After losing in the Super Bowl, the Los Angeles Rams had a very successful offseason. The reigning NFC Champions have been able to keep most of their core team intact and have added some new additions along the way.
In particular, the Rams defense, which struggled at times last year, looks to be improving. After trading for former Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Dante Fowler Jr., things started to look up though and things have continued upward after the Rams re-signed Fowler early this offseason.
The Rams also managed to sign former Greenbay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews. Matthews, a So-Cal native, has been one of the league’s premier defensive players since he left USC in 2009.
Rams defensive tackle Michael Brockers sees nothing but ease and opportunity for the Rams defense with Fowler and Matthews, according to Clarence Dennis of TheRams.com:
“I was kind of licking my chops. You get two edge guys who can rush on the edge and they are great at it. It opens up those one-on-ones for you on the inside,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said, before adding that he might not be the only one happy to see Fowler or Matthews coming off the edge. “I know [DT Aaron Donald] was looking at it too like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ You can get those tackles off of you and stuff like that.”
With one of the leagues best offenses, adding to the defensive side of the equation was a smart move for the Rams. Although who will be playing where has not quite been worked out, success is sure to come.
Fowler definitely saw his share of success with the Rams. After not starting a single game for the then 3-8 Jaguars, Fowler started six of his remaining eight games with the Rams, including the postseason. As one would expect, nearly all of his stats saw a large increase.
