The Los Angeles Rams have had a busy offseason as they worked to solidify a defense that was ranked 14th in the NFL last year. The Rams most recent acquisition is defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who agreed to terms on a one-year deal with Los Angeles on Monday.
Suh will pair with fifth-year player Aaron Donald, who got to quarterbacks 11 times in two of his past three seasons and has 39 career sacks. The duo, along with defensive tackle Michael Brockers, should also improve the Rams' 28th-ranked run defense.
Among the other offseason additions are a new pair of starting cornerbacks – Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib. The Rams traded for both.
While Pro Football Focus believes opposing NFC West offensive coordinators should be scared of the Rams' new-look defense, one San Francisco 49ers player doesn't seem too worried. Pierre Garçon directed an Instagram post to teammate Marquise Goodwin saying, "They still can't stop us."
Create a custom 49ers jersey ⇨Garçon and Goodwin joined the 49ers at the same time. They were both part of general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan's initial free agent haul in March of 2017. Garçon only played half the season after a neck injury against the Philadelphia Eagles forced him to go on injured reserve. He never had an opportunity to catch a pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Goodwin came close to surpassing 1,000 yards for the first time in his career while taking over as the 49ers' number one receiver. A concussion suffered during Week 17, which was against the Rams, left him just 38 yards shy of the milestone.
"No Huddle" podcast co-host Zain Naqvi doesn't seem to be too concerned either, saying the 49ers will merely avoid running up the middle and instead attack the Rams' linebackers. Naqvi has repeatedly noted that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's quick release can often hide deficiencies along the 49ers' offensive line, which added center Weston Richburg and guard Jonathan Cooper during the offseason.
Al Sacco, who is Naqvi's co-host, believes the 49ers not responding directly to the Rams' short-term moves is a wise decision.
The #49ers shouldn't let what the Rams do effect their long-term plan at all. 1) They don't play the Rams 16 times, and 2) The Rams will be scary for a year or two, I'm more interested in the Niners being scary for the next decade.
— Al Sacco (@AlSacco49) March 26, 2018
Peters and Suh are signed through 2018 while Talib is signed through 2019.
