Wade Phillips helps young Rams defense fulfill its potential
The Los Angeles Rams’ rapid rise to NFC contender might be the most surprising story line of the season.
But maybe it shouldn’t have been, for one major reason: defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
For nearly 30 years, Phillips has been rehabbing defenses across the league. In his previous six stops as defensive coordinator, his groups have not only improved dramatically in the first year but also made it to the playoffs. The 9-3 Rams currently own a one-game lead in the NFC West.
“This is seven times I’ve been pretty lucky,” Phillips said Thursday.
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But there is much more to it than luck, Phillips’ current and former players said. It isn’t a surprise that the Rams are showing similar progress in Phillips’ first year working with what had been a talented-but-underperforming group that finished ninth in total defense last year but 23rd in points allowed.
The Rams currently rank in the top seven in several major defensive categories: third in sacks (42), fifth in interceptions (14) and seventh in points allowed (18.4). The defense has already surpassed last year's sack and interception totals with four games remaining.
“Wade is brilliant,” Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall told Paste BN Sports. “You mix his scheme with great players, and you see the results.”
Phillips concocted a game plan two weeks ago that largely shut down the New Orleans Saints' powerful running game. He has an similarly difficult challenge this week in trying to slow a Philadelphia Eagles offense averaging 30.1 points per game, tied with the Rams for the league lead.
“It’s a challenge every week but this is special one,” Phillips said Thursday. “It’s a big game for us. The biggest game of the year, so that’s what we’re looking forward to.”
The contest also could highlight exactly why hiring the 70-year-old Phillips was a key decision for 30-year-old head coach Sean McVay earlier this year. Phillips’ contract with the Broncos had expired, and McVay asked Phillips to join him even before he had his offer from the Rams.
At first they may seem like an odd pair to lead the Rams, with McVay’s exuberant personality a contrast to the laidback, more soft-spoken Phillips. But the setup works, in part because of Phillips’ self-deprecating sense of humor and willingness to connect with his young players over music and social media.
“He just eases the mood. Wade is such a great guy. He knows how to make his players laugh and come together,” Rams cornerback Kayvon Webster, who first played for Phillips in Denver, told Paste BN Sports. “It takes that edge off of the seriousness. But we know he wants us to go out there and excel and that's what we do every day. We go out there and try and play our hardest for him because he makes the game simple for us.”
The essence of Phillips’ 3-4 defense, one he learned from his father and has now coached for decades, is in its simplicity.
“They say it’s simple, but part of it, hopefully, is that we make it seem like it's simple,” Phillips said.
Defensive linemen are assigned one gap responsibility to allow them to be more aggressive in getting into the backfield than they would in a typical two-gap 3-4 alignment. He relies mostly on a four-man rush, but the defense’s strength is disguising where that fourth rusher is coming from.
Phillips also uses a limited amount of play calls to streamline communication so players aren’t consumed before the snap with making a variety of checks.
“Whatever the call was, we just played it. It was simple. He just made it so you didn't have to think. You just play fast,” Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said.
From there, players said the key to Phillips’ defense is his ability to find his players' strengths and exploit them.
In most of Phillips’ prior projects, he has had the benefit of inheriting talent – particularly at pass rusher, with the likes of the Broncos’ Simon Fletcher, Hall of Famer Bruce Smith with the Bills in 1995, DeMarcus Ware with the Texans in 2006, J.J. Watt (as a rookie) with the Texans in 2011, and Miller (along with Ware) in Denver in 2015.
Now in Los Angeles, he has two-time all-pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Phillips has been devising ways to keep double teams off Donald, and he’s asked several other veterans to change positions, including pass rusher Robert Quinn, who has moved from defensive end to outside linebacker, as well as defensive end Michael Brockers and safety Lamarcus Joyner.
“Coach Phillips, he's doing a great job helping the players play to their strengths," Webster said. "Obviously a couple years ago Robert Quinn was leading the league in sacks. Had to get him back to that. Aaron Donald is a beast, have to get him a couple one-on-ones in between the tackles. He really just plays to everyone's strengths, makes you have one job and you can do it fast.”
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.
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