- 1 day ago
The new-look LA Rams defense just put the entire NFL on notice. In his real introduction to Los Angeles, Myles Garrett teamed up with Aaron Donald to torment Jayden Daniels and bail out an injured, sputtering offense with a monster 3-sack performance.
Can Chris Shula’s front carry this roster through division play and a playoff push while Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford work out the offensive kinks?
Can Chris Shula’s front carry this roster through division play and a playoff push while Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford work out the offensive kinks?
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00:00There were three different looks, if you want to sum it up as simply as possible.
00:05It was Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald lined up on the same side, Aaron Donald lined up
00:10at defensive end, and then Myles Garrett either in a two-point or three-point stance just
00:14outside of him.
00:15There was, when they were split, Aaron Donald on one side at the defensive end, Myles Garrett
00:20on the opposite side as the outside linebacker, and there was both of them, we'll call it
00:25both of them in the A-gap, where Aaron Donald's lined up close to the center, and Myles Garrett
00:30is standing up behind him.
00:32What that does, one, for the secondary, it was the best thing they could have done for
00:38the secondary because the secondary's banged up, they were without Trent McDuffie, and they
00:42gave up some pretty easy throws, including a pretty easy touchdown in the first quarter
00:48of the game.
00:49It forces Jaden Daniels to have to slow down because every play starts with the protection
00:55and setting the protection and focusing on the protection, and every time Jaden Daniels
00:59drops back, he has to know where they are, and if Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald are
01:03on the same side, whether they're both to the left or both to the right, guess where
01:06the ball's not going?
01:07He's going away from them.
01:08Jaden Daniels is a mobile quarterback.
01:10He is not even looking in that direction anymore, so a banged-up secondary was the greatest
01:15benefactor of what Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald were able to bring.
01:19Now, we were excited about it, of seeing Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald on the field at the
01:24same time, but Myles talked about what it was like lining up with him for the first
01:28time.
01:28It's going to be an amazing tandem.
01:30Not only him and I, but B-Y, Stu, TD, Merch, Ty, Fisk, all these guys can play at the
01:39most
01:40elite level, and I feel like if we just get our chemistry right, hell, I can stay on the
01:43field, AD can stay on the field.
01:45We're going to be...
01:48I love that he shouts out everybody.
01:50Yeah.
01:50Like, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, me and AD are going to be great, but like, have you seen the rest
01:54of like our defense?
01:55And the defense is why they've won the game yesterday.
01:59So, yesterday, the Rams offense is moving the ball a little bit.
02:03Puka catches the ball on a wide receiver screen.
02:06It looks like it's going to be a decent game.
02:08And then the ball gets punched out and he fumbles.
02:11The very next snap, the first offensive snap for Washington after that fumble, Miles Garrett
02:17forces a fumble, right?
02:19That prevents disaster.
02:21Another moment that the defense held it down was Matthew Stafford's awful interception.
02:25He's standing on his own two-yard line, is late to throw the out route, and it's not
02:29even open.
02:30It's double covered and the ball doesn't have enough height on it.
02:33Gets intercepted and brought back almost to the red zone.
02:36And the defense holds them down and limits Washington to a field goal instead of a touchdown.
02:40Like, the defense held them down.
02:42And what you hear in Miles Garrett's voice and what you will continue to hear anytime
02:47him, Aaron Donald, or anyone on the defense get in front of a microphone or a camera is
02:51them embracing the offense's struggles.
02:53When you're on a very good defense, you don't want your offense to be banged up and injured.
02:59But the sense of pride you feel throughout the week of, we have to go out there and win
03:04the game, especially on a Sean McVay coach team, it's rare territory.
03:08And you can tell that Miles Garrett and A.D. and the rest of the guys are embracing that
03:13possibility.
03:14Yeah, it's tough to see this Rams offense struggling.
03:16You could see the frustration with Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay.
03:19And we'll go back to the positive side of here because Stafford was talking about Miles
03:24Garrett's return and what it means to this team.
03:27Yeah, great.
03:29You know, I had three sacks, I think, tonight, right?
03:31Um, pretty incredible stuff.
03:33Uh, just a big time player, obviously, you know, has proven himself so many times in this
03:38league.
03:39And I'm just, I said it before, but I'm just happy for him that he feels good enough to
03:42go out there and be himself.
03:43And I know that's been a tough journey to get there.
03:45And, um, obviously a ton of work has gone into it.
03:48So just happy for him that he's feeling good enough to be out there doing what he loves
03:51to do and helping us win.
03:53So when your offense is struggling the way they are, and Stafford being a big part of
03:59that, how, how much can a Miles Garrett sway this team in the right direction down the final
04:06stretch of the season?
04:07Tons because he makes everyone else's job easier.
04:10He makes Byron Young's job easier because all of the attention is opposite Byron Young when
04:16Miles Garrett and Aaron Donald are on the same side.
04:18He makes Braden Fisk's job easier because Braden Fisk is usually going to be lined up
04:23opposite Aaron Donald where Miles Garrett usually is.
04:26So that, that's, that's less attention on Braden Fisk and Byron Young when they're lined
04:29up, when they're lined up next to each other.
04:31This, this defensive front, even with injuries to Puna Ford and Kobe Turner is still deep
04:36and those guys get less attention.
04:39If you are Nate Landman or Omar Spates, who, who played really well yesterday, that's less
04:46attention on you.
04:47If it's, if it's a zone run, it's all about doubling and moving up to the second level.
04:52You're not coming off of the Miles Garrett double.
04:55You're not coming off of the Aaron Donald double.
04:57So if it's a zone run or really any kind of run scheme that, that is more, more range
05:02of motion, more freedom for the second level.
05:04And as we spoke about with the secondary, they're without Trent McDuffie last, last game
05:10yesterday, they're without Trent McDuffie and they're without Jalen Watson for the rest of
05:13the season, Jalen McCullough is starting at nickel and you have Emmanuel Forbes and Josh
05:20Wallace out there.
05:21Well, they don't have to cover as long, you know, it took them a while to get going, but
05:25from the second quarter onward, there was really no threat of a deep shot because they
05:30know Miles Garrett has their back and he's, he's going to get there.
05:32I mean, it just, it alleviates stress from, from the other, the other nine out there.
05:38When, when Miles Garrett and Aaron, Aaron Donald are lined up next to each other.
05:41Do you know what makes me laugh now?
05:43What's that?
05:43Is the people that were questioning if the trade was worth it.
05:48Like yesterday's like return kind of, this was, I wouldn't call it a return because he
05:53was injured in that first game in Australia and it wasn't even here in the state.
05:56So it doesn't even count or matter.
05:58What game in Australia?
05:58Yeah.
05:58What are you talking about?
05:59We don't know about that one.
05:59This was kind of his like intro to LA and Rams, like Rams fans and, and everybody to be
06:10like, Oh no, no, no, no.
06:11I am worth every single penny that you traded for.
06:14And when you look at what he did with a three sacks in that one game, I don't want to
06:18bag
06:19on Jared verse over in Cleveland, but he's got zero sacks in nine games with the Browns.
06:24He does have zero sacks.
06:25The Cleveland Browns are having a better year than expected, but I imagine that talking
06:31point to go by the wayside from, from here on out.
06:35Yeah.
06:35And would you say what you saw from him was worse worth a first, second and third round
06:41pick as well?
06:42We're definitely heading there, man.
06:43I mean, he has not lost a step and projecting forward.
06:47If miles Garrett stays healthy yesterday is just the beginning that that's what Cleveland
06:52Brown fans have been able to, to see over the years, even though they didn't have a ton
06:58of, of success as a team, that feeling of every time a quarterback drops back, you can
07:04assume that miles Garrett is at least going to affect them somehow, whether it's a sack,
07:08whether it's a hit after the throw, whether it's going to force him to change his arm angle,
07:11force him to spill out from the pocket.
07:13Like miles Garrett is just this omnipresent thing that is lurking in the back of every
07:17quarterback's mind.
07:18And the craziest part you guys is like to think that you get a player of that caliber
07:22with that big of an impact.
07:23Like he, he was such a big piece of that Rams win yesterday.
07:29Now you have them for the back half of the season and four division games still left.
07:34Like that can be your difference maker.
07:37That right there is worth every single penny.
07:39I love bigging up the secondary as much, as much as I possibly can, but a game wrecker
07:46on the level of miles Garrett can impact the game more than any other defensive position.
07:52It affects the run.
07:54It affects the pass.
07:54It affects the offensive line.
07:56It affects the game plan.
07:57It affects, it affects what plays you have to throw out because you know, miles Garrett
08:01is on that field.
08:03So credit to Chris Shula for throwing so many looks out there and not holding anything
08:08back and welcome back miles.
08:11Yeah.
08:11It's fun.
08:12He really shared kind of his excitement of being back out there, but he also talked about
08:17just what it meant to be back on the field again.
08:20I mean, it felt great to be out there with my teammates again.
08:23It felt rusty as hell in the first half and I had some, had a couple of penalties, but
08:28I know I'm going to get it back for us.
08:29So, you know, just try to focus on the play that I was in and not worry about the last
08:33one and, you know, they supported me and that's all that matters.
08:36You know, we support each other and, you know, we elevate until we can get a win.
08:40It's crazy to think him say, uh, three sacks is rusty as hell.
08:45Excuse me, what, sir?
08:47It's a different breed, man.
08:48Aaron Donald doesn't even have one yet.
08:51Okay.
08:52He should, but Braden Fisk got, got really grabby.
08:54I think it was a face mask or something and it ruined Aaron Donald's sack.
08:57I remember that because I was so happy for him.
09:00I'm like, okay, he got the first one.
09:01And it's funny because when Aaron Donald was asked about Miles Garrett's three sacks last
09:05night, he's like, well, I feel like he's, it's like, we all got the sacks, you know,
09:07it's for all of us.
09:08It's similar to him, like in the game previous where he, he missed the, the, the scoop, the
09:15scoop and score.
09:15And Miles is on the bike on the sideline, hysterically laughing at them.
09:18I love this friendship.
09:20It's fun.
09:21You can tell that this team, especially on the defensive side, like they're having a
09:27good time together.
09:27They are.
09:28And that bond is what it's going to take for the undertaking that the defense is going
09:34to have to take on whether the Rams trade for a receiver, whether they don't trade it
09:37for a receiver, whether Puka is done for the year or just done for a couple of weeks.
09:41This defense is going to have to lead the way until further notice, but with a bond like
09:47they have, and with the mastermind that Chris Shula is, they can handle it.
09:51Okay.
09:52So looking at Cardinals, are you expecting him to be the impact player there?
09:56Absolutely.
09:57Gardner Minshew's shine has already started to wear off after that miraculous comeback against
10:04the Dallas Cowboys yesterday.
10:06They, they looked abysmal and I fully expect the Rams to, to get their revenge.
10:12Packers.
10:13Packers is where you really need Trent McDuffie back in the fold.
10:16The Green Bay Packers are playing the most YOLO ball I have ever seen.
10:21Jordan Love drops back.
10:23Explain it.
10:24Tries to buy time, scrambles if he needs to, and then just throws the ball as far as he can.
10:28And Christian Watson or Matthew Golden just emerge.
10:31The amount of times you see the ball floating and no green jersey anywhere, and then suddenly
10:37a number zero or a number nine, Matthew Golden, Christian Watson, just emerge out of nowhere
10:42and dive and catch the ball.
10:43It is, it is a game they are going to need.
10:45Trent McDuffie for sure.
10:47You guys, the NFC North is crazy.
10:49Like it's crazy.
10:51Everyone has at least six wins.
10:52So the Packers at six and three are in last place right now.
10:55All four currently have six or more wins.
10:59Like that is, that's a fun, that's going to be a wild race.
11:04And Carson Wentz makes his 2026 debut tonight against Josh Allen and the pretty mediocre,
11:13usually bad Buffalo defense.
11:15I'm excited for that.
11:16And we will see how, how Minnesota holds up with, with Carson Wentz.
11:19We'll dive into that a little later in the show.
11:21We got to step away for a quick fan check.
11:23When we come back, Lakers insider and reporter for the California Post, Kobe Price is joining
11:27the show.
11:27Don't go anywhere.
11:29The new 97.