Raheem Morris Aims For 'Mental Stamina' in Los Angeles Rams Defense

Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is working some non-physical aspects of the game in practice this week.

The Los Angeles Rams fell last Sunday to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but the focus for Raheem Morris' defense this week has been on mental fortitude.

Morris was made available to the media on Thursday, and he discussed that he personally worked on establishing some mental strength with his unit following the loss. After all, that's a big part of life in the NFL.

“It was really like more or less a drive that you want back or a play within the drive you want back," Morris said. "I addressed it this weekend. We talked about mental stamina and it really showed this week, particularly on the PI (pass interference) call right after that. 

"You want the mental stamina to be able to come back and fight for that down and make the next one a little harder and things of that nature, getting some of those stops would be great. You got to have that. That's a part of the game, the ebbs and flows of how it works."

Jun 14, 2023; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris during minicamp at Cal Lutheran University. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / © Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

How can a team gain this "mental stamina?" Much like therapy or any issue, it has to be addressed vocally and worked on as a team, at least from Morris' perspective.

"The only way you get it is you talk about it, you address it, you bring it to the forefront, you go out there and you handle it that way," Morris said. "That's all a part of growing up within this league and growing up with this profession and playing and you got to practice that way, right? The mental stamina throughout practice."

Mental stamina is not a measurable statistic. You won't find it in a box score or in a news story, but it's either present, or it's not. That is what Morris is hoping to help establish before his team faces the Dallas Cowboys this week, even if you can't immediately tell if a player has it.

“I don't know if you really can tell unless you put him through the situations," Morris said. "It starts from when you first meet him when you're talking about OTA days, right? You're trying to develop it. You're talking about developing the mental stamina just to deal with meetings and then be able to go to a practice field and really to put together a full workday. 

"Then you're just talking about right now, you're in the process of learning it because you've seen what they can do as far as practice, to the game performance, to how it works out, to starting how a game ends, and then going out and finishing a couple of those games, right? I don't even know if you can evaluate it."

The Rams and Cowboys are scheduled to play at 10 a.m. PT on Sunday on FOX. Can Morris' defense show some strength between the ears against an offense with plenty of firepower? That's his hope as the week wears on.