Pete Carroll praises Rams DC Brandon Staley’s unique defensive scheme

Count Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll among the growing list of admirers for Los Angeles Rams first-year defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.

Carroll, a longtime college and NFL defensive coordinator who perfected his own style of the 4-3 defense, sees Staley carving his own path in his variation of the 3-4 defensive front, leading an L.A. defense that is No. 2 in the league in points allowed, giving up just 19 points a contest.

“He’s doing a really good job, and he’s got his own way of doing it,” Staley said. “They look unique, which is always good. So you have to learn and adapt to them. It’s not like it’s a cookie-cutter group like somebody else does it.

“He’s been influenced really well by other coaches, but I really like what he’s doing. They’re able to keep the explosives down and take advantage of one of the best players ever in Aaron Donald.”

Of course, Staley’s defense hasn’t seen a quarterback the caliber of Seattle’s Russell Wilson, who is putting up MVP numbers. Wilson, 31, has completed 71 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,541 yards, 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Wilson has been sacked 24 times, posting a 117.1 passer rating.

“He’s really off to a great start,” Carroll said about Wilson. “And it’s just the process of owning a position that is so difficult, so challenging. And he’s the best he’s ever been at doing it.

“He’s really fitting up well with the people he throws to, the protection has been adequate. And we’re just seeing the benefits of all his experience coming together, and he will continue to improve. It’s such a challenging position. Guys arrive when they’ve got it, and he’ll just keep growing.”

Wilson and the Seahawks’ offense average a league-leading 34 point per game. While Seattle’s offense is sizzling, Carroll and defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. have a lot of work to do on a defense that is giving up a league-worst 362 passing yards a contest.

“We’re still trying to get it together,” Carroll said about the defense. “We haven’t played like we want to. We’ve played winning football, but we’re not playing in the style that we want to play, but we’re still working on it. We’ve really tried to find the continuity, which has been difficult because we’ve had guys coming and going. So I feel like our best ball is ahead of us.”