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Los Angeles Rams: Depth can overcome injuries in secondary

By Hunter Noll

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 23: Mike Williams #81 of the Los Angeles Chargers carries the ball through the Los Angeles Rams defense in the fourth quarter of the game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 23, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 23: Mike Williams #81 of the Los Angeles Chargers carries the ball through the Los Angeles Rams defense in the fourth quarter of the game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 23, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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The Los Angeles Rams suffered two major blows on Sunday with injuries to Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib. Depth of the defense will keep them from imploding.

Things were going well for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in Week 3. Then cornerback Marcus Peters went down with a calf injury. It got worse from there when his partner on the other side of the defensive secondary, Aqib Talib, suffered a high-ankle sprain not much later.

The Rams still won their contest against the Los Angeles Chargers and moved to 3-0 on the year, but suffered a blow. Peters is listed as day-to-day, but smart money would be on him missing some time while Talib will miss at least one month. Losing your two top cornerbacks will create problems for any team. While it’s definitely not good news, the Rams are one of the few teams built to weather this storm.

Sam Shields and Nickell Robey-Coleman are still available at cornerback, while John Johnson III and Lamarcus Joyner are the two safeties. This gives them a sturdy base in the secondary.

Then there’s the front seven. Samson Ebukam and Mark Barron are solid at the linebacker position, giving the Rams a nice combination of speed and power. The defensive line is of course stacked too, with the trio of Ndamukong Suh, Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald leading the way. With the star power still on the defense, the damage of losing Peters and Talib should be limited.

Surprisingly, the offense can help limit the damage as well. Their ability to sustain long drives will make a difference. They will help keep the ball out of the opponents hands, and their limited turnovers should keep the defense from dealing with a short-field.

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The Los Angeles Rams lost two of their best defensive backs in the same game. They’ll more-than-likely have to deal with playing without Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib for a few weeks. While it’s still a blow, the Rams are one of the few teams in the NFL built to survive situations like this. Now it’s time to see if they can execute.

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