For the majority of the NFL regular season, the Los Angeles Rams have been sans Aqib Talib. Their All-Pro corner back has been mending an ankle injury that landed him on injured reserve earlier this season.

When the Rams traded for Talib this past off-season, they knew exactly what they were getting. A veteran, tough-nosed CB who wouldn’t take anything from anyone. They got exactly that and then some, getting off to a hot start on defense.

You pair that with Marcus Peters and you have a duo of CBs who love to talk & can play at a high-level on the field. To begin the season, the duo looked phenomenal, essentially making the secondary a “no fly zone.”

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Talib then suffered his injury in Week 3, when the Rams battled against their neighbors in LA, the Chargers. Since then, things haven’t been swell for the Rams pass defense.

With Talib starting at the beginning of the season, the Rams were dominant in the way they stopped opposing offenses. Teams were incapable of throwing effectively with him on the field. In the first two games—before Talib got hurt–the Rams allowed a total of 98 yards on 12 receptions to opposing wide receivers. They also allowed zero touchdowns to WRs in that span.

Week 3 was when the secondary began to crumble, with the absence of Talib. They allowed Mike Williams to catch four passes for 81 yards and two scores.

Aqib Talib, Rams
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It was the first time that Los Angeles allowed a 80-yard performance from a WR this season. From there, the Rams would allow four WRs to eclipse 98 or more yards in Weeks 4, 5 and 6. Although it was against talented WRs like Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs & Emmanuel Sanders, there was a glaring weakness on this Rams defense. Peters has looked shaky without his running mate in Talib.

The two CBs who were tasked with replacing Talib, have been Sam Shields and Troy Hill. Neither have consistently shown they can handle that level of responsibility.

Big plays were a regular occurrence against the better teams in the league without Talib. That can’t happen against teams like the New Orleans Saints or Kansas City Chiefs down the road. Peters was one of the main reasons the Rams were unable to slow down many offenses through the air.

We’ve already seen how he fared against these two juggernauts, as he struggled more against the Saints—covering (or not covering) Michael Thomas. Against Kansas City, Wade Phillips schemed Peters on Travis Kelce.

Plays like these happened often with Peters tasked as the Rams number one CB. Don't get me wrong, Peters is very talented, but his level of play can be elevated alongside someone like Talib. It goes without saying, the game against the Chiefs likely would have gone differently if Talib was active. You can also say the same thing for the Chiefs, if Eric Berry was on the field.

Wade Phillips likes to play man-coverage a lot in his defense, which puts guys like Peters on an island at times. Talib is the type of CB who loves playing in man-coverage schemes. He’s a physical CB, who has great ball-skills to make plays when needed. Ask Michael Crabtree.

The presence of Talib also allows Peters to play to his strength, which is focusing on forcing turnovers. Talib will usually be put on the opposing teams best WR, while Peters is on the opposite side, trying to find ways to make a game-changing play.

Aqib Talib, Raiders, Rams, Jon Gruden
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Talib would likely garner the responsibility of covering Thomas–if the Rams have another meeting with the Saints. When you have one guy who is capable of taking an elite player like Thomas out of a game, it makes it easier on everyone else.

Designated to return from injured reserve on Monday, Talib will be looking to return as soon as possible. This puts him in position to return for the Rams in Week 13, which was a week he's been targeting for a while now.

In Week 13, the Rams will square off against the Detroit Lions, who are very limited on offense currently. In the NFL though, you can never overlook an opponent, which McVay will probably reiterate in practice this week.

This is especially true with the Lions announcing they will place Marvin Jones on injured reserve. The Lions traded Golden Tate prior to the trade deadline, making this injury that more crucial. This makes things easier in Talib's return, but the Rams still need to go out and execute.

In his first game back since Week 3, it'll be interesting to see how many snaps he'll get against Detroit. What we do know, is that the presence and production of Talib will help the Rams exponentially going forward, especially in the playoffs.