What to expect from Rams' defense with Chris Shula | NFL reporter Eric Williams joins House of Horns

[Music] welcome to House of horns my name is Victor Corona AKA Victor producer and joining me is a good friend of mine a colleague is a giler anano who does it for Sports Illustrated he's a staff writer there but Gilbert we have a great show for the people today here on House of horns uh before you know I just wanted to usually I ask you a question like we always do but we have a special guest so I'll give you the floor now because I want you to do a proper introduction for a our special guest yeah I don't know why people keep calling me a a good friend and close friend maybe I am a good person I don't I don't know but maybe that's the theme of the show here on House of horns to Rams talk about Rams defense talk about Chris schula talk about the absence unfortunately of Aaron Donald talk about all the young pieces J reverse and uh Braden fist so it's a lot to talk about I keep saying talk about I hate to say talk about lot to discuss about the LA Rams we're going into a different I guess stage or era you could say without Aon Donald so I had to get an expert on a good friend uh I guess you could call him somewhat of a former colleague because we are beat reporters covering the Chargers uh but definitely a good friend and close friend uh and he is the expert he is the wise man uh from Fox Sports covering everything AFC West everything NC West he does it all but he has a close eye on the LA Rams and people have been asking about this here on House of horns what's gonna happen with Chris schula what happened with Rahe Morris Le what happened with Aaron Donald Le what can you tell us about the defense here for the LA Rams with Chris schula so we got the expert Eric Williams jumping on the show Eric how' you like that Intro by the way man intro was fire dude like I I need to like record that so I can use it later on I appreciate you and you're right we we we shared uh some some some beers in in different countries so we're definitely yeah yeah Mexico uh when Philip Rivers threw four interceptions against the Chiefs right Monday Night Football I guess you kind of have to bring that up huh hey but hey it's not what's a BS are Fernando and Dan Danny Ramirez it's uh you talking house of horn so people don't care here but uh Eric you know it is interesting because I like to say colleague but I forget that we're you know somewhat competitors at the time but B reporters feel like colleagues right we're together all the time on the road uh traveling we had a good time at Mexico City at estala I forget we we're probably together 2018 2019 maybe no not Kobe year right no 2018 and 19 I believe and 2018 was a fun year and there goes Fernando get in the comments going uh he is mine and Daniel's friend not yours actually Eric I didn't tell Fernando about this uh I feel kind of went behind his back how do you feel about this somewhat podcast cheating here uh I'm okay with it but you know it's a little scary being stocked by Fernando but that's all good yeah Fernando has the notifications on he's on top of it but uh he does everything for comos on the beach so I do appreciate that but Eric to get this interview started I'll ask two questions here and then we'll have Victor jump in to ask you more but you know we saw your story that you wrote for Fox Sports on Chris schula and honestly it was a good read because a lot of people have been asking like you know what to expect and you know we keep saying I'm like maybe similar like he was around for Brandon Staley and Rahe Moore he's been around for seven years so we expect simil similarities and at least the principles and the foundation you know I saw you mentioned the three four defense and base but I guess from your overall you know impressions of talking with Chris Chula what are you expecting from the Rams defense in 2024 yeah I don't expect it to look a lot different than what it's looked like in the past to be hon be honest because like you said he coasted under Raheem he coasted under Brandon Staley he also coached under Wade Phillips and all those guys ran a three4 scheme or variations of it so I think we're still going to see a lot of similarities however um because you don't have Aaron Donald there I think that's kind of the key piece is like what is he gonna do different in order to generate pass rush because Aaron Donald was such a beast inside and kind of playoff of him um when I talked to Chris about that he noted that they knew how teams were going to block them because of having to deal with Aaron they could kind of play off of that now you don't have that you know massive productive guy inside you're gonna have to figure out different ways to to can uh to get after the the passer you know they drafted Jared verse and Braden Fisk as you mentioned those were their top two P picks they bring back Kobe Turner who had nine sacks last year and Brian Young Who had eight sacks last year so they have some pieces it's just kind of figuring out how they're going to put them together I know uh when Wade Phillips was here the first three years coaching that defense they were amongst the the top 10 in terms of Blitz uh last year I think they were like right in the middle so I think they're probably gonna Blitz a little bit more which makes a little bit of sense when you have a linebacker like Ernest Jones who's good as a Blitzer um so that might be one of the the pieces key pieces um you know that they want to do to kind of ignite that pass rush last thing I'll talk about is just the type of of the way that he wants the defense Chris kind of mentioned that you know his Grand coach in the NFL Hall of Famer obviously talked about keeping things simple you know that it's about shedding blocks pursuit to the football and and having guys not have a lot in their head so they can play fast so I expect to have kind of a simple approach with the illusion of complexity uh to make offenses think in terms of what they're doing schematically that's interesting Eric because a lot of rans fans have been shouting for the last couple years at least the Raheem Morris era to Blitz more get after the quarterback a little more and may maybe I'm could I'm just kind of going off I had another question but I'm gonna Segway here a little bit I may I ask you a little later the one I had planned but I I feel like with the Aaron Donald era like you had a guy who could give you enough you know push and you could do it because you need a lot of help in the back end especially the last couple years with such a young defensive back group you lost Jaylen Ramsey last year and maybe you know what if you Blitz you might get burned and and and you'll get in trouble but you know to go off of that like is that something like that you got a good sense or did he mention it a lot or you know the blitzing or and having more pressure they do have more guys like you mentioned Jared vers you got Fisk and Kobe Turner and you got Byron young you know Michael Hoy can now be coming off as a rotational pass rush through those situations but do do you get that sense or more like you know what let's wait and see but do you feel confident about the blitzing being up more in 2024 I think you have to wait and see I think everybody wants to Blitz but you got to be able to hold up in the back end so if you can't hold up in the back end defensively you can't send guys if you're if you're not really sure that you're going to be able to get home and so I think they they're going to experiment during training camp during these preseason games to see what it looks like see if it makes sense you have two older Corners there on on the edge though when you're talking about Darius Williams coming back and and and Trey if he's going to be healthy enough and then same thing with the safety situation you know not a whole lot of experience so that would lead me to believe that maybe they're going to focus more on trying to get there with their front four and maybe there's going to be a lot of pressure on Kobe Turner even though they're trying not to to put him in that role they're already saying he's moving this three Tech so I mean whether or not you want to you know kind of embrace that I think there's going to be there's GNA be a lot of pressure on him to kind of be able to generate um you know pass rush on his own one last thing I'll say about that I did talk to Wade Phillips for this story and my sense was that you know from watching from just kind of a reporter's perspective is Aaron Donald would draw double teams and that would free up guys to to get singles to be able to be successful we saw that with with Leonard Floyd he had one of his best seasons as a pro you know because he was getting singled up on the edge but when I talked to to coach Phillips he was like no we're trying to get Aaron singled up so he can win so schematically they're trying to do whatever they can whether it's move Aaron to a tackle to get him to one-on ones or trying to free him up with um with with schemes so that he can win because they know he has the the best chance of of winning and I had never really thought about it like that so if that's the case I wonder if going into this year they're going to be trying to do things to get Kobe Turner singled up so he can win because he's probably their best pass treasure coming back Eric I was I was gonna I had a question for you as well but uh you know listening to you talk about Wade Phillips he you know in the story you mentioned the the uh that he took Chris took uh a lot of you know some things from the different coaches whether it was Brandon Staley whether it was Wade Phillips and then of course Rahe morres for yourself like just talking to him how do you think all those philosophy can come together in what he wants to implement for this defense well I think the first thing you have to start with is relationships and I think coach raw was so good at getting guys motivated and kind of building that trust on a day in day out basis with the way that he was on the field and then when you talk to guys in terms of his relationships in those meeting rooms so I think in talking to you know sources about Chris that's one of his strengths is he's he's a good relationship Builder you know Ernest mentioned that you know that he felt that Chris kind of got the most out of him as a position coach so I think he kind of brings that with him as a guy that's moving from position coach to now defensive coordinator where you're standing in front of everybody and addressing all the guys from all the different uh position groups you know as the defense coordinator I think it helps in terms of chemistry and kind of keeping things similar that he's been there for seven years and knows exactly what Shawn McVey wants he's also Al you know one of Shan V's homeboy he played with him at college so those guys probably think similarly in terms of their approach to football and and big picture what they want but then I also think you kind of have to add those other experiences obviously with with Coach Phillips because that's who he was with initially when he was with um when he came over from the Chargers to the Rams he actually coached with a year with John Bano who's uh who's also a disciple of Wade Phillips defense so he had that first year with Bano and then came over to the Rams in 2017 once McVey got the job so I think you can't um leave that out either just in terms of you know being with Coach Phillips and and everything you learned from him and then you know I think the the key piece with Staley is that Vic fangio defense and kind of keeping the a top on the defense keeping the lid on the defense the the the quarters coverage or or the You Know cover two in terms of having two safeties back um so it's kind of a mixture all that you you don't want to give up explosives so I think you kind of think about that in terms of the secondary coverage but then I also think one last thing I'll add to that is the connectivity from your defensive line to the linebackers to the secondary he's Coast at all three levels and so he understands how all those things are intertwined together which I think is important I think if you remember the conversation with the Niners last year with their defensive coordinator is they didn't feel like there was a connectivity between their secondary and their defensive line that's one of the reasons Shanahan moved on is because really the front seven wasn't happy with what was happening within that defense and felt like there there was a disconnect and that's why they didn't play well as all 11 I think with the Rams you can feel comfortable that there's going to be connectivity with all three levels of those defense because schula's been there for seven years and he's Coast all three levels and I think that will help them kind of you know learn that defense fast in terms of what he wants to do yeah and that kind of G get me to my next question in terms of we know they lost coach Henny on the defensive line and as you talked about but how important was it for them to keep Aubrey Pleasant we've heard now in the past week that he was now named uh uh you know what was he a coach as well so how does that how did that help for for schula to be able to keep Aubrey Pleasant I think it was huge um you know Aubrey obviously was a guy that interviewed for the job didn't get it the fact that you're able still keep him on the roster and then you give him like you said that added title of uh Associated head coach or assistant head coach which I'm assuming means more money you got another title um you know those those guys work well together and they know each other and that's one of the things Sean mcve talked about was the experience in terms of the position coaches on that defense you mentioned Obby presant Pleasant who's been with that mcve for a long period of time they bring over GIF Smith who actually was uh the mentor for Coach Henny coach Eric Henderson coached with him uh with the Chargers so you could expect I would think a similar approach with Coach Smith who was a interim head coach for the Chargers it's been around a long period of time uh Greg Williams who actually was a secondary coach with the Chargers and Sheila knew him there you now bring him in to coach linebackers so there's continuity there in terms of those guys know each other and and coach Williams has been in the league a long time and then Chris beak is another guy that's been coaching for a long time as well he was actually a coach coing defensive line with the Seahawks when I covered that team a decade ago so he's been in the league uh a long time as well so just a lot of experience on the defensive side of the football which I think again will help in terms of getting young players up to speed quickly so you can get the most out of them Gilbert okay uh Eric I was I was wondering because you know again like me and Victor had a bunch of question that written out and then like we talked to you it's like okay let's go this way and go this way because you're giving us so so much information but you know I don't know if it's a good question or not but just hearing you talk about all these different schemes and backgrounds that he's come from you know we mentioned Wade and and Brandon and Raheem and in the NFL like obviously it's a copycat league and right now that the trend is before it was fanger right now the trend is Mike McDonald and Jesse Mentor you want to have that but like sometimes it's okay to be ahead of the curve like be ahead and people don't know what to expect like you're not known for this type of scheme or whatever and do you think you might get some of that sense where like he's trying new things a lot you brought that up with the blitzing and the whole Personnel stuff being new players but those different backgrounds is that you know something you think may could be a benefit after the season I think the key thing is versatility it's being able to change week to week based on who you're playing so if you have all these different Tools in your tool bag and you can bring them out and be effective running those things I think it makes you hard as a defense to prepare for I think that's one of the strengths for McDonald is he can give you a lot of variations a lot of different types of looks but then they can still get to what they want to get to out of those different pre-nap looks which makes them uh dangerous and so yeah I definitely think Chris can do something similar because of all of the experience they have together as a as a group of coaches um and they're all in the same page it's not like they're they're coming in and they're throwing a bunch of coaches together that have to kind of learn each other first and learn their strengths and weaknesses and then they could kind of go after that these guys already know each other they they know this this defense inside and out and I think that will help as they coach these young guys get up to speed quickly in terms of their approach how they want to coach how they want them to play Down In and down out and then on a week to week basis being able to make adjustments and you know guys are going to get hurt so it's going to be important that you have depth at those positions that could come in and play close to the potential as a STS a big part of your story Eric was uh uh his grandfather Don schula and you know obviously when you have a name like that in your family you being the grandson of the the old time win head coach of the NFL you would think it would it would be a quicker rise in the in the coaching ranks to be a coordinator and like he took his time and you know did that come about like you know this kind of long road for you know somebody who has a popular last name like that iconic last name in the NFL and is there some added pressure to be Don schula's grandson you think yeah well I mean he's 38 so that's pretty young to be I forget yeah you know he just started really quick and he started right out of college you know and start you know working his way through um I know he talked about the importance of him being a defensive coordinator at that D3 school at John Carroll which you know there's been a number of guys that have come from that school and and gone on to coaching the NFL Josh McDaniels uh Brandon Staley who he actually replaced at the defense coordinator Tom Tesco who we know played at John Carroll you know there's been a lot of names that have gone through that small division three school which is you know kind of odd The Stadium named after Don Chula that's that's where he played um but I think for him just being able to to be in control of a defense call plays and be in charge of position groups and kind of setting the tone even though it's at a much smaller level at least gave him a taste of what he's you know he's going to deal with you know now a decade later um you know I think it's kind of par for the course in terms of his rise as a position coach to where he's at now you know he put his time in and you have to you know give him credit for that he started as a quality control coach with the Chargers then you know kind of worked his way up uh as a position coach at at a couple different uh position groups before you know taking over now you know mcfay feels like he's ready for the job um in terms of his grandfather I think he just sees it as an honor you know to to have that Chula last name and kind of wants to live up to that Legacy but I don't think he sees it as any added pressure I would say the last thing is is this guy's been you know preparing to be a football coach even though he probably didn't realize it since he's three four years old you know being around his grandfather who has so much knowledge and asking him questions and having that access from such a young age I mean it's it's probably just been his expectation you know to do something like this and he probably has just a lot of knowledge that he maybe doesn't even realize that he has because of those those conversations he's had with his grandfather over the years we ask a couple more Eric and and we'll get you out here but really appreciate the time but Victor you know anything else you want to ask before I kind of give him a little more rapid fire kind of questions yeah yeah and I'll just say this in terms you know we we've seen with the coordinators that it takes them a couple years to implement their defense what is a reasonable expectation for Chris schula this season for the Rams because we know what to expect from the offense but we have no idea like as you said I mean you know you made some great points in terms of you know it's been good to see that you you know going back to one of the things that you pointed out was the team that I thought about was the Panthers last year where it was a bunch of completely you know different coaches here you have a lot of con connectivity with you know between the defensive uh backs coaches and then your linebackers coach and now you're defensive coordinator so what is what is a a reasonable expectation for for Chris schula and their defense I think a reasonable expectation is to have a top 15 defense with this group know if I'm being honest and the reason I say that is because I still look at that secondary and I I still feel like they need they need they have some holes that they have to to replenish there so if the secondary plays better than expected then I think the defense will be be better I think the front Seven's going to be pretty pretty good you know even with with Aaron Donald not being there if Kobe Turner comes back and plays like he did last year along with Bryant Young and then you get what you expect from the top two rookies in verse uh in in Braden Fisk one thing I'll say about those two rookies is you know when I covered the 49ers they had Justin Smith and Alden Smith and fist reminds me a little bit of Alden Smith with the way he plays inside and those two guys really played well off of each other so if you can get similar type of play in terms of the connectivity of those two guys coming from Florida State and being on the same team now in terms of being able to run games and kind of play off each other which you've seen some of if you've watched some of their YouTube highlights they could be pretty dangerous up front so I think this team is going to be led from their defensive line play if they're as good as I expect they they're going to be up front that's going to help their backend I think top 15 is a is a reasonable expectation because of you like you said new defensive coordinator no Aaron Donald I think this is going to be a team that's going to be led by their offense CH M um and then the defense is going to get better as the season goes on but I still I think they'll be in top 10 in sacks I think they were in the bottom third in sacks last year I think they had 41 they were kind of in the middle in terms of their pressure rate I think they're GNA be which is kind of weird to say that because Aaron's not here but I do feel like they're going to be able to create more consistent pressure because of the pieces they have in the draft Eric you've been very efficient with your answers because I wanted to ask you earlier I remember now about Kobe Turner and you you nailed it saying hey they're going to make a one-on-one matches with him move him all over the line so we appreciate that response and and then right here with you know you know you're a little sounds like you're a little concerned about the second there you like the defensive front but uh how about you know to end here just to give us your overall view of of the Rams you know they surprised many teams last year to to win 10 games you have that close game against the Detroit Lions but when they when you make the playoffs and you win that many games there there's high expectations to do it again obviously they lost you know Aaron Donald but like you mentioned they added some pieces to the front with Jared vers Braden Fisk and last year puka n the Ricky sensation you got unfortunately kyri Williams is dealing with injuries again but he had a nice season last year Stafford had a nice bounceback Year from 2022 with all the injuries uh but do you see them going back to the postseason do you see them pushing the San Francisco 49ers what's kind of your overall view for this team after the offseason yeah I do see them going back to the postseason again um I was a little higher on the Rams last year than maybe some other folks nationally just because I have so much respect for sha McVey as a head coach and I just didn't see him having a team under 500 again because of his approach and I know he was pretty salty with the way that the season went this year before at five and2 and I think that was kind of eating at him so I thought they would win seven or eight games going into it so they exceeded my expectations in terms of getting 10 wins getting into the postseason um and I think Sean's like ready to just continue to hit the gas so I predicted them to go 10 and seven again just because I think the schedule is tough and because of the the the changes on defense I think they might have some hiccups early um it'll be hard for them to press the ners because the Niners roster is so talented in my opinion uh and they bring everybody back but the games that they played against the ners were close they were they were they were right there um so I expect them to be competitive um I would be surprised if they win 11 or 12 games but I feel like um 10 wins to me is is the floor for this team um and I expect them to to not only get in the postseason but to potentially make a deep uh postseason run if things you know go well for him well Eric as you know uh you know our good friend Dan Ando likes to call me a cur so that one year that sea mcve had a losing season I got to cover the team so when I left to beat to go to work for SI I should have known that the rounds are gonna be better because I think I picked them seven and 10 last year so that's my bad Rams Fans I was the Grim re Reaper in Seattle the first two years I covered the cawks they went 4 and 12 and 5 and 11 and everybody blamed me because it was the first two years I covered the team so I understand your situation okay uh and then they won the Super Bowl right not too long after that wa when when I left okay yeah that's that's tough Eric But Eric last thing anything you want to promote you're doing a great job for Fox Sports and again you're covering the AFC West and the NFC West you got a lot on your play but anything we should be looking out for uh doing a story on on Ricky piol their first round pick for for San Francisco uh and just kind of you know the transition he's making from you know college to pros and just you know kind of getting more of an opportunity because you know Brandon auk is not uh in OTAs right now because he's that in contract talk so I'll have that up uh coming up in a day or two and then also doing something on Trey Benson the running back for the Cardinals and they you know kind of adding to the running back room a guy that could be a home run hitter for them in terms of the running game see I like Trey Benson that's why I'm high in the Cardinal people think I'm I'm a little little Loco here on House of horns and comos on the be because I have them winning nine games maybe that's a little too high uh but I like like what they're doing offensively I got him at 8 n i mean I think they're going to dble their wi to pretty good yeah the defense is a problem but they added a little more pieces to that to that unit so this is why we could talk Eric to to Eric for days because he covers all all these teams here but Eric I told you 20 minutes it's 25 I'm sorry about that but I'm sure you you had more fun here than what's up B so I think I think we're good I enjoy it either way and I'll enjoy the beer that you buy me when we see you later hey there you go for thank you Eric appreciate the time man thank you Eric have a good one guys have a good man that was awesome yep it was that was that was some great stuff from um Eric there let me just fix one more item there I like when interviews don't go as planned that sounds a little bad but like sometimes boring when you're like okay let me ask my next question my next question Eric is like you know sometimes you know answering the qu giving you answer to the next question it's like okay I got got to be my toes and then you know going off of what he saying and the whole thing about the the blitzes uh you know maybe some concerns with the secondary you know liking them to go 10 and seven go back to the postseason uh the whole story with Chris Shula and the connections there so I thought it was a great interview Vic I I did too I mean there was a lot there where he gave us a bunch of stuff that you know once we once you started you got him going he gave us a uh a lot of things that I kind of wanted him I wanted wanted to ask him and so once he went into I kind of had to Pivot and he still gave us a bunch of stuff that I was really you know uh uh I I really took away I I think the biggest takea away from me Gilbert is the fact that you know I didn't think about this um and and he and what he brought up is the the fact that they're all connected like the the even though they lost coach Henderson the defensive line and you talked about this you've brought this up I thought it was it was important to keep all those guys the rest of that coaching staff and as you saw Rahe Morris even pooched some of those guys from the ramps but he did so on the offensive side so I thought bringing you know bringing in his uh his his uh what was it uh who who's the new defensive line coach again oh GI Smith GI Smith bringing him I thought was a a big get for them and I I I just I that was my biggest takeaway Gilbert I don't know about you yeah uh you know getting to know GIF with the Chargers everybody loved the guy Jo aboso loved him and then I honestly forgot that Shula was with the Chargers until I read uh Eric's story so obviously G GIF and Sheila know each other and a bunch of connections there and and like I told like I was telling Eric like you know hearing all the types of ideas he wants to kind of maybe experiment with it could be good and bad you know good as in like you're going to be ahead of the curve you're going to try new things you're going to be uh people don't know what to expect from you you're not a copycat uh scheme but like like you mentioned you mentioned the Panthers like when you do a little too much you get in trouble but they were doing too much with with coaches who weren't connected and it seems like they're connected right here so that's the positive trying to try a lot of new things and then hearing Eric talk about Kobe Turner and how Eric said it himself that he feels like Kobe Turner is the best pass rusher and he's an interior guy so that kind of makes me think like maybe this scheme might look very similar to the way they use Aaron Donald because it's all built on feeding Aaron Donald so if Kobe Turner is your best guy on the defensive front then you're going to feed the guy but that requires moving him all over the front maybe some like Aaron Donald sometimes put it on the edge and like he mentioned I think it sounds GNA play the three tech there so uh it's gonna be a big season for Cobe Turner and I honestly thought I was like well they won't put too much on the guy because they got brayen Fisk and they also spent a capital on Jared verse but like he might be the focal guy and I it it was actually uh uh uh different for me to hear that because I thought it's going to be kind of a collective group uh but it could be kind could be a be in the story and the other guys kind of helping at the same time and I'm sure uh RAM fans's ears perked up when when he said that there might be a little bit more blitzing I mean that's what they've been asking for from this defense so you might see a little bit more more blitzing from this defense and I thought the other thing too was the the comparison that he saw between the two 49er um defensive players from the past to what he's seen from Brandon Fist and and Jared verse I thought that was another good another good thing I hadn't even even thought about I mean having I you know and just reading you know a lot of the be reporters talk about and and you know some of the answers that you know that have come in from from the coaches that that have spoken about those two guys I think the biggest reason that they overpaid for Brandon Fizz was because uh they they like how well they played with each other how well the and so for them it was worth overpaying for that and so that'll be something to keep an eye on Gilbert and we'll we'll get into it as we as we go further into the show but in terms of you know I I want to ask you what are some storylines that you'll be you know looking at from OTAs as we get into it but just wrapping up the the the Eric Williams conversation when i s when I first read his story I thought number one I thought it was really impressive of him to be the first one to talk to Chris because nobody's I haven't seen anybody else to him so that shout out to to Eric for being the first one yeah and uh I'm sure Eric is very connected he's covered the Chargers I'm guessing he knew Shula from those days and he's also covered the Rams and he's been spending time like I mentioned covering the AFC West and the NFC West as a whole but before I give you my last Point Victor Let's uh let's just's Dro that engagement question because it does tie in with the Eric Williams interview here so for the engagement question of the week uh don't be shy we got some comments already from Michael Willie and James and Fernando got it started but let me know your biggest takeaway from the interview with Eric Williams hopefully you caught it if you're a little late uh make sure you do the rewind or or watch the replay version of the episode here but um and I know I know we're don't we don't do the best job of promoting some of these interviews are kind of last minute but we you brought up the idea hey get Eric Williams on he had the Chris schula uh feature and I just remember a lot of people keep asking about Chris schula and and I kind of feel like we haven't given the best answer because it's more like lot of uh unknowns and a lot of waai and see and I'm like I don't want to talk on something that I don't really know so we got the expert who talked to him Eric Williams hopefully that helped out so if you're late uh check that out if you if you caught it let us know in the comments your biggest takeaway from the interview with Eric uh but the last thing uh I'll touch on you know he sound a little concerned about the secondary and yeah I I could definitely see that because they are older cornerbacks and you know but the young guys haven't really panned out either so I get why they kind of bet on some older guys the be in the Rams like you know Kobe Durant didn't have that kind of set forward uh Darion Kendrick has been up and down uh did decid not to pay a kilo wither spoon uh but they're kind of banking on trevius white to have a a healthy season sometimes when you go back to a former player like a Daris Williams that they did it last year with John Johnson just doesn't really work out so I can see the concern there and then cam Crow being the safety from the commanders like cam Crow was part of a very terrible secondary group so I do have concerns about him too so that kind of gives me some positive thing about I guess on on the on the negative side but I'm totally with Eric on the defense in front I like how much they invested in that and then thinking ahead last year because they the picks the F the first four out of six picks this year were defensive front guys they spent Capital last year on defensive front guys because they probably already knew Aaron Donald had a year or two left so you know that's going to pay off but there's issues at linebacker with dep there could be some issues in secondary so I love the question that you asked Victor about what are some reasonable expectations for this defense and Eric said you know uh uh somewhere in the middle and I could definitely see that too yeah and part of it is because look we we talked about after our show last week and we said are we being too positive on this Rams team you've talked to people around the league who have told you that they're really high on the Rams and so my biggest thing is always like are we just do we just have blinders on here and and that's why I keep asking like what is a reasonable expectation for this Rams defense because they lose Aaron Donald we know that but then how do you fill in and now we've we're starting to get some answers and we'll get even more more as we go into training camp with this defense I still want to see you know that secondary in terms of the safeties and how you know how do they mesh we don't know what they're going to as you talked about that's a great Point by you with with travius you know white and then you know with Williams as well we we don't know how this is going to look I also you know and and we got a little bit more insight from Eric and and because he's he's he was able to talk to Chris and so we got a little bit more you know more information on that but I I just think I think if we if we have some concerns going into the season Gilbert when it comes to the Rams I think it's that secondary and Eric poed it out uh perfectly I'll say this and I'm not just trying to myself in the back but you know we we should be we should be a little weary of predictions that that just pick all the good teams from last year like Victor you're a big person that speaks about this like you talk about well every year is different that's why the the salary cap the schedule it's all designed for quick turnaround and different teams and not have it repetitive obviously the Chiefs can winning but they're kind of an exception and when Eric agreed with me about the Cardinals winning eight or nine games I'm like cool like like expecting some surprises too because you're looking a little deeper and when he said the Rams could be could go 10 and seven I'm like cool like it's not just you know Eric and people thinking well because they they won last they're going to go back like he's looking a little bit of everything uh he's talking to Ricky pel from the 49ers because he's trying to get to know the new 49er players so Eric does his homework about changes and newcomers coaching staffs and and honestly you know like I can't keep up with Eric when it talks when it comes to football scheme I know he knows how to break it down he played football so whenever I get around Eric I pick his brain about about scheme I kind of just ask a little general question and then he breaks it down but he knows his stuff and you know when Eric says that he's not gonna give you like the Homer take well like he he doesn't I think he lives in San Diego that's not too far from LA but you know he he covers the team pretty well but he knows how to look under every Rock and when he gave us Insight on the 49ers very quickly Cardinals and the Rams at the end I'm like you know definitely he knows what he's talking about yeah and I would love to have him back on if he he's available to kind of do a Roundup on the on the NFC West because I mean we have to talk about the rest of the The Division I mean we're just talking about the Rams here but you know they are you know they are going to face these opponents twice this season whether's the Seahawks which he's covered before you got he's gonna as he said he's got a story coming out on Trey Benson and the Cardinals and then as well as a 49ers so he's a good guy to make sure go go and and uh go and check out that article as we talked about called the Rams C replace Aaron Donald but Chris schula grandson of Don has a plan so and it's on foxsports.com make sure you go and check it out and we appreciate his time gilber but um I was goingon to ask you do you be I kind of want to switch things up before we get to Rams news and notes unless you you want to give the update on the Rams puka AA Jersey do you want to get to that next there's there's I don't know if it's good news not for uh is it rick Drummond 2025 uh there's there's good and bad news and it I guess the good news is that I guess this person never claimed the pukan AOA Jersey so it it's still available it's just the bad news is uh I haven't done the second uh I guess raffle on chat GB GPT is it CH I I always forget it chat BT whatever on AI there you go artificial intelligence so uh and I was hoping I could get it done before the show because I want to have people here who who won but I gave Rick Rick Drummond Ricky Drummond plenty of time to come and announce himself so uh so just for the good news we're gonna eventually have another drawing for the PUK nula Jersey there you go guys still available uh but uh I haven't done it yet so hopefully for the next show I can announce the winner and hopefully somebody claims it but uh I guess the the the longer this goes the more time I have to save my money to buy to buy this jersey uh because we want to make sure it's a nice Jersey not not the one on eBay or teu or wish or whatever I'm trying to get you the real dude here so on Instagram yeah or yeah whatever but we're gonna make sure whoever wins it we're going to take care of them but uh give me some time to to do the the proper uh raffle on the on the machine here all right well let's get to now that we've kind that out of the way Gilbert let me get to these comments and then we'll close out with ram news and notes you know that way we don't you know direct the show I mean and I'll cut the uh Eric Williams um um uh that part of it and then I'll repost it so that way people can check it out after this so let's start off with Willie Bowen here he says opposing quarterbacks beware here comes the LA Rams defense horns up uh Michael armenta checks in says what up goas what up Michael it's good to see uh he says it will be interesting who will be the defensive captains do you have any uh uh who it might be do you have any I'll say Ernest Jones yeah that's yeah that'll be one was he one last year I lost track of the ones last year but uh that's probably like the maybe like a n he's too young Kobe Turner he's he's one of their best players I would say I would say if if you if you ask me I would say it's gonna be Kobe Turner and and Ernest Jones that that would be my guess yeah Kobe Turner when I hear him talk he's pretty mature so those be the two right there and then I don't I don't know about the secondary right now yeah just because they're coming in maybe like uh uh travius white or you know maybe Williams coming back maybe he's got some juice there but that that's a good question it'll be interesting to see which who is going to be the defensive captains now with Aaron Dono Gan uh Billy uh Willie Bowen says Jones Turner versus fist uh forsome uh fome forsome of the era of the LA Rams Horn s up and then James Wheelock says it depends on how the corners play for blitzing so that's also too and you asked them about that as well in terms of whether or not I mean it and and he answered about he answered that as well so that that'll be something to keep an eye on I think that's one of those things where you know I think next week we'll kind of start talking about storylines that we want to see during training camp we'll start getting into that and I I think that'll be something to you know a storyline is going to be the the secondary Michael armenta says I hope Chula works out well with the group he has um and then delber says Eric Williams Good Stuff Compass still have my doubts about the linebacker position we'll have a chance in close games with field go and that's another storyline Gil we'll get into is the the new kicker the rookie that'll be some something to talk about in the coming weeks uh DJ fono says a good thing schula is isn't new to the ram franchise it could be worse if he was a new coordinator and then we got Ram so holic he says what's good ramal what's going on ra ramso holic rolic yeah I like that that's a cool name and then uh we have your one of your good friends here Jorge says Gilberto and then M gu says so you're telling me there's a chance and he's talking about the Jersy here I want to say Michael you actually have a good chance I saw you have many uh entries into to the pukan Jersey giveaway yeah it's a DJ who says one of my boys just texted me this week and told me he was going to become a ram fan so I'm getting him his first jersey either a puka or a cup hope the good kind hopefully not from wish and then last comment here is from Jorge again says Gil's predictions have me on point lately my boy's a prophet there you go he's a little sarcastic horge but you know you are telling the truth because I did pick Alexander yusk to beat Tyson Fury but people are mad at me because I chose the charges to go seven and 10 so hopefully I'm not too accurate for your sake and Willie Bowen says who's going to be the leader in sacks on the LA Rams it's hard to pick an interior guy but Co Turner is really good and after hearing Eric say he's our best pass rusher I'll go with Kobe Turner and the way they're gonna use him too single matchups I'm with you especially after what Eric said I'm I'm with you uh DJ fos that's a good place man downtown LA yeah uh rri says Gilbert's been a different man ever since that I've been feeling myself a little bit I've been I've been guaranteeing the Cardinals will win nine games the commanders will win nine games the Packers not make the playoffs I'm feeling it right now all right G let's finish strong here we got Rams news and notes uh so the Rams are moving their training camp to LMU I was going to ask you guys about this uh you and Eric but I I felt like it was more important to ask him about you know Chris schula and everything that was going on with the defense just because we needed some answers there but what's your thoughts on the ram moving training camp to LMU I I was more curious about what the heck happened to Will and Hills like obviously the the the whole the building that was kind of like still in the early stages for the facility but it sound like they're going to have like a temporary site and have some you know Fields there and that to me feels like they weren't ready to do that so they might have G given up on herbine too soon that's the the feel that I got obviously I haven't I haven't talked to anybody about this so I don't want to put too much stck into it but it kind of felt like because you know just being around the team that 2022 year they've been rushing to get to Willen Hills and get get it going it just been a lot of Hiccup after hiccup after Hiccup and maybe this was the latest snag we're like ah crap because like why would you give up Irvine when people love that facility or that training campsite if you weren't ready to go to wooding Hills I think something came up but it's not the the worst thing honestly Vic I can't remember the last time I've been on that campus LMU it's a nice campus so I I'm looking forward to see how they do it it's not the worst thing you're right in the middle of La uh maybe that's better for people you know I'm actually Gonna Leave the valley pretty soon so I'm not too mad about it it's a it's a quicker drive for me in training camp but uh you know it's not the worst thing but I just wonder behind the scenes what the heck happened with Willen Hills but maybe it's better this way because when you go to Willen Hills you want to roll out everything like the nice facility everything shiny brand new that's what the Chargers are doing on elsag gondo uh so maybe I'm just kind of you know I'm making stuff up here but it just felt like just knowing how how many hiccups they've had May that could be it yeah I just think that you know and I I passed by the will and Hill willing Hill Side every day I could have told you that they weren't gon to be ready I mean I'm yeah I mean it I've been going through it and then you see um coach McBay I think it was was it during the draft or was it was no during the schedule release he was talking about that he was still in a little shed there they had he's had the same office for seven years he said since he's been there so that's been my other question why why has it taken so long I guess we'll we'll have to have someone on to kind of explain what the situation is with that because it's it's been going on it's been going on for a while now and so seeing McVey kind of joke about it I know he's he's not happy about that and then one more Point here gilber that I saw too is that at LMU players and coaches and staff will return to living in dorms for several weeks after staying at a luxury hotel in Newport Beach and bus to herbine campus the last yearo year so no more uh cushy Newport Beach luxury hotel they're going to be living in dorms is that going to be a good thing or a bad thing I don't know uh I don't I think it's a bad thing or a good thing I I actually don't I'm not a I'm not too big on uh I know Fernando is and maybe yourself on like bonding time and all that stuff and and going through the struggle and having these these hard beds like no like these are professional football players you got to give them the best of the best but I don't think it's a big deal I'm sure these dorms are okay it's still a private school right it's I'm sure they're fine yeah they'll be fine honestly I think it's just kind of something interesting and honestly I think for them in terms of practice they SC it'll be better for them to be at LMU as opposed to Will and Hills I think Will and Hills you know I mean I saw there're still you know OTAs are taking place in Thousand Oaks so I mean and and it hasn't been that hot out here in La for some reason it's kind of like June Gloom in May so they they they'll be fine and it's it's you know they're closer to the Chargers out there too which I thought was kind of weird because you know the it's Elsa gondo and then Marina del re which is where l mu is at so I mean they're close by and it it's just kind of interesting that you know and also pretty cool to see that we're going to have five teams in Southern California doing their training camp so I'm sure you you as a someone who covers a league is uh really excited about that yeah I'll probably like you know pick a week to spend time like it's good about spending like sometimes in training camp you kind of you go for a day and then you leave and you don't really get a lot of connections but if I get to pick a week with this team a week with that team and that could be pretty good sounds good um so one of the things that um Eric talked about was Karen Williams or was it you I think but he won't be participating in OTAs due to a foot issue he will be returning for training camp so I already saw people you know talking about fantasy football they're already saying go and pick a Blake Corum because I mean uh and then we you you've been a big advocate here over you've said hey I mean kyen Williams is nice but he just can't stay healthy and I think that's going to be a a theme throughout his career Gilbert I wonder if they already knew about the injury the Rams and that's why they kind of like you know what let's let's take Blake Corum right here and they also know his injury history like he's not the the thing about his his strengths he he plays between the tackles he plays physical he he kind of resembles more of a Workhorse back but he's a small a body player like he's he's a small dude who plays bigger than he is he's a great pass protector too but when you're that physical and you don't have the size that's that's a lot of wear and tear on the body and that's what worries me about Ken Williams and I remember his rookie year like like how much they raved about him and and sha mcve admited like hey we had big plans for Kyon as rookie year and then he got hurt on the opening kickoff and and you kind detered everything they had to go through this forced marriage with Cam Acres this and that but you know and then last year they really struggled Witham so I think they protected them themselves with the Blake cor pick here it's just it's kind of like you know what here we go again with him hopefully he's healthy because I kept saying last year he's the the one who makes his Rams offense go yeah puka is great and all and Stafford is too but I think this new kind of scheme that McVey rolled out last year went around Kiren Williams yeah and I mean it just sucks I mean it's it just goes to your point I mean that's why you you know and I understand why people make fun of sha mcve who and and Les need for drafting running backs every year but you just don't know like you know and I I've seen it with the schemes whether it's the the Shanahan scheme the M their running backs usually end up getting hurt because of it as you said because they run them between the tackles so that's the reason why they usually end up drafting running backs every year and I don't blame them uh that's a good way to go and it's a it's it's cheap especially if you're getting them in the third or fourth round I mean that's it sucks for the value of the running backs but if if you're a smart organization you're gonna go and that's the way to go all right good we're moving on here Matthew Stafford has participated in OTAs when McVey was asked if he was confident Stafford would be at training camp he said quote I'm confident that he's been out there leading the way uh Stafford is scheduled to earn 31 million this season Gilbert uh he has two additional year left on the extension he signed in 2022 but salaries of 27 million and 26 million are not guarantee the next two years so and then I I think he's got like a five million roster bonus next season and that's it Gilbert um do you expect they'll get a a contract done before training camp starts I I think so and him showing up to OTAs says a lot about that like it's a strong sign where he's showing up to OTAs it's not mandatory and he's still showing up even though he knows he doesn't have that much guaranteed money on his contract and then it goes back to what Gary Klein said when he told us here on House of horns he he's not too worried about it he expects the Rams and Stafford to figure it out like I think maybe this was last year and he was like going into last year and he was doing that it's like you're were still waiting to see can I recover from all the injuries like is he still gonna be that guy and the way he played last year I think I I think he's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL he won the Super Bowl already so it's not like here where you're kind of like you know Derek Carr or Dak Prescott and and you don't want to like you know I don't want to pay this guy because he hasn't done much he hasn't really proven himself or or it's like he hasn't played like a like a top 10 quarterback consistently like it's it's not that situation the issue here is that he's a little older but I don't think the maybe the like who knows what really was going on behind the scenes maybe the Rams like remember the the the rumors about Safford being possibly traded this and that and they probably were thinking you know what let's get out of this contract after a year or two I don't think that's the same thinking anymore because the way he bowled out last year so I think they're gonna get it done it's not like he's like a like a 40y old yeah he's a little older at 35 but when you have a good quarterback like that a proven one one that's won a Super Bowl you don't hesitate to take care of them the tricky part Victor is like he is older so how do you treat all these contracts for quarterbacks going up how do you treat that for an older player uh I think he's one of those unique ones because I guess maybe Dak Prescott could be one he's not as old as I mean Dak is not as old as Stafford but he that would be his third contract right so when you're on the third contract or whatever it is for Stafford you treat that differently than a guy who hasn't gotten paid with the guy on the second contract you pay a crapload for that like the Jordan loves and the TU tangoa uh the Trevor Lawrence and you know maybe a blue a blueprint could be Jared go that was his third contract he got the second one was with uh with the with the Rams the thing with j golf he's just he's younger though so how do you treat that these are going to be interesting uh contract points here and I'm trying to maybe I might have terrible memory but I'm trying to remember the last time where maybe like maybe Aaron Rogers could be a good example it was a lot of two threee deals with a lot of money uh but again yeah up front so I don't I don't know and then a big signing Bon is where the player could opt in or opt out things like that they get a little complicated for players that age who are still playing pretty well yeah the the thing I was thinking about as you were talking there Gil was you know one of the things with with Stafford is in terms of you know looking at a new contract for him I think you're right I think you do like a two-year a two-year deal for him and and then the other thing I thought about gilber was um what do you you know do you see him being part of the window with the with the young you know core that they have you know is it is it are they gonna move are they going to be in step with with with the new the new crew that they have coming in with the puka neua the Kiren Williams you know it's cup and and and Stafford so that's the other thing to kind of keep in mind here that's why I think it makes sense to kind of extend him for another two years where you you leave an a an option for that second year um because he's getting paid for this year so as you talked about I think the best way to go about it is to give him some upfront money to kind of take care of him for the next two years but it'll be interesting I just don't know you know and and we talked about it too they asked him to take a pay cut Gilbert and he was like no I'm not doing that and so that's another thing to kind of keep in mind now he has a leverage I I don't blame him for asking you know whatever he asked for whether it's a three-year deal with upfront money he deserves to ask for it because he has a leverage right now they didn't go they went and they signed Jimmy garoo who has a a you know he's being supended for the first two games and then they've never really you know we we saw we'll get into it next week if we have a show but ston Bennett is back that's a are you confident that he could be a backup quarterback the first two games of the Season we'll get into those kind of things but that that's just you know a lot of question marks when it comes to the Rams and I don't think they want to go there they you're better off just taking care of it and then you know just buying the bullet at this point Gilbert yeah and the more thing about it well Kurt Cousins you know you know not as old as Stafford but he still got $100 million guaranteed and he's not as proven as Matthew staffer so I think he's gonna get paid in that $50 million per year range but it could be maybe a three-year contract with a with an out after two years but to answer your question I I think it's he's gonna be part of this Core group and it's also going to be a little easier to pay him because you won't have Aaron Donald on the books I don't know about Cooper Cub's future and maybe you find that way I haven't really studied the contract yeah the next the next year is going to be tough I mean that's this that's why they're they're trying not to move any more money from him because next year is the year where you can kind of get out of it with about an $18 million cap hit this is the year where you're just going to eat it eat it now so that's so you just take that contract and then if if if it doesn't go with cup or maybe you make them take a pay cut or or whatever then you still because without cup and and Donald being on the books with those massive contracts you could easily pay your quarterback and the rest of the the crew they're all young like pauka won't be due for a while uh you know Kyon Kobe turn so that's the luxury so I think when these young guys these core guys are due for their massive extensions that's when you kind of think about the end of Stafford but with the ram building such a strong roster like they're not still on the level you know of what the 49ers the Chiefs have done but I think you know building the front the next couple drafts you're always going to see the Rams connected and it already happened this year connected to drafting a quarterback for the future the the Jordan love Aaron Rogers kind of deal so even if saffre gets paid I would not be shocked if they try to kind of think think about like a succession plan yeah and they have to because you don't know how many more years Stafford I mean he played great last season and as we talked about two years ago everybody like I said the Rams asked him for to take a pay cut and now here we are where he's asking for an extension um and then just going through these real quick Gilbert Ernest Jones wasn't in attendance uh for OTAs uh because of an excused absence and then the other one was newly signed guard uh Jonah Jackson is not participating in 11 on1 situations because of some quote some things that some things after the season that made him quote not quite ready for full participation according to McVey but I wouldn't put too much stock into it I mean training camp is where you kind of are waiting for that's that's the one where you start being concerned about you know guys like Karen Williams not being there and even Jonah Jackson but yeah that's pretty much what we've gotten from otaa so far anything that has stood out for you not really obviously the injury stuff you got to monitor but like you mentioned you don't really worry about it into training camp and there you know I know Mur mini camp which will be middle of June they it picks up a little bit a little more intense intense workouts things like that so obviously you want to be there for that it's only like a couple days that's why they call it minicap right so you know I don't like this time of year because people try to make things a big deal that shouldn't be a big deal uh but I think once we get to June and mandatory mini camps I'll feel more like okay maybe could be some bigger things here yeah I'm I'm with you let me just go through these uh uh comments that came in after we started uh news and notes and then we'll close it up here uh DJ fono says Ro R Dress for Less I'll save myself 50 bucks yes sir there you go uh DJ fono is asking are you guys going to opening day which is against the 49ers I won't be going because I usually do I usually watch the game from my house and then we kind of do the postgame show but you said Gilbert that you're not going to be doing Sunday games anymore but because this might be a big game you might be there I don't know you're I don't know what your Situation's going to be by then week three probably not I'm going to try to stay away from Sunday games maybe don't time I go to Sunday games is the playoffs but uh maybe I could you know Circle that a Thursday night game against the Vikings there's a couple other ones that at home too on prime time that I'll definitely try to be at and maybe could uh maybe do something uh with with listeners of House of horns before the game and kind of set that up before a Prime Time game yeah that' be great I you know that that'll be a cool thing uh Willie Bowen wants to know what's the status of big Rick Tyler higgy and honestly last we heard Gilbert was that he they they they don't expect him to be back till either mid midseason or even later in the season so I just don't see him being much of an impact this season if he does it it'll be towards the end of the season yeah they that's why they loaded up on some tight ends they got Kobe Parkinson uh you still got uh was it Dennis Allen some of the people on blanking on but they they've been protected with that yeah and lastly uh Miko say Karen Williams already HT hurt already so yeah that's the story but I mean you rather he be hurt now than during the regular season but Gilbert that was thanks again for getting us uh Eric Eric Williams that was a great he dropped a bunch of nuggets on us there if you were if you wanted to know about the defense now you have a little bit more you know if you're a ram Fant you have a little bit more knowledge as I said go and read his article which is called uh what is it called the Rams can replace Aaron Dono but Chris schula grandon son of Don has a plan on foxsports.com um it you know it's it's he has a lot more stuff that he goes in depth in there so if you're interested and find out more about what you can expect from the Rams defense go and check out his articles but it was an awesome get by you Gilbert thanks again for for setting that up yeah no problem and like I mentioned uh a lot of people have been asking about what a Chris scha defense could look like and uh we got the expert on it Eric Williams and he was uh gracious with his time uh he broke it down some uh insightful responses some honest responses so uh definitely check it out if you missed the the first half of the show yeah and I'll um I'll re I'll cut up the video and you know Reload It Up upload it so that way people can enjoy just like we did with with uh with with the who was it that we had on I'm like blank K Gary Gary Klein there we go well I'll do the same as well with that one so yeah it's great stuff Gilbert uh we got a lot of stuff done as we said this is our ninth uh episode of the offseason uh you know it's been great you know with all the content that we've been getting and then I we have one last comment here or yeah one last comment and it's from Delbert P Saros so with that gilber go ahead and close us out another a good episode with with a lot of content you know and you know hey thanks shout out to everybody who keeps you know everybody who joined us today Gilbert Delbert Michael Willie DJ fono B who's a Chargers fan it's awesome to see people jumping in who are fans of other teams Willie Bowen um you know Ramah holik you know um so and even Fernando you know I told him that I I had a little I might do a little something with the uh introduction so that was awesome to see him on here as well but uh Gilbert go ahead and uh since you're a good friend and colleague go ahead and close us out here yeah another good episode here of House of horns I am a good friend and a good colleague and you know hopefully uh maybe next week or I got to talk to you Victor when we'll have another show maybe uh next week or the week after we'll announce I guess the the new winner for the pukan AA Jersey because Ricky Drummond never appeared maybe he was a maybe's a I was gonna make a terrible joke he was a one-time person for the show onetime yeah I gonna say uh something else but uh yeah we're trying to give you a few more episodes uh through mandatory mini camp and then after that will probably take some time off for the data period we have a few vacations lined up here but uh you want to get you some more content uh through OTAs and through mini camp and hopefully announce a winner for puku nagua Jersey but it's time to go uh we appreciate everybody jumping on check out the the replay version of of this episode with Eric Williams and thank you to Eric for jumping on again but it's time to go on that note yanos