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Defensive Notes

Los Angeles Rams

Phillips might give Rams defense a lift

I recently finished the Wade Phillips book, Son Of Bum. He’s been in the league forever – the defensive equivalent of Norv Turner. And Phillips is now taking his act to the Rams. So it makes sense to take at look at his overall body of work.

Below are some charts showing what Phillips has done since 1990. He also coached in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but I’m leaving that stuff out – too dated.

Phillips has tended to be successful recently. Both of his Denver defenses ranked 4th in scoring defense. Five of his last six defenses have ranked in the top 10. Since the NFL went to 32 teams, 10 of Phillips’ 14 defenses have at least ranked above-average in scoring defense.

That’s attaching him to all teams where he was either the defensive coordinator or the head coach.

WADE PHILLIPS DEFENSES (Points)
YearTeamPointsRnk
1990Denver37423
1991Denver2353
1992Denver32919
1993Denver28410
1994Denver39625
1995Buffalo33512T
1996Buffalo2666
1997Buffalo36723
1998Buffalo33315
1999Buffalo2292
2000Buffalo35018
2002Atlanta3148
2003Atlanta42230
2004San Diego31311
2005San Diego31213
2006San Diego3037
2007Dallas32513
2008Dallas36520
2009Dallas2502
2010Dallas43631
2011Houston2784
2012Houston33110T
2013Houston42824T
2015Denver2964
2016Denver2974

His defenses have tended to play well against the run. Of his last 12 defenses, all but two ranked in the top 12 (for rushing yards gained).

Of Phillips’ last 22 defenses, only five ranked below-average against the run. Pretty impressive.

WADE PHILLIPS DEFENSES (Rushing)
YearTeamAttRunAvgTDRnk
1990Denver4561,9634.31617
1991Denver4111,7944.4819
1992Denver4891,9634.01023
1993Denver3971,4183.664
1994Denver4321,7524.11217
1995Buffalo4531,6263.61611
1996Buffalo4951,6693.41214
1997Buffalo4931,7923.61115
1998Buffalo3751,4934.0115
1999Buffalo4071,3703.494
2000Buffalo4441,5593.5136
2002Atlanta4412,0474.61223
2003Atlanta4992,3084.62129
2004San Diego3551,3073.7153
2005San Diego3861,3493.5141
2006San Diego3861,6134.2137
2007Dallas3811,5134.0126
2008Dallas4021,7064.21112
2009Dallas3651,4484.074
2010Dallas4021,7344.31112
2011Houston3781,5364.184
2012Houston3901,5604.057
2013Houston4541,9584.31123
2015Denver4081,3373.3103
2016Denver4822,0854.31528

Phillips’ defenses have also played well against the pass. Of his last 20 defenses, 75 percent of them ranked above-average in terms of passer rating (which is a balance of yards per play, touchdowns, interceptions and completion percentage). He’s been in the top 10 in four of the past five years.

Phillips tends to put together defenses that do a good job of getting after the quarterback. His last 10 teams have averaged 46 sacks.

He has benefitted recently from working with Von Miller and J.J. Watt, but the Rams also have some pass-rushing talent (Aaron Donald is probably the best defensive tackle in the league).

WADE PHILLIPS DEFENSES (Passing)
YearTeamYardsPctTDIntSackRate
1990Denver22959%22103490.0
1991Denver19452%12235260.6
1992Denver21558%21155083.0
1993Denver24856%21184677.2
1994Denver26957%28122388.5
1995Buffalo24253%14174970.0
1996Buffalo21352%11144866.8
1997Buffalo21357%17154676.8
1998Buffalo21755%27184378.2
1999Buffalo18153%12123768.2
2000Buffalo19859%18164277.4
2002Atlanta22455%23244772.8
2003Atlanta25064%28153694.0
2004San Diego26261%19232976.6
2005San Diego24360%20104684.7
2006San Diego22357%19166176.6
2007Dallas23359%19194675.1
2008Dallas21161%1985986.2
2009Dallas24260%19114283.5
2010Dallas25964%33203592.8
2011Houston20852%18174469.0
2012Houston24353%29154480.0
2013Houston20759%2973293.9
2015Denver22260%19145278.8
2016Denver20055%13144269.7

Phillips is an older coach, of course, but I think he was a good choice for the Rams. That might be one of the more underrated defenses.

—Ian Allan

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