I suspect Aqib is the one who gets the secondary personnel lined up and makes the secondary adjustments on the field. He is a renowned game video savant who has criticized Marcus in years past for not studying enough game video. Marcus possesses incredible talent, but much like past Horn CB, Janoris Jenkins, tends to gamble too often, which can be deadly against veteran QBs---especially those who are Hall of Fame worthy (e.g., ARod, Drew Brees). Veteran signal callers can spot young CB gamblers in their sleep. Aqib's on field presence alone could have made things much less stressful for our secondary had he not been injured. He will help to rein Marcus wild tendencies in.
I suspect Aqib is the one who gets the secondary personnel lined up and makes the secondary adjustments on the field.
THIS.
IMO the most fundamental problem with the Rams' D has been ongoing confusion over coverages and adjustments since Talib went out. (This is stark contrast to the O, where Goff and everyone else are on the same page to a remarkable extent.) Without rehashing the reasons for this, I believe it is fixable and that the situation will greatly improve when Talib returns.
Talib understands Wade's D, and most of all the secondary, better than anyone else on the field. That's why he wanted to play for Phillips again. Talib also has the swag and the leadership to get everybody else on the same page.
Talib is also an outstanding player in his own right, and that in itself will help a lot. Very much like having your best pitcher back at the top of the rotation-- others in the secondary and the D as a whole will benefit.
I expect to see a much tougher D down the stretch and in the playoffs with Talib back, Fowler and Obo getting involved, Peters at 100%, and Barron at full speed after ten months off prior to the last few games.