Defense has been a lost art for so long in this corner of the NFL. From 2006 through 2011 for example, encompassing the head-coaching tenures of Scott Linehan and Steve Spagnuolo, the Rams yielded 30 or more points on 37 occasions.
This is where fantasy football numbers came to thrive — for teams playing the Rams, that is. Then came Jeff Fisher in 2012, a veteran coach with a reputation for tough, physical, aggressive defense.
The earlier Fisher Rams teams alternately teased and tormented on defense. As draft picks and free agents arrived — mainly draft picks — a young defense showed flashes of strong play but experienced more than its share of growing pains.