Rams Mailbag on Answering the Lingering Questions Before the Playoffs

WOODLAND HILLS, Ca. The fans of the Los Angeles Rams have questions before the team plays the Carolina Panthers in the Wild Card round and here are some of the answers.

In the regular season game vs Carolina, both Dowdle & Hubbard ran right through our D (141 yds between the 2 of them). What adjustments have the Rams defensive coaches made to ensure this doesn’t happen Saturday?

It's not so much the coaches but the players. The Rams have re-emphasized their dedication to bringing the ball carrier down after tasting the feeling of what happened last season. On top of that, the Rams have tremendous flexibility with their linebacker unit now that Quentin Lake is back.

Strategy wise, we will have to see but with the reintroduction of players often comes new looks so let's see how creative Chris Shula gets.

The secondary. Especially against tall, physical wide receivers. Q being back is big, but I think his presence will be more felt in the run game. Michael Wilson torched the Rams again, and the stat line would've been a lot worse if Jacoby Brissett didn’t under throw the ball against Witherspoon.

You're absolutely right and against the Panthers, the Rams are going to need Ahkello Witherspoon to remain disciplined as he's the tallest outside corner that the team has and the Panthers have a plethora of tall pass catchers. The Panthers are going to dial up double moves like crazy to maintaining the top is everything for Los Angeles.

The good news is that Quentin Lake is back which will allow the Rams to get back to basics defensively. Their ability

Is Darious Williams fully healthy? Has he been playing?

He is fully healthy and he hasn't been playing consistent football. Williams always was the odd man out of the Rams' three cornerback rotation and with Witherspoon back in the fold, there really is no usage for him, especially since Roger McCreary doubles as a slot and outside corner.

With Lake coming back, that means Williams has limited snaps at best and due to the needs of the team, the Rams haven't been able to put him on the field in some time.

Tackling woes…? Curl, Landman, Kinchens have been especially disappointing.

Their tackling zone has widen simply because Quentin Lake hasn't been there. There aren't many men around the league who can run fit while being a solid coverage defender like Lake. A true hybrid player, Lake's positioning often limits where runners can go, allowing others to corral ball carriers.

No Lake means wide open spaces for ball carriers to exploit.

Being there everyday Brock, when could Kevin Dotson be back?

Not this week. Dotson is making good progress but the Rams confirmed the general consensus on Thursday and that is that Dotson will miss the Wild Card round. While it's unknown how he'll respond next week, the good news is that if the Rams win, they'll have at least seven days before their next contest, which should be more than enough time to get a proper timeline on the Rams' star lineman.

Please take a look at Montana St Wr Taco Dowler! Watch this young man's tape, FCS but man just like Kupp he's got skills. Great hands, blocking, knowledge.

I like Dowler a lot. Montana State produces dudes left and right and from my examination of Dowler, he has what it takes to succeed. Feels like the Xavier Smith career path. With Smith likely taking Tutu Atwell's role next season, Dowler looks like the perfect player to take over Smith's special teams responsibilities next season.

Tough, gritty, but fundamentally sound. I look forward to watching his progress.

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