The Los Angeles Rams will try to rewrite early-season narratives when they take on the New York Giants
to close out the NFL's Week 2 slate. The secondary hopes its performance in Australia was a one-off after struggling to slow down the 49ers' passing attack. We heard it from coaches all week. The Rams have faith in their guys; their coverage was a bit stickier than what was portrayed on television, and they will make the proper improvements.Fair enough. It's coach speak, but what else can they truly say? After an offseason of hype, with additions Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson seemingly being the answer to their coverage problems, we were left with more questions after the opener. For defensive coordinator Chris Shula, pass game coordinator Jimmy
Lake, and the team's defensive backs, Monday marks a fork in the road.
Either they have fixed their issues enough to have faith in them, or there's trouble in Southern California. This team is too good on paper to leave an ambiguous answer. We'll know. The issue for them is that starting safety Kam Kinchens is out. There's a strong likelihood that Jaylen McCollough replaces him, but how will that affect the rotation?
In the opener, McDuffie, Watson, and Quentin Lake played every snap. Kinchens played 80 percent. McCollough, despite an injury to Curl, only played 60%, even though the team purposefully tries to get him on the field as much as possible.
Josh Wallace played 11%, and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. didn't play a defensive snap at all. So how will the Rams manage this? Do they trust Wallace at outside corner? Can McDuffie play outside for a whole game in Shula's system? Do they limit blitzes to conserve energy? Can McCollough handle 80 percent of the snaps? If not, who do they rotate him with?
This is chin check time for the Los Angeles secondary, as it's not getting any easier to win. The Giants have matchup nightmares in Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely. Running back Cam Skattebo is known for demolishing defensive backs.
Scheme and physicality: do the Rams have both?
We'll find out against an emerging quarterback in Jaxson Dart. If the Rams find answers they don't like, do not be surprised if they go after answers they do ... soon.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: It's chin-check time for Rams secondary against Giants
