Mike Waufle is expected to be named the
Rams' defensive line coach when Jeff Fisher announces all of the
coaching staff hires in the coming days. Odd fact about Waufle: he's
never worked with Jeff Fisher up until now, and isn't related to
Fisher or anyone else in the Rams organization. Then again, I didn't review
marriage records.
Waufle has been the Raiders' defensive
line coach the last two years. He got his pro start in Oakland,
coaching d-line there from 1998-2003. The Raiders had 39 sacks last
season, which tied the, yes, Rams for 15th in the league.
Tommy Kelly led the team with 7.5. The Raiders ran a 4-3, but oddly,
most of their sacks came from players listed as DTs, including Kelly
and Richard Seymour, though I'd bet they got moved around a lot.
Seymour returned to the Pro Bowl both seasons under Waufle, after a
three-year absence. Even so, the Raiders were terrible against the
run. They rated 27th with 136 yards per game, but their
5.1 average per carry was the worst in the league. Only Tampa allowed
more than Oakland's 24 rushes of 20 yards or more. Buffalo was a
distant 3rd with 18. The Rams allowed the most
40-yard-or-more rushes with 7; Oakland was right there for 3rd
place with 5.
The Raiders were just as bad against
the run in 2010. They allowed the most rushes over 40 yards (7) and
the third-most over 20 (17). They finished 29th in rushing
defense with 133.6 ypg. Things went a lot better in the sack
department – the Raiders finished 2nd in the league with
47, improving by 10 sacks in Waufle's first year. Kamerion Wimbley
led with 9; Kelly had 7. A couple of nobodies at end, Matt
Shaughnessy and Lamarr Houston, combined for 12 sacks. They're also
the source of the team's big dropoff last year, combining for only 2.
Shaughnessy missed most of the season due to a shoulder injury.
Facts and figures from Waufle's first
run with the Raiders:
1998: Sacks: 12th
(41). Only 31 sacks the year before Waufle arrived. 11 by Lance
Johnstone, 10 by Darrell Russell. Russell went to the Pro Bowl. 15th
against the run (104.6).
1999: Sacks: 9th
(44). 10 by Johnstone, 9.5 and another Pro Bowl for Russell. 12th
against the run (97.4).
2000: Sacks: 11th
(43). Big fat Grady Jackson led with 8. Russell dropped way off (3),
taking Johnstone (3.5) with him. 5th against the run
(96.9).
2001: Sacks: 13th
(41). 15 different Raiders
had at least half a sack. Regan Upshaw 7, Roderick Coleman 6, Tony
Bryant 5. Russell was suspended 4 games and eventually was banned
from the league for failing multiple drug tests. 22nd
against the run (124.2).
2002: Sacks: 6th
(43). Raiders went to the Super Bowl. 13 had at least a half-sack,
including Coleman with 11. Otherwise, Waufle again got a lot of sacks
out of a bunch of JAGs (just a “guy”). 3rd against the
run (90.8).
2003: Sacks: 28th
(25). Oof. Coleman still led the team, but dropped all the way down
to 5.5 sacks. He and Trace Armstrong struggled with injuries as
Raiders. And Oakland continued to get nothing out of highly-drafted
DEs Tyler Brayton and DeLawrence Grant. DEAD LAST against the run, a
terrible 156.9 ypg. All that happening at once will tend to get
coaches fired.
And the whole Raider coaching staff got
canned after the 2003 season, but it's safe to say Waufle landed on
his feet, going to the Giants and developing one of the most
dominating lines in the game from 2004-09.
2004: Sacks: 9th
(40). Giants were 2nd in the league the year before with
45. 2nd-year DE Osi Umenyiora had 7 sacks, Fred Robbins 5. Michael
Strahan missed half the season due to a torn pectoral. Giants were
only 28th against the run, 134.8 ypg.
2005: Sacks: 9th
(41). 14.5 sacks for Umenyiora, 11.5 for Strahan. Giants also
improved to 12th against the run (103.5).
2006: Sacks: just 23rd
(32). 6.5 for Umenyiora, 5.5 for Robbins. 35-year-old Strahan battled
foot injuries most of the season and had just 3. 14th
against the run (114.4).
2007: Giants win the Super Bowl
and lead the league in sacks with 53. 13 for Umenyiora, 10 for Justin
Tuck in his 2nd season, 9 for Strahan, 5.5 more for
Robbins. Back up to 8th against the run (97.7).
2008: Sacks: 6th
(42). Not bad at all considering Strahan had retired and Umenyiora
missed the season after blowing his knee. Tuck had 12 sacks, and
Mathias Kiwanuka stepped up with 8 in his 3rd season. And
another 5.5 sacks from Robbins. 9th against the run
(95.8).
2009: Sacks: dropped to 18th
(32). 18 different Giants had sacks, but Umenyiora led the
team with just 7, followed by Tuck with 6. 14th against
the run (110.8). The line, including Tuck, again had a lot of
injuries. Umenyiora began clashing with management. And, as you'll
remember from the year, the Giants lost defensive coordinator Steve
Spagnuolo to the Rams. Still, most felt that Waufle was scapegoated
in New York and shouldn't have been let go.
Umenyiora went to two Pro Bowls with
Waufle as his line coach. Tuck went in 2008, Strahan in 2005.
Waufle had nearly 20 years of college
coaching experience before coming to the NFL, most of it coaching
d-line for West Coast schools, including Cal, UCLA and Fresno State.
He and the Rams' new QB coach, Frank Cignetti, worked together on the
Cal staff for a couple of years. Waufle coached Regan Upshaw while he
was at Cal; also former Tampa pass rusher and one-time Ram Chidi
Ahanotu.
If the Rams do get Mike Waufle as their
defensive line coach as anticipated, it will be a coup for the team.
His defensive lines have frequently been top ten in sacks. His
ability to turn young DEs into Pro Bowlers has me thinking I should
hoard some Robert Quinn rookie cards. And that Chris Long is not too
far from that trip to Hawaii he deserved this year. Waufle has also
proven successful at getting pass rush from the tackles and from
unexpected sources. He flatout knows how to get to quarterbacks in this league. The Rams need all of that they can get. The main
concern is that some of Waufle's lines have gotten gouged by the
running game, especially the last two seasons. But he's also coached
on top-10 run defenses, and most years his lines have underperformed,
you can usually point to a significant injury. Waufle's a proven
developer of defensive line talent who's gotten proven results. I
think it's fair to ask if the Rams picked the right guy off the
Giants' staff in 2009 when they hired Spagnuolo. Another solid
coaching pickup by Jeff Fisher. A-minus
-$-
No comments:
Post a Comment