WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – Rams head coach Sean McVay said on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" this week that defensive line coach/run game coordinator Giff Smith joked that defensive end Braden Fiske is like Santa Clause, "passing off half sacks to other guys" with the way he gives and creates those opportunities.
Fiske's two sacks, and pass rushes against the Seahawks overall, reinforced that.
"I think, in general, like, the game is slowing down," Fiske told theRams.com. "The first few games, I was just out there thinking a lot. You're trying not to mess up, playing not to mess up, but the big thing coach Giff (Smith) and (assistant defensive line coach) AC (Carter) have been telling me lately, just be decisive. Make your decision and go with it, and go make a play. Like, when you're out there thinking, you're too worried about messing up, then you start playing slow. So I think the big thing is just getting repetitions, been playing fast and just getting after it. Just been so much more comfortable out there. And kind of like I alluded to earlier, finding my play opportunities, seeing what's out there. Things are processing much clearer, so I know when it's my opportunity to shoot it and go make a play."
Against Seattle, both of Fiske's sacks came in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. His first went for a six-yard loss; between that and the back-to-back pre-snap penalties, the Seahawks fell too far behind the sticks and had to punt with 3:54 left. His second went for a 14-yard loss, but Seattle overcame second-and-24 with a 28-yard completion to wide receiver Cody White.
Similar to Florida State teammate and fellow Rams rookie Jared Verse, it's not always those sacks or tackles for loss that make the most impact, but the pressures generated by them that are just as impactful. Fiske's ability to win his one-on-one matchups has also been opening up opportunities for the rest of the defensive line.
With 11:23 left in the first quarter, Fiske beat the Seahawks' center and got to Smith so quickly, he missed the sack. The rep still achieved the desired effect, though, as outside linebacker Michael Hoecht and nose tackle Tyler Davis were there to clean it up.
With 10:36 left in the fourth quarter, Fiske beat the Seahawks' right guard one-on-one and got to Smith, with Turner finishing the play and getting credit for the sack.
"He's a guy who I knew would just come in and improve and improve and improve because of the way that he works, the way he goes about his business," defensive end Kobie Turner told theRams.com last week. "Like, the confidence that I have in him isn't the confidence that I'd imagine you would have in a normal rookie. It isn't, 'Oh, I have to get him right on every little thing,' he knows his stuff. He can go do my thing, now I can fully lock in I don't have to baby him or make sure that he's all set. He takes complete ownership of that."
It's not a coincidence the Rams finished with a season-high seven sacks as a team in Week 9.
"As he started to continue to understand where his ops are, and be able to take them, he's a guy who's super explosive super athletic, and he's also really smart as well," Turner said. "So the game's starting to slow down a little bit for him, and he's able to win with his ops, and that's becoming really exciting. And now when we wins, we also have contain on the edges, or now when Verse wins, he's protected by everybody else."
"I think it's something that's kind of grown the whole season," Fiske said postgame in Week 9 of the team's pass rush. "You know, the guys that go out there on third down and rush the passer, we've consistently gotten better, and it starts in practice and the meeting room, just communicating, seeing things, and it was shining tonight. A year later, Jared (Verse) is still trying to steal sacks from me."
Fiske made that comment as his college teammate walked about his postgame interview scrum last Sunday. Joking aside, Verse said it was "amazing" to see Fiske have that kind of game.
"I mean, I'm watching the film, because obviously, during the game, I'm kind of focused on my matchup," Verse told theRams.com. "I'm getting close, and I'm like, even literally the one (sack), I'm walking across back, I'm like 'Oh yeah!' I'm starting to reach my arms out. All of a sudden I see some 55-wearing (person), sliding, like, hitting this dude hard as hell right into me. And I'm trying to like fall on it, 'I'm like, bro, get half of that.' That's his whole sack. But just to see him go out there and ball out the way he did, it means a lot. I mean, I see how hard he works. I see all the extra work he does that doesn't go into the media, the Instagram pages and all of that stuff. But he deserves it."
Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula said that Fiske has been creating a lot of pressure since the start of the season, it's just that the defense hadn't been in passing situations as often as they are now, where Fiske has been able to utilize his skillset.
"As soon as we've been able to get that, he's really showing up, and he's done an excellent job," Shula said. "He's just continuing to grow, get more and more comfortable. And having Verse outside him definitely helps."
