.

Hager could very well be the future.

I think they'll just live with JL for now, and hope he sheds blocks better.

 

[RamDino]

All I know is London Fletcher would have led the team in tackles last week. Where was our run-stuffing middle linebacker?

 

[fearsomefour]

Haha.
No.
Aligning the D ect.
I saw JL, Tree and Ayers all get hung up on blockers quite a bit on Sunday. None were very effective. Ogletree made a couple of plays attacking, but, they all got outplayed on Sunday.
Looking at one guy to fix a units problem is misguided in my opinion. The D line didn't get consistent pressure. The DBs and others missed tackles. Washington only had like 3 incompletions. The D unit as a whole was outplayed, as the O.
Foles was not good. He doesn't have much ability to deal with pressure and gives up too quickly on passes. But, the O line couldn't generate any push at all in the run game, they were totally outmatched by a good Washington front 7. Would replacing one O lineman or replacing Foles "fix" the O?
No.

 

[Merlin]

Hager is a good backup but he's not the future and he's not a guy you want teams gameplanning for.

If they do end up trying someone else in the middle I'd prefer it be Barron. He is very physical and I suspect his speed would compensate a bit for his size when it comes to decisively hitting the hole. Plus he would add sideline to sideline coverage.

Even Bates would probably make more sense there. But again my choice would be Barron, just not sure if he'd be able to handle all the calls.

 

[Moostache]

Rather than go straight to Hager, I wonder what it would look like if Tree took over at MLB and we tried a combination of Ayers and Barron at the other LB spot. I wonder if Tree is ready to call the defense if needed.

I agree... move Ogletree inside, slide JL55 outside (weak side only please) and take your chances that a more athletic LB, with better speed (although questionable mental focus at times) can help lock down the middle. If Donald is going to remain a bull through the middle of the line, the Rams had better start finding answers at LB or teams will gash them all year long. Both of the big runs in the first scoring drive went right past Donald and into a void that was not filled by our LBs. That will become every teams' base offensive strategy if Lauranitis stays at MLB...

 

[TheDYVKX]

I think if they had to, they'd move Ayers inside first rather than Ogletree. Ayers has the size and block shedding ability that would benefit him there. He's a very versatile player. Ogletree is a better OLB than ILB.

Taking Paul Dawson instead of Sean Mannion would look really good right about now though.

 

[ChrisW]

Seriously? I've seen Ogletree and now Barron mentioned to play the mike. Someone please point out the next time one of these dudes stands up a lead blocker and fills the gap.

 

[Legatron4]

I'm ready for basically any change. I don't know who's fucking fault it is that this shit seems to happen every year. But JL has been right in the middle for a long time. Nobody on our D seems to know how to wrap up. They all wanna go for the big hit and it's so fucking frustrating. I would have been freaking out on the whole team in the locker room at halftime. KIRK FUCKING COUSINS goes 23/27. They should be absolutely ashamed of themselves and I'm still pissed. So to answer your question, yeah, bring in the new kid and see what we got. Fuck it.

 

[Mister Sin]

I think JL is just on the upper side of average. He has average speed and strength, below average coverage...but he makes up for that usually with sure tackling. But even that seems average this year. I think I am all for seeing what's what. Try the rook out and see what happens. Maybe, if nothing else, it wakes up The Animal inside JL and we get to see the "Ohhh Whaaat a Ruuuuush" come out.

 

[VinnyRam]

All I know is London Fletcher would have led the team in tackles last week. Where was our run-stuffing middle linebacker?

Instead of stuffing the play he was almost like flowing with or following the runs. Best way I can explain it.

 

[Yamahopper]

James Laurinaitis... official ROD redheaded stepchild of the 2015 season.