WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — Rams safety Kamren Kinchens didn't know he was going to be sent on a blitz as much as he was in Week 4 against the Eagles. But he wasn't complaining when defensive coordinator Chris Shula dialed up his number, either.
"I didn't even know I was in the blitz. I don't know, but they just came to me," Kinchens told therams.com. "By the second blitz, I'm like, 'I'm blitzing again, okay!'"
Kinchens had a very successful afternoon when Shula sent him on a blitz. On all three occasions, Kinchens disrupted the passer. On the first, he recorded a half sack alongside outside linebacker Byron Young. On the second, he deflected a pass incomplete to forced a third-and-9. And on the third, he forced quarterback Jalen Hurts to flush out of the pocket — but Kinchens thinks he should've had a sack, saying "the third one, I was supposed to get the sack."
Sunday, Kinchens showed off the multitude of roles he can play for not only the Rams secondary, but the defense as a whole by essentially serving as an outside linebacker on a pass rush.
"You definitely know if he's ever blitzing and he's right beside you," defensive end Kobie Turner said on Monday. "First of all, that joker is fast. Like he's fast, fast. So hopefully somebody blocks him a little bit if I'm trying to get to the quarterback first. But no, it's super exciting to be able to see him play that role (as a blitzer) and to see him to continue to excel in all of the roles that they're putting him in."
Even though Kinchens was utilized in Shula's blitz packages in a blitz-heavy game, Shula feels equally confident using him in all different types of packages.
"He's a big part of our defense," Shula said. "He's always going to have a huge role, whether it's those packages or something else. He's a playmaker. He's out there. You see that joy he plays with. You see him smiling. He's a ball hawk. He makes plays. When he's out there and when he's playing a bunch of snaps for us, a ton of good things happen. We're always going to have huge roles for him in every single game that we play whether it's on pass downs or normal downs."
Kinchens' versatility is a microcosm of the entire secondary. When cornerback Jaylen Watson went out against the Broncos with a shoulder injury, cornerback Josh Wallace stepped up in his absence as a player that can play all over the secondary. Players and coaches constantly commend the leadership and versatility of both cornerback Trent McDuffie and safety Quentin Lake and their ability to line up across the secondary.
Thus, Kinchens' disruption in the pass game through blitzing against the Eagles is just the most recent example of a versatile secondary.
"Kam is a super versatile player," Turner said. "Whether you have him being able to play back as a deep safety, and the amount of ground that he covers — that's all Sean has talked about all camp was 'look at this guy cover this grass and make these plays' — but then he's obviously able to align in tight, and be able to blitz, and I think he's just a versatile player. ... That's really cool as a defense to not tilt your hand away to the offense, to be able to have people align in different positions and be more versatile."
Like Watson, Kinchens was also inactive for a portion of the first four weeks, missing Week 2 against the Giants and Week 3 against the Broncos with a hamstring injury before he returned to play against the Eagles. Although Kinchens thought he played "a little slow, being a little passive," he said he felt like he "got back into my groove" with some of the blitz packages.
Throughout the game, Kinchens made his presence felt both as a defender and as a teammate, bringing infectious energy for those around him.
"You just see the way that he flies around to the ball, you see the energy that he brings," Turner said. "That's another one of the points that we always continue to focus on is what does our energy look like, our energy and our edge, and that's ultimately going to bring us the best opportunity to have the execution that we want. He's a guy that brings it day in and day out."
As Shula mentioned, Kinchens will be used in pretty much any package the Rams need. And for Kinchens, he's just excited for any opportunity to have an impact on the game.
"I'm just putting stuff on tape. I'm willing and able to blitz, so I'm all there for it," Kinchens said. "(My teammates) were complimenting all my blitzes and my path, so I've been just getting better each year with it."
