Rams outside linebacker Jared Verse was named the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year last season, but he’s not even close to satisfied.
Verse said that he watched his tape from last season and was dismayed to see how many big plays he could have made and didn’t. He thinks he can be better than he was when rushing the quarterback, better than he was when dropping into coverage, and better than he was against the run.
“The biggest thing I realized was how many sacks — and not even just sacks but big plays — I missed out on,” Verse said, via TheRams.com. “Dropping in coverage, I could have done this; or rushing the pass, I could have done that. Even in the run game a couple of times, there were things where I’m a little too far inside, I’m a little too far outside, and I could have made a big impact play. So realizing that this really is a game of inches — whether it’s just stopping the ball or actually just doing your job — there’s a couple of things I could’ve done better.”
Verse said an NFL veteran he didn’t name was the person who reached out to him and told him that if he wants to be one of the great ones, he needs to watch his own tape with a critical eye.
“I feel more prepared than I’ve ever been because you get the whole offseason — you get time to work on this, that, and the third,” Verse said. “I had one of the alumni at Florida State who reached out to me — he played in the NFL for a long time — he told me the number one thing I should do is watch all of my past film, unsolicited. [Not just] trying to be high on myself and only watch the good plays, watch more of the bad plays than the good and realize what I could work on. I did that, and I feel more prepared than I’ve ever been.”
An even better Jared Verse in Year Two would be great for the Rams, and a major concern for every team on the Rams’ schedule.
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