The Los Angeles Rams have looked like the NFL's best team for much of the 2018 season. That changed a bit last week as their defense allowed the Seattle Seahawks to carve them up on the ground and through the air, but the Rams still managed to pull out a win and move to 5-0. Their next test comes this weekend against the Broncos.
For some members of the organization, that means playing against their former team. One of those people is defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who served in the same role for the Broncos during the 2015 and 2016 seasons. During that time, the Broncos had arguably the best defense in football -- both seasons.
| Year | Yards | Points | Run DVOA | Pass DVOA | DVOA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 2016 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 1 | 1 |
| AVG | 2.5 | 3.5 | 12.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
The defense was led by the pass-rush duo of Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware and the corner trio of Aqib Talib, Chris Harris Jr., and Bradley Roby. They also had players like Derek Wolfe, Malik Jackson, Brandon Marshall, Danny Trevathan, T.J. Ward, and Darian Stewart. But Phillips, with his mind for pressure and creative concepts, got a lot of the credit for just how good the defense was.
Ahead of his first game against his former squad, Phillips says he got way too much credit.
Wade Phillips on his time with Broncos: “I got too much credit when I was there... I was just riding on the train clanging the bell.” #rams #broncos
— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) October 11, 2018
Modesty is an attractive quality at times, but Phillips is being entirely too modest here. He's one of the best defensive minds in the history of football, and arguably the game's best defensive coordinator ever. He had a whole lot to do with just how good those Broncos teams were, and he shouldn't be afraid to admit it.
