Knowing full well that Trumaine Johnson likely wasn’t coming back and Kayvon Webster was facing a lengthy recovery from his torn Achilles, the Los Angeles Rams didn’t sit around and wait. They wasted no time improving their secondary, trading for both Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib before the new league year even began.

That made it easier to part ways with Johnson and Webster, while also adding players that match up better with what Wade Phillips wants to do on defense. The two have yet to take the field for live game action yet, but that’s expected to happen on Saturday against the Texans.

In that game, we should see an interception or two, knowing how aggressive both cornerbacks are in coverage. “Aggressive” is the more accurate term in Phillips’ mind, though some like to call them “gamblers.”

Phillips used an interesting comparison when asked about Peters taking chances in the secondary, which often lead to turnovers for the defense.

“I’m not sure it’s gambling. He’s kind of like the casino, he’s not the gambler. He makes the right decisions and has the percentages on his side. He has a great feel. He intercepted one against Baltimore in practice – he had a receiver on the other side of the field and he intercepted an out route. I still don’t know how he did that,” Phillips said Tuesday. “He makes the right decisions and that’s what you do with really good players. If they make the right decisions, and if a guy doesn’t cover his guy at all and they throw it to his guy – but he’s not that kind of guy, he can cover his man really well. He can actually help with other people. He’s special.”

So Peters is like a casino. Got it. That comparison actually makes sense, when you think about it. He does take chances, as any gambler does when he or she steps foot on the casino floor. The odds are always against them, but yet they put $20 bills in slot machines knowing they’re unlikely to get that money back.

Peters gambles on the field, but like the casino, he knows his odds. Sure, he’ll give up big plays every now and then – just as a casino has players hit jackpots – but more often than, not he’s going to come away the winner. That’s part of what makes him so good, as Phillips illustrated.

Let’s not forget about Talib, though. He has the most interceptions (34) in the NFL since he was drafted in 2008, returning 10 of them for touchdowns. Phillips is very familiar with his game and believes he and Peters are two of the best playmakers he’s been around.

“Talib’s got almost the most interceptions for touchdowns in the league, ever. He does the same thing, and Chris Harris (Jr.). We’ve had some good ones over the years. These two together (Peters and Talib) are probably the best I’ve had,” he added.

It’s going to be a fun year in Los Angeles, but not for the quarterbacks tasked with throwing the ball against this secondary. Interceptions will be in abundance this season.

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