Rams' Chris Shula Details Strides Made By Defense

On Wednesday, Sean McVay spoke about Rams defenders Quentin Lake and Jaylen McCollough, diving into their contributions and their impact on Shula's defense.

Q: What areas has Quentin Lake improved this season?

“He’s so versatile," stated McVay. "He's so tough. The majority of his snaps are coming from the nickel slot position. You get a lot of play opportunities. You're around the football based on how the landscape of the league unfolds. There’s a lot of inside-out passing. There's a lot of the perimeter control and some of the RPOs and the screen game."

"He’s been outstanding. I think his technique is great. I think if you just watch the way that he plays snap in and snap out, this guy's a dog. He has such a great way about being able to lead his teammates. He's so damn smart. He's so tough. I think technically he's playing really well in the coverage phases. He does a lot of different things where you're, in essence, in some of the traffic situations that inside linebackers are in. He's stout. He's a complete football player. Then when we're on our base defense, he's playing safety. I love Quentin Lake. I'm really grateful to be working with him and I've been really pleased and proud of what he's done through the first three weeks.”

Q: Could you talk about Jaylen McCollough’s sack against the Eagles?

“I think those types of plays, they bring momentum to the whole team," stated McVay. "You get a free runner because there's a little bit of confusion. They try to quick snap you right there. It’s big time. He's had a couple sacks already this year."

"We had a couple situations where there were some free runners the other day and I think we've done an excellent job. Our defensive coaches, Chris [Shula] and those guys are doing a good job of putting people in the right positions. Ultimately, the players are then delivering and ‘Tank’ [Jaylen McCollough) is guy that brings great energy all the time. That was a big time play for us.”