WOODLAND HILLS, Calf. – Those carefully watching each of the Rams' first two preseason games may have noticed rookie inside linebackers Chris "Pooh" Paul Jr. (Week 1 vs. Cowboys) and Shaun Dolac (Week 2 vs. Chargers) commanding the defensive huddle.
Doing so is not necessarily new to either player, having worn the green dot as the on-field signal caller relaying the communication from the defensive coordinator in college at Ole Miss and Buffalo, respectively. Obviously, though, they have yet to do so at the NFL level.
It's all part of giving them opportunities in the preseason they likely wouldn't otherwise get, according to Los Angeles defensive coordinator Chris Shula.
"A lot of those guys as a young guy, would probably be in with a guy that doesn't have the green dots," Shula said after Wednesday's practice, explaining the intention behind the approach. "You want to be able to have the time to have a chance with 'Pooh' Paul, if he ever was in with one of those older guys, he's probably not going to have it. You give him a chance to just worry about his responsibilities, not have to worry about giving everybody the call. The same thing with Shaun, just moving around, giving those guys equal opportunity to show that they can communicate and do have the green dot and that when they don't have it, they can just focus on their job."
Both players handled it well within the scope of the action they received.
For Paul, he led a defense that held the Cowboys to six first-half points (he did not see the field in the second half of the preseason opener). Dolac, meanwhile, was tasked with ensuring communication and cohesiveness for a group of Rams reserves that played its first series against the Chargers' first-team offense; the Chargers settled for a 32-yard field goal after going 51 yards in nine plays.
"It's been great being able to be the guy in the middle of defense, relaying the call," Dolac told theRams.com. "That's a big responsibility that we have, and it gets guys lined up, and it's our job and our responsibility to make sure that everybody has a call, knows the call, and they're doing the right job that they have."
Paul credited working with the veterans in their position room often, asking them questions, as well as taking extra reps, plus extra reps in walkthroughs (whether on the field or not) so they can be on the same page. Dolac echoed those sentiments, saying that as rookies, they want to be "sponges" knowing they have a lot to learn and multiple experienced linebackers to learn from.
Those veterans – Nate Landman is entering his fourth season and has played in 36 career games, Troy Reeder his seventh and has played in 89 – have also emphasized the value of practice as a learning environment.
"They're so good about, 'If you mess this up, don't worry about it. You'll fix it. It's practice,'" Dolac said. "'Once it comes game time, you got to make sure you're locked into it and make sure that you know you're not going to mess it up in the game.' But everybody's so great in that room, 'G-Money' (inside linebackers coach Greg Williams) and all the guys in there."
The biggest adjustment in that role from the college level for both players is the speed of the game at the NFL level. Beyond that, for Dolac, it's also the size of an NFL crowd and the impact that noise has on communication. University at Buffalo Stadium's capacity is a little over 30,000; SoFi Stadium just past 70,000. For Paul, it's the experience level on the other side of the ball.
"Prime example, going through practice, you got Matthew Stafford, somebody who's a clearly a vet in this league, and somebody who knows the wrinkles and how to get through defenses," Paul said. "So just being able to analyze that, and, like I said, always asking questions, and sitting back and reviewing the film and taking walkthroughs as serious as we do."
It remains to be seen whether the Rams will take the same approach with the green dot for the preseason finale as they did the last two weeks – variables like resting players who have earned roles and potentially using a different position for it come to mind. Regardless, it's been valuable for both players to get those live reps.
"It means a lot for coach to have a lot of trust in us, in order for us to trust us to have the green dot," Paul said. "Like Shaun said, getting guys lined up, getting everybody on the same page, it's a lot of responsibility. But I feel like with Coach Shula and Coach 'G-Money,' they've been doing a great job with us in helping us get comfortable within the scheme so we are able to wear the green dot."
