LOS ANGELES — Up until this week, Rams safety Quentin Lake was the one that the secondary looked to break up their huddles, to deliver a message to his teammates before they went to work.
But Lake was home this week recovering from surgery on his dislocated left elbow as the Rams prepared for their matchup with another NFC division leader, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But the Rams (8-2) took a different approach to this week. Before individual drills Wednesday, safety Kam Curl gave Lake’s typical motivational address. On Thursday, it was Cobie Durant. The group wanted to spread the responsibility out, so no one player felt the need to fill the void left by Lake.
“He was the key to the whole defense, honestly,” safety Kamren Kinchens said. “Not forcing one person to step up but creating the unity, everybody. That just shows how much Q meant to us, because not just one person can step up to do what he did. It’s going to take the whole group to do it.”
As they try to maintain the momentum from a four-interception, 19-point performance against the Seahawks’ explosive offense, the word that’s been emphasized this week by Rams coaches to the secondary is “stamina”. Facing a quarterback like Tampa Bay’s Baker Mayfield, who can avoid pressures, puts a lot of pressure on the defense.
“He’s like, ‘No matter what it takes, I’m going to make a play,’ which could be detrimental at times, but for him it’s not that,” outside linebacker Jared Verse said. “It doesn’t put him in a bad spot. Other quarterbacks, they’re doing a bunch of stuff. They’re throwing picks off that, doing all sorts of crazy things. He’s really in control when he has that ball in his hand.”
As much stress as that causes for a pass rush, it puts even more on a secondary that might need to cover receivers for 8-10 seconds on any given snap. You can’t take for granted that your job will be done after four seconds, especially against a receiving corps that – even without Mike Evans – is deep, athletic and creative.
That kind of extended coverage will require the Rams to be on the same page against Tampa Bay (6-4). Lake usually handled much of the pre-snap communication in the secondary, but the defensive backs have divided that responsibility this week, too.
“Just overcommunicating now,” Kinchens said. “Just everybody having a bigger voice, making sure that we are giving each other confidence to carry on.”
The Rams will likely mix and match to fill the snaps vacated by Lake. Kinchens and Tank McCollough will get more looks at safety, while Durant will slide inside more to nickel corner.
The Rams will also look to get second-year DB Josh Wallace involved more. He stepped in against the Seahawks as defensive assistant Aubrey Pleasant and Chris Beake figured out the rotation on the fly.
Signed out of Michigan as a corner, Wallace played all of his defensive snaps in the slot against Seattle. But he’s also worked extensively at safety since training camp.
“Much more comfortable than when I first got here, obviously,” Wallace said. “But that just shows the work of my coaches and the challenge I put on myself doing my craft.”
While the Rams signed hard-hitting safety Tanner Ingle off practice squad to the active roster Saturday, he’s more likely to contribute on special teams this season. But midseason acquisition Roger McCreary could factor in.
Acquired from the Titans last month, McCreary was projected to be a depth piece at nickel corner. He’s yet to play on defense since the trade.
“We brought him in not to just sit on the bench, so we’re excited to see him out there communicating,” defensive coordinator Chris Shula said. “Obviously, he’s still new to the defense and we’re getting him going.”
It’s not what anyone wanted, to turn from their best performance as a secondary this season into a scramble to figure out to replace the unit’s skeleton key. But that’s the fate the Rams have been dealt, and a group effort is what it’s going to take to overcome.
“Can’t get too high, can’t get too low,” Wallace said. “Just gotta stay at that even keel and we’ll be OK.”
Tampa Bay at Rams
When: 5:20 pm. Sunday
Where: SoFi Stadium
TV/radio: NBC (Ch. 4); ESPN LA 710 AM, 93.1 FM, Tu Liga 1330 AM