setting up the STEELERS game

Fisher expects old friend Mike Munchak to try to slow Rams pass rush

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21685/jeff-fisher-expects-old-friend-mike-munchak-to-try-to-slow-rams-top-pass-rushers

EARTH CITY, Mo. — When he arrived as the new head coach of the St. Louis Rams in 2012, Jeff Fisher was able to get most of his original band back together.

Fisher brought many of his longtime assistants and friends such as assistant head coach Dave McGinnis, senior defensive assistant Chuck Cecil, assistant linebackers coach Joe Bowden and, eventually, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and linebackers coach Frank Bush, along with him. Noticeable in his absence was offensive line coach Mike Munchak, who had worked with Fisher in Houston/Tennessee from 1994 to 2010, mostly as his offensive line coach.

Of course, Munchak had good reason for not ending up in St. Louis: He was the Titans’ choice to replace Fisher as head coach in 2011. Munchak led the Titans from 2011 to 2013, posting a 22-26 record before he lost the job after a 7-9 performance in 2013. During that 2013 season, Munchak and Fisher coached against each other for the first time, with Munchak’s Titans coming away with a 28-21 win at the Edward Jones Dome.

Both coaches downplayed the matchup after it was over.

“That’s something we can talk more about in the offseason and having bragging rights about who beat who,” Munchak said then. “But this is all about us vs. them.

“Players are the ones who win the games.”

This week, Munchak’s group of players will have the chance to take on Fisher’s players again, though the circumstances have changed. After Tennessee fired him in 2013, Munchak latched on with the Pittsburgh Steelers, returning to his roots as the offensive line coach. Fisher said Tuesday he didn’t consider finding a role for Munchak with the Rams after he came available.

Munchak’s impact in Pittsburgh was immediate. The Steelers allowed 33 sacks last season, down from 42 the previous season. They boasted the league’s second-ranked offense and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger finished tied for the most passing yards in the NFL.

Fisher wasn’t surprised.

“He’s very, very thorough up front,” Fisher said. “You can just watch three or four plays of their offensive line and say to yourself, ‘That’s a Mike Munchak coached offensive line.’ They’re very sound. They’re very aggressive. They’re very patient. They finish. They rarely make mistakes.”

With skill position stars like Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell and receiver Antonio Brown in place, the only missing piece was the offensive line to make it all go. But under Munchak, the Steelers have taken off and young players like guard David DeCastro have grown into some of the best at their positions.

As the Rams prepare for the Steelers this week, Fisher said Munchak has a knack for deciphering ways to slow down opposing star defensive linemen. Which means that he and his staff will have to be on top of things when putting together this week’s game plan.

“Mike’s really good — and what we have to adjust to is — Mike’s really good at taking special defensive players away, especially if you have rushers,” Fisher said. “I would expect they would pay a lot of attention to where (DT) Aaron (Donald) is and to where (DE) Rob (Quinn) lines up. They just don’t get their quarterback hit. Their game is about Ben buying time, buying time and moving around and making the off-schedule play down the field.”

Expect Opponents to Use the Redskins’ Blueprint Against the Rams

Anthony Stalter in National Football League

http://www.101sports.com/2015/09/23/expect-opponents-to-use-the-redskins-blueprint-against-the-rams/

If it weren’t for the boiling frustrations that came from watching a 24-10 letdown, one could almost appreciate how the Redskins beat the Rams last Sunday.

The Redskins held Aaron Donald to 0.5 sacks in the Rams’ loss.
Since the second half of last season, it’s been fun watching the Rams play defense under Gregg Williams. They’re relentless, aggressive, and they make a point of emphasis to get after the quarterback. They don’t read-and-react: they get off the ball fast and attempt to dictate where they want the play to go, as opposed to the other way around.

But on Sunday at FedEx Field, the Redskins moved the ball at will on the ground. By the time the Rams adjusted, they trailed 17-0 and with the offense completely stagnant, they had little margin for error when it came to mounting a comeback (which they couldn’t pull off in the end).

After watching Aaron Donald destroy Seattle’s game plan the week prior, Washington must have made it a point to allow the 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year to crash the backfield as if he were pass-rushing on every play.

On two big runs in the first quarter, Donald came within inches of disrupting the play in the backfield. But the runs were just wide enough that Washington wound up using the Rams’ aggressiveness against itself.

On Alfred Morris’ 35-yard run in the first quarter, Washington ran a stretch play and released guard Brandon Scherff to the second level after Donald shot through the gap. With nobody to slow Scherff from building a head of steam, he was able to block linebacker James Laurinaitis and create a massive running lane for Morris to exploit. Safety Rodney McLeod came down to properly fill the lane, but he missed the tackle as Morris burst up field.

While Washington deserves credit for executing the play, the takeaway for the Rams is that they turned a five-yard gain into a 35-yard run.

Two plays later, Matt Jones ran for a touchdown to give the Redskins a 7-0 lead. This time, it was center Kory Lichtensteiger that released to block Laurinaitis, while tight end Jordan Reed came off the line free to take on Alec Ogletree.

McLeod wound up blocking himself when he decided to run inside to fill the gap instead of flowing over-the-top, and Jones raced 39 yards up the sidelined for the Redskins’ second explosive run of the quarter, and their first score of the game.

These weren’t the only plays where Washington effectively allowed Donald to jet up field only to release an interior lineman to wash out a linebacker. Throughout the first half, damaging runs by Jones and Morris came out of 12 (1RB/2TEs) and 13 (1RB/3TEs) personnel, which the Redskins effectively used to execute a game plan that everyone saw coming.

The Rams knew Washington’s offense wasn’t going to run through quarterback Kirk Cousins, especially not with DeSean Jackson out with a hamstring injury. They needed to stop the run from the outset, which didn’t happen.

None of this is to suggest that Donald or any one player was at fault for Sunday’s surprising loss in Landover. No, that sort of defeat takes a collective effort.

From the defensive line creating wide running lanes, to the linebackers not getting off blocks, and safeties missing tackles, it was a mess from the start.

The offense didn’t do the defense any favors, either.

Its inability to run the ball created plenty lot of third-and-longs for Nick Foles, which led to multiple three-and-outs. By the time Pierre Garcon made the score 17-0 with a second quarter touchdown reception, the defense was completely gassed from being on the field for too long.

As previously mentioned, the Rams did adjust. In the Redskins’ first drive of the second half, Donald started to flow down the line instead of crashing the backfield. This helped the Rams clog running lanes and create more traffic for Washington’s backs to work through, but by that point the damage had been done (and the offense wasn’t doing its job).

The Steelers aren’t stupid.

They’d be stubborn not to take Washington’s blueprint and utilize formations with multiple tight ends in order to run the ball and subsequently keep the Rams’ pass rush at bay. While Pittsburgh has a drastically better passing attack than Washington, the Steelers aren’t going to subject Ben Roethlisberger to St. Louis’ pass rush if Le’Veon Bell can take over the game on the ground.

Pittsburgh’s defense isn’t what it once was so an effective running game will also keep that unit off the field and fresh.
In order to flip the script, it’ll be up to the Rams’ defense to play with more discipline, and for the offense to sustain drives.
If neither happens…well, we’ve already seen the end result.

Antonio Brown presents many problems for Rams

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21760/steelers-antonio-brown-presents-many-problems-for-rams

EARTH CITY, Mo. — The St. Louis Rams have no misconceptions about what Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown can and will do when they meet on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

Ask any Rams defender and they’ll admit Brown is going to make some catches and gain some yards. That’s pretty much a given considering Brown’s vast skills. But the key isn’t about shutting Brown out so much as it is preventing him from making the type of game-changing plays that have become his hallmark.

“Exactly,” safety Rodney McLeod said. “You know a guy like that is going to make some plays but you just challenge him, make everything hard for him and just try to frustrate him. Obviously he’s going to make some catches but just don’t make them explosive plays that can change the game.”

On paper, the pairing of the Rams secondary versus Brown is a major mismatch. Brown has at least five receptions and 50 yards in an NFL record 34 straight games. For perspective, Denver’s Demaryius Thomas is next with five such games.

While the Rams are a respectable 10th in the league in passing yards allowed in the first two weeks, that number is deceiving considering they rank 30th in run defense and 31st in completion percentage allowed (80.9 percent). Easy completions have been an issue for the Rams under coach Jeff Fisher, too, as they finished 31st in 2014 (68.1 percent), 32nd in 2013 (68.1 percent) and 30th in 2012 (66.2 percent).

Obviously, the current rate of almost 81 percent won’t continue, but it has been clear that the Rams defense is willing to give up completions and try to make quick tackles to limit yards after the catch. That might be a dangerous approach against Brown, who since 2013 is seventh in the NFL in yards after catch with 336.

“He’s a dynamic receiver,” McLeod said. “He can pretty much do it all. Deep threat, they throw him a lot of screens. You know he’s going to be targeted a lot and obviously we have some work on our hands. We’re up for the challenge.”

One way to limit Brown’s production? Well, a strong pass rush would be a good idea but the Steelers use Brown in so many ways that it can be hard to keep him from shaking loose. Having a quarterback such as Ben Roethlisberger, running backs DeAngelo Williams and Le’Veon Bell and tight end Heath Miller around him doesn’t hurt, either.

“He has a great complement around him,” Fisher said. “When you’ve got a run game, you’ve got a quarterback that’s experienced and can see and make the throws down the field, they work really well together. He can really run. They’re in sync. Rarely is there a throw where they’re not on the same page. They back-shoulder fade, he catches the deep ball, he catches the shallow cross, he catches the bubble screens. He’s just a really good player. You have to know where he’s at.”

Practice Report 9/25: Defending the League’s Best

Myles Simmons

http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-practicereport/Practice-Report-925-Defending-the-Leagues-Best/b84ce2ef-01cb-4264-8975-8062df4635ea#

With Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers have arguably the best quarterback-wide receiver-running back trio in the league. And all three will be on display Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome when Pittsburgh comes to town.

“They do a good job with not only the performance and the production of those guys, but I think as a coaching staff, those guys utilize those guys the right way,” defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said Friday, crediting Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “I think Todd has done a really, really, good job as he’s adapted into that personnel pattern. The way those guys are playing, it’s going to be fun for us to get a chance to stop them.”

“They have a couple of the best receivers in football,” head coach Jeff Fisher said. “At least this far this season, [they] will be our biggest offensive challenge from the defensive standpoint.”

Roethlisberger led the league with 4,952 yards passing last year, adding 32 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. He’s off to another roaring start in 2015, having racked up 720 yards and four touchdowns while completing 72.3 percent of his passes.

“Ben can throw you open,” Williams said. “You can be one-on-one perfect, but then he’ll put the ball on the back shoulder, back hip, front shoulder and he’ll throw you open. And those are the kind of guys that you win championships with, and they have, and he’s won them.”

Though Bell was suspended for the first two games of the season, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said this week the running back is in for a full workload on Sunday. There is plenty involved with that, as Bell is just as effective catching passes as he is running the football. Last year — his second in the league — Bell tallied 1,361 yards rushing and 854 yards receiving on 83 receptions. That’s 2,215 yards from scrimmage — second to only DeMarco Murray’s 2,261.

“One of the most complete backs that I’ve seen on tape,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “When this guy motions out of the backfield to a no-back set, he can run the whole route tree.

“A lot of times, you see a guy motion out and they’re going to run a stop, a comeback, or they’re going to run a vertical. They’re trying to open up space for the receivers underneath. Not Le’Veon,” Laurinaitis continued. “He’ll run option routes, he’ll run whip routes — he’ll run everything.”

To round out the trio, the Steelers have wide receiver Antonio Brown, who led the league in both receptions (129) and yards receiving (1,698) last year. He’s picked up right where he left off, amassing a league-leading 328 yards receiving through the team’s first two games.

“He’s just a quick, crafty guy,” safety Rodney McLeod said. “He kind of catches everything that comes his way. So we’ve got to do a great job at the top of the routes, playing through his hands, and not allowing him to get on top of us.”

Preventing Pittsburgh’s receivers from getting over the top has been a point of emphasis from Williams all week.

“The one thing we can’t do is let the ball get over our heads,” safety T.J. McDonald said.

The defensive coordinator was not happy with last week’s performance against Washington, and said he let the team know it. But Williams has also been pleased with the way the unit responded this week.


“They’re greatly accountable,” Williams said. “From the staff and everything, they’re a great group to be around.”

And though it’s a prolific offense coming this week, the players say they’re up to meeting it head on.

“We love the challenge,” McDonald said. “They’re coming into our house. We want to protect our home field and do what we’re supposed to do. As a secondary, you want to make sure no balls go over your head — that’s the biggest thing. And as pass rushers, get after the passer.”

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Williams said. “It’s going to be a fun game for us, it really is.”

GURLEY WATCH

Come Sunday, the wait could be over, or it could continue for running back Todd Gurley. Fisher said following Friday’s practice the running back is questionable for Sunday.

“We have him listed as full participation all three days,” Fisher said. “We have him listed as questionable, which means, implies that there’s a 50/50 chance he’ll play. It’ll be a game-time decision. So really, really pleased with the progress this week.”

If he does play, Fisher expects the back to be productive.

“Then that becomes a big lift of the team,” Fisher said. “I think it helps us in a lot of areas.”

Elsewhere on the injury report, running back Chase Reynolds (knee) and defensive end Eugene Sims (knee) have been declared out for Sunday. Additionally, punter Johnny Hekker did not practice Friday with an illness, and is listed as probable.Practice Report 9/25: Defending the League’s Best

By Myles Simmons

http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-practicereport/Practice-Report-925-Defending-the-Leagues-Best/b84ce2ef-01cb-4264-8975-8062df4635ea#

With Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers have arguably the best quarterback-wide receiver-running back trio in the league. And all three will be on display Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome when Pittsburgh comes to town.

“They do a good job with not only the performance and the production of those guys, but I think as a coaching staff, those guys utilize those guys the right way,” defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said Friday, crediting Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “I think Todd has done a really, really, good job as he’s adapted into that personnel pattern. The way those guys are playing, it’s going to be fun for us to get a chance to stop them.”

“They have a couple of the best receivers in football,” head coach Jeff Fisher said. “At least this far this season, [they] will be our biggest offensive challenge from the defensive standpoint.”

Roethlisberger led the league with 4,952 yards passing last year, adding 32 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. He’s off to another roaring start in 2015, having racked up 720 yards and four touchdowns while completing 72.3 percent of his passes.

“Ben can throw you open,” Williams said. “You can be one-on-one perfect, but then he’ll put the ball on the back shoulder, back hip, front shoulder and he’ll throw you open. And those are the kind of guys that you win championships with, and they have, and he’s won them.”

Though Bell was suspended for the first two games of the season, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said this week the running back is in for a full workload on Sunday. There is plenty involved with that, as Bell is just as effective catching passes as he is running the football. Last year — his second in the league — Bell tallied 1,361 yards rushing and 854 yards receiving on 83 receptions. That’s 2,215 yards from scrimmage — second to only DeMarco Murray’s 2,261.

“One of the most complete backs that I’ve seen on tape,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “When this guy motions out of the backfield to a no-back set, he can run the whole route tree.

“A lot of times, you see a guy motion out and they’re going to run a stop, a comeback, or they’re going to run a vertical. They’re trying to open up space for the receivers underneath. Not Le’Veon,” Laurinaitis continued. “He’ll run option routes, he’ll run whip routes — he’ll run everything.”

To round out the trio, the Steelers have wide receiver Antonio Brown, who led the league in both receptions (129) and yards receiving (1,698) last year. He’s picked up right where he left off, amassing a league-leading 328 yards receiving through the team’s first two games.

“He’s just a quick, crafty guy,” safety Rodney McLeod said. “He kind of catches everything that comes his way. So we’ve got to do a great job at the top of the routes, playing through his hands, and not allowing him to get on top of us.”

Preventing Pittsburgh’s receivers from getting over the top has been a point of emphasis from Williams all week.

“The one thing we can’t do is let the ball get over our heads,” safety T.J. McDonald said.

The defensive coordinator was not happy with last week’s performance against Washington, and said he let the team know it. But Williams has also been pleased with the way the unit responded this week.


“They’re greatly accountable,” Williams said. “From the staff and everything, they’re a great group to be around.”

And though it’s a prolific offense coming this week, the players say they’re up to meeting it head on.

“We love the challenge,” McDonald said. “They’re coming into our house. We want to protect our home field and do what we’re supposed to do. As a secondary, you want to make sure no balls go over your head — that’s the biggest thing. And as pass rushers, get after the passer.”

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Williams said. “It’s going to be a fun game for us, it really is.”

GURLEY WATCH

Come Sunday, the wait could be over, or it could continue for running back Todd Gurley. Fisher said following Friday’s practice the running back is questionable for Sunday.

“We have him listed as full participation all three days,” Fisher said. “We have him listed as questionable, which means, implies that there’s a 50/50 chance he’ll play. It’ll be a game-time decision. So really, really pleased with the progress this week.”

If he does play, Fisher expects the back to be productive.

“Then that becomes a big lift of the team,” Fisher said. “I think it helps us in a lot of areas.”

Elsewhere on the injury report, running back Chase Reynolds (knee) and defensive end Eugene Sims (knee) have been declared out for Sunday. Additionally, punter Johnny Hekker did not practice Friday with an illness, and is listed as probable.

from off the net

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Offense

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/09/st-louis-rams-offensive-scouting-report/

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http://www.steelersdepot.com/2015/09/st-louis-rams-defensive-scouting-report/

Rams brace for Steelers’ juggernaut

Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-brace-for-steelers-juggernaut/article_af584083-c646-58f0-abe3-60a1cd30cd88.html

The Rams know they let one slip away last week in Washington. And watching an 0-2 New York Giants squad easily dispatch Washington on Thursday night only brought back the sickening feeling of dropping a game they should’ve won.

There’s only one way to get that one back. Namely, by winning a contest that no one expects them to win, such as Sunday’s noon kickoff against Pittsburgh at the Edward Jones.

Don’t let Pittsburgh’s 1-1 record fool you. The Steelers were never really stopped by New England in a 28-21 opening-day loss; they stopped themselves. Last week, the Steelers stomped San Francisco 43-18 in a contest that wasn’t as “close” as even that final score might indicate.

Coach Mike Tomlin’s crew comes to the Gateway City simply sizzling on offense. The Steelers have the league’s topped-rank team in total offense, and that’s with three of their top five offensive players missing in running back Le’Veon Bell, wide receiver Martavis Bryant, and center Maurkice Pouncey.

Bryant (suspension) and Pouncey (injury) won’t be on hand Sunday. But Bell, the team MVP from 2014, is back from a two-game suspension. Wide receiver Antonio Brown has been unstoppable and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger arguably is playing the best football of his 12-year NFL career.

Asked specifically about the return of Bell and the strong overall Pittsburgh running game, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said: “I’m concerned. Our defense is concerned. We have respect for them. We know that it’s going to start there.”

But it doesn’t end there.

“Other than that, they have an outstanding passing game,” Fisher said. “They have a quarterback that can throw it all over the place. They have a couple of the best receivers in ’ball.”

Based solely on what took place last week against Washington, the Rams’ offense will try to match Pittsburgh’s Star Wars attack with … a popgun.

The Rams managed only 213 yards against a so-so Washington defense, marking the sixth-lowest offensive output in 50 games of Fisher football in St. Louis. The Rams may or may not have highly-touted rookie running back Todd Gurley available for Pittsburgh, with Fisher labeling his status a game-time decision.

Gurley would help, but even if he plays it’s not like he’s going to stroll out of the locker room and get 25 touches in his NFL debut. After all, he hasn’t played in a competitive situation since suffering his knee injury last November at Georgia.

Overall, the promise shown during a strong offensive outing against Seattle was replaced by a unit stuck in neutral against Washington.

“We just didn’t get into a rhythm,” quarterback Nick Foles said. “That’s on me. I’ve got to make sure to get some easy completions here and there. Football’s such a rhythm game that if you can’t get into a rhythm, it’s very difficult to sustain a drive, convert on third down, keep your defense off the field.”

The strength of the Steelers’ defensive unit in their 3-4 alignment is the front seven, with most of the star power at linebacker. Even with young talent Ryan Shazier out with a shoulder injury at inside linebacker, they are formidable up front.

“Everybody knows about their history with their defense,” Foles said. “Their front seven are among the best in the league. They do a really good job of stopping the run.”

So the Rams worked on their running game and their third-down game on offense during the practice week. It was a mirror image on the other side of the ball, where the Rams’ biggest concerns coming out of Washington were run defense and third-down defense.

Compounding matters Sunday is the fact that the Dome will resemble Heinz Field West. As was the case the last time Pittsburgh played here, in 2007, the place will be swarming with Steelers fans waving Terrible Towels.

A crowd of about 50,000 is expected to be in the stands, and up to 20,000-25,000 of them could be Steelers fans. It doesn’t happen very often, but the Rams’ offense could have trouble hearing in its own house. That means Foles may be forced to use a silent count to get plays called.

“I’m not really thinking that way, but if we have to, that’s something that we’ve practiced,” Foles said. “We’re going to be at home, and I want to use our home-field advantage and have our fans loud.”

Every little bit would help. Embarrassed on both sides of the ball last week, the Rams want to show that last week wasn’t really who they are.

“Absolutely,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said, speaking specifically of a defense gashed for 182 yards rushing. “It hurts the whole defense’s pride when you give up that many on the ground.”

“We love the challenge,” safety T.J. McDonald added. “They’re coming into our house. We want to protect our home field, and do what we’re supposed to do as a secondary. You want to make sure no balls get over your head. That’s the biggest thing.

“And our pass rushers have to get after the passer. And when you get your chance on Big Ben, he’s a big dude, so you want to be able to get him down when you get a chance.”

Last week’s pratfall against Washington illustrated a recurring theme of Fisher’s Rams, an inability to maintain the consistency, execution, and intensity needed to be successful on a regular basis in the NFL. In that sense, the Rams have shown a tendency to play down to the level of their competition.

That shouldn’t be the issue this week, or the next three Sundays for that matter. Because after Pittsburgh comes Arizona. And after Arizona, Green Bay. The Arizona and Green Bay contests are road games. In terms of quarterbacks alone, you’re talking Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer, and Aaron Rodgers back-to-back-to-back.

“So we’re gonna find out a lot about what kind of club we have in the next three (games),” Laurinaitis said. “But it starts with this offensive machine that’s coming to town Sunday.