Multiple familiar faces for the Rams are on Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett's staff this season in defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, defensive line coach Marcus Dixon and special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes.
Can that serve as an advantage in preparing for Los Angeles? To an extent, according to Hackett.
"That's always very tricky, because the Rams know that we know that they know, and everybody knows that everybody knows what we know, so it goes back-and-forth," Hackett told Denver reporters Wednesday. "I think that's kind of the chess game. There's a lot of similarities between the two systems. There's a couple of things that have been tweaked. And so we'll talk, and if there are any questions, we'll ask about that."
Evero and Dixon have some knowledge the Rams' current defensive system, having worked with Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris last season. But there's still things that change – when Rams head coach Sean McVay has been in that situation before, he's noted that the play calls change between seasons. Which means that knowledge only goes so far.
Hackett has also faced similar circumstances in his coaching career. He said he went through that, "got all the answers," and it didn't help them at all against that opponent.
So while that familiarity may seem like an advantage on the surface, it shouldn't take up a disproportionate amount of time preparing the opponent.
"You want to utilize them, but not over-utilize them," Hackett said.
