St Louis Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has said that his side are well ahead of where they were last year as they approach the start of the 2015 season.
The Rams struggled in the 2014 campaign, ranking 17th in overall defense as the club limped to a 6-10 record, despite their abundance of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
Williams has revealed that he stressed the importance of taking the initiative in the 2015 season to live up to their potential.
"The guys took it to heart and really had a very good spring in the weight room, in the training room and then here on the field," Williams told reporters.
"It's light years ahead of where we were last year [at this time] because they didn't know me, I didn't know them.
"Just from a terminology [standpoint], are we speaking the same language? Do we understand what we really want? It took a little bit of time for all of us to get acclimated last year."
The Rams bolstered their defense with the additions of Mark Barron and Nick Fairley during the off-season.
Simon Sinclair
