Los Angeles Rams: 3 Vital statistics for 2019 season

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 03: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams looks to pass during the second half against the New England Patriots during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 20: Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips of the Los Angeles Rams is seen before the NFC Championship game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 20, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

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When you think of Wade Phillips, he is certainly in the conversation when it comes to the better defensive coordinators of the modern era. And his finest moment came in 2015 when running a Denver Broncos’ unit that carried the team to a Super Bowl 50 title.

But in two seasons at the helm of the Los Angeles Rams’ defense, it’s been a somewhat disappointing story. And this past year, it was made all the more mystifying considering general manager Les Snead’s numerous offseason (Ndamukong Suh, Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters) and midyear (Dante Fowler) additions on this side of the football.

In his first season with the club, the eventual NFC West champions allowed just over 20 points per game and surrendered a respectable 36 offensive touchdowns. Led by dominant defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the Rams racked up 48 sacks and the team forced 28 turnovers. But Los Angeles gave up the fifth-most rushing yards in the league, an average of 122.3 yards per contest.

This past season, there were once again plenty of sacks (41) and takeaways (30). But Phillips’ unit gave up the identical amount of rushing yards per game (1,957) despite a slightly better ranking (23rd). More significantly, the Rams gave up exactly 24 points per outing and surrendered 43 offensive touchdowns.

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Suh was not re-signed and recently joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Linebacker Mark Barron was released and signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. And free safety Lamarcus Joyner inked a deal with the Oakland Raiders in March. So is this a better unit?

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