Alec Ogletree was drafted by the Rams with the 30th overall pick in 2013, and since then he’s been an integral part of what has become one of the most underrated defenses in the league. While the Rams offense wasted away somewhere between mediocrity and full on failure for years under Jeff Fisher, the defense was slowly but surely coming together.

The 2017 regular season has been different, though. Ogletree told the NFL Network’s Steve Wyche that this is the first time that they’ve really been able to lean on the offense, and the defense likes the way it feels.

"We just practice on getting better each and every week and it’s starting to pay off for us."-@MROGLETREE52 📺 @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/KCeDA5Uu5W — Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 9, 2017

“It’s a big difference, a big help. We haven’t had the best offense in the past few years but this year, guys are flying around and making plays all over the field. Jared’s playing phenomenal, Todd’s running the ball. Just making plays, everybody’s just executing – along with the special teams too, so it’s a really combined team effort this year.”

Getting a combined team effort for an entire season seemed like a pipe dream less than a year ago. Now it’s the status quo for the new look Rams – and if anyone on the team has a right to really revel in it, it’s the defense that’s carried the team through some truly dark times.

It all started in 2011 with first-round pick, Robert Quinn. In 2012, the Rams drafted Michael Brockers and Trumaine Johnson. The next year they took Ogletree. In 2014 they drafted Aaron Donald, Lamarcus Joyner and Maurice Alexander, and added the undrafted Ethan Westbrooks. Prior to the trade deadline in 2014 they sent a 4th and 6th-round pick to Tampa Bay for Mark Barron. The in the 2017 offseason, the Rams signed Connor Barwin and Kayvon Webster and drafted John Johnson.

The starting unit for the Rams’ defense spans two coaching regimes, and while Fisher clearly had no idea what he was doing when it came to offense, the Rams also nabbed special teams trio Greg Zuerlein, Johnny Hekker and Jake McQuaid as well as Jared Goff and Todd Gurley, who are currently two of the best offensive players in the league.

However it took an offensive mind like Sean McVay to bring the best out of those players – and to give Fisher’s defense the offense it always deserved.