Dirty Work: Michael Brockers

Dirty Work: Michael Brockers

By Myles Simmons

http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Dirty-Work-Michael-Brockers/6e837206-e1e6-4faf-8a11-26f027fc1971

The Rams’ defensive line has been regarded as a position of strength for some time, in no small part because of the sacks it’s put forth. With headliners like Robert Quinn and Chris Long paired with the reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald, it’s no mystery why the unit has become one of the most respected around the league.

And while he may not have the high sack totals, the Rams’ fourth D-line starter, Michael Brockers, is just as important to the operation. As the usual nose tackle — lining up in the space between the center and guard — he often does the “dirty work” at the line of scrimmage to take up double teams, allowing Quinn, Donald, Long, and linebackers the space to do their jobs better. It’s a role in which Brockers has embraced without objection, primarily because it helps the Rams win.

“I’m a team guy — I’ll do anything for this team,” Brockers said in December. “And if we’re winning, put me in there. I’ll take on the double teams. For the most part, it’s been great. Our defense has been doing better with it like this, so I’ll just keep it going.”

Getting to that point has been a process that began at Louisiana State University. It was a place Brockers knew he wanted to to attend even before the rest of his offers came in.

“I’ve always loved LSU,” Brockers said. “I always loved their defense, how they played — very aggressive.”

“When they offered me a scholarship, I said, ‘Where do I sign?’” he continued. “I was saying over the phone, ‘Where can I sign, how fast can I get it to you?’ so they couldn’t take it away, because I always knew I wanted to be an LSU Tiger.”

But the defensive tackle wasn’t ready to contribute right away, as he redshirted the 2009 season. Because he’s now listed at 6-foot-5 and 326 pounds it may be a bit surprising, but LSU head strength and conditioning coach Tommy Moffitt said Brockers was a bit underdeveloped when he entered the program.

“It was the first or second day we were out there, and he was out of shape, and he’d never been exposed to weight training. So I got on him. I told him, ‘Of all the defensive linemen that we have out here, you’re the worst one,’” Moffitt said with a laugh in January. “But he took it personally, and he changed the next day.”

“He didn’t want to be labeled as ‘that guy,’” Moffitt continued. “And he thought enough of himself and had enough pride that he came back and worked his tail off.”

The time and effort spent paid off, as Brockers became a contributor on the line the following season, and a full-time starter in 2011. In all, he tallied 79 tackles — 11 for loss — 2.0 sacks, and five QB pressures at LSU, helping the Tigers win the SEC Championship in 2011.

Following his redshirt sophomore season, Brockers chose to forego his final two years of eligibility and declare for the draft. A couple months later, the Rams would execute a trade that set in motion the process to acquire many of the core players of head coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead’s regime. That being, of course, when St. Louis traded the No. 2 overall pick to Washington in exchange for three first-round picks (2012, 2013, 2014) and the 2012 second-round pick.

While we all know Washington used that No. 2 overall to select Robert Griffin III, St. Louis dealt the No. 6 pick to the Cowboys in exchange for No. 14 and No. 45 — the first of which the Rams used to pick Brockers.

While the defensive tackle said that he did come in for a pre-draft visit, he didn’t register that he’d been one of the products of that high-profile trade for quite a while.

“I didn’t even think about it until a couple of years later, my second year, when they were talking about how many picks we were getting for RGIII,” Brockers said. “So I didn’t really notice it when it first happened, but now when you look back at it, we got some good players from that trade.”

Now having finished his third season in the league, Brockers has emerged as a major factor within the defense, handling work that comes with being a nose tackle. He had one of his best performances of the 2014 season against Oakland, registering eight total tackles (six solo) and received a game ball after the victory.

“You know what, there were so many great performances, that I didn’t even realize how well Brock played until he got the game ball,” Long said the following week. “I knew he played well, but so many guys stepped up and played so well that it wasn’t like Brock got overshadowed, but you had to look for it. And he really did play well.

“Brock’s doing a great job of working hard and trying to master his game,” Long continued. “This has been a big year for him, and he’ll continue to hone in on it.”

Fisher noted in December that another factor leading to Brockers’ development has been his health. While the defensive tackle dealt with some ankle issues over the past few years, they were behind him in 2014.

“He stayed healthy and his hands and upper body strength has improved,” Fisher said. “I think he’s learning to anticipate things, blocking combinations and those things. He’s had a good solid year.”

Brockers finished the season second among Rams D-linemen with 73 total tackles, adding 2.0 sacks, 14 quarterback pressures, and two quarterback hits. But given his position, pilling up the numbers is not as important as simply doing his job inside.

“This position isn’t a very big stat position,” Brockers said. “But you need somebody in there taking up double teams, because when you’ve got three great pass rushers in Aaron, Chris, and Rob, these guys need those one-on-ones to win. And if it’s winning us games, then it’s great for us.”