Wade Phillips is notorious for his ability to join a team and turn their defense into a top-10 performer nearly immediately. So it’s more than encouraging to hear that he believes the Rams are exactly where they need to be in terms of offseason progress.

Via ESPN.com:

“I have a good feeling about this team,” Phillips said last week when asked if his latest defense had the makings of a top-five unit. “Again, we’re only in shorts and we haven’t done anything live gamewise, which we’ll get to. I feel good with where we are right now. Comparatively to the teams that I’ve gone to in the first year, I think they’re right on par with those teams. And a lot of those teams did well.”

Those teams to which Phillips refers include the Super Bowl 50 champion Denver Broncos as well as the J.J. Watt-helmed Texans and the Cowboys during DeMarcus Ware’s prime.

We all know that the Rams’ front seven, led by Aaron Donald, are formidable even without the support of the secondary, boasting a dynamic similar to the 2011 Texans — a defense on which Rams linebacker Connor Barwin coincidentally played.

However, Phillips believes that the defensive backs will step up to the plate this season. “ stronger than people think. I think they’ll show

“ stronger than people think. I think they’ll show that,” he said.

Rams fans know that any hope of a run at the playoffs in 2017 will live and die with the defense. It’s been so long since they’ve been there that it might even seem t0o much to hope for — but it’s not.

This is all made especially encouraging by the fact that the last time Phillips took a position with a new team and failed to make the postseason was in 1986, when the Eagles went 5-10-1 during his first season as their defensive coordinator. Since then, he has worked (as DC or head coach) for seven teams — all of which made the playoffs in his first year:

1989 Denver Broncos 1995 Buffalo Bills 2002 Atlanta Falcons 2004 San Diego Chargers 2007 Dallas Cowboys 2011 Houston Texans 2015 Denver Broncos

We just have to hope that the Rams aren’t about to break almost 30 years of tradition.