Sack

FG time

Tavon in a fight!

INT

This drive by the Rams, the one with Gurley, has promise but they couldn’t convert the 3rd down

Let’s keep this thread active. If this chat room is uneven, we replace it. The goal is a chat room we all like. So feedback is useful. Like I said, if we don’t like this one, we’ll fix things.

If necessary, we will even call in Tony Stark.

We will. We’ll do it.

Rams-Steelers: 7 For Sunday

Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-steelers-for-sunday/article_e0a78527-c481-530c-87e6-977f7ab2c0de.html

Go ahead, just try to sack Ben Roethlisberger. Opposing pass rushers look like kids climbing on a playground Jungle Gym — with Roethlisberger in the role of the Jungle Gym — trying to get the big fellow down. Pressure from the edges doesn’t seem to make him antsy. Your best chance is trying to disrupt him with pressure up the middle. That’s your cue, Pittsburgh native Aaron Donald. Roethlisberger was out when the teams met in 2011, so this marks the first time he’s played the Rams since 2007.

PROTECTING BIG BEN

Despite Roethlisberger’s penchant for standing firm in the pocket, and waiting — and waiting some more — for receivers to get open, he has been sacked only twice and barely got touched last week by San Francisco. Even with four-time Pro Bowl C Maurkice Pouncey out with an injury, the Pittsburgh offensive line has been surprisingly effective. Cody Wallace has filled in for Pouncey. The Steelers have been able to run the ball without Le’Veon Bell and scored three rushing TDs vs. the 49ers.RING THAT BELLBell missed the first two games of the season while serving an NFL suspension. But he’s cleared to go and Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin says Bell is ready for a full load in St. Louis. Although he’s trimmer than his college days at Michigan State, at 225 pounds Bell is still a power back. After making Washington rookie Matt Jones look like a star last week, the Rams are stepping up in class against Bell, who had a franchise record 2,215 yards rushing and receiving in 2014. Huge challenge.

BROWN & CO.

Opponents are completing an astounding 80.9 percent of their passes against the Rams so far this season, so when it comes to the Rams’ secondary vs. the Steelers’ receiving corps, it looks like a big mismatch. Antonio Brown is the NFL’s top WR, and he can beat you in all ways — long, short, and in between. Darrius Heyward-Bey is among the league’s fastest players, running a 4.25 in the 40 at the NFL Scouting Combine. The Rams have to keep Brown and Heyward-Bey from getting behind them. That’s Job 1.LINEBACKER CENTRALYes, the Rams have five first-round draft picks on their defensive line. Well, the Steelers have four former first-round picks at linebacker. It’s a physical, fast-flowing group that can press the point of attack but also go sideline to sideline to run down perimeter plays. Second-year LB Ryan Shazier is an emerging star, but has been scratched for Sunday’s game because of a shoulder injury. Rookie Bud Dupree, who paid a pre-draft visit to Rams Park, already has two sacks coming off the bench.

THE BACK END

If the Steelers have a weakness, it’s their secondary. Granted, they drew Tom Brady in Week 1, and Colin Kaepernick got some garbage yards in Week 2, but the Steelers are 27th in passing defense, yielding 289.5 yards per game. Through injury or sub par performance, four DBs the Steelers had starting hopes for are either on the bench or not contributing much. So it’s a patchwork group, but an aggressive unit, with veteran William Gay and former street free agent Antwon Blake starting at corner.OH, BY THE WAYWhen he’s not catching a zillion passes, Antonio Brown still finds the time to shag punts for Pittsburgh. Actually, he does more than just catch them — he has averaged 10 yards-plus per return in three of his five previous NFL seasons and has three career punt return TDs. The Rams have tightened up their punt coverage considerably since allowing a TD against Seattle’s Tyler Lockett on Johnny Hekker’s first boot of the season, but can’t afford to take Brown lightly.

from off the net

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-X-

Playing off and giving your corners the ability to read the 3-step drop allows them to be able to break on the ball instead of making them stay in phase with the WR and mirror his moves. You want them to be able to read the QB, and not the WR. It’s also predicated on the front 4 generating enough pressure to allow the corners to make plays. I wouldn’t complain as much about the coverage in as much as I’d be wondering why we can’t generate enough pressure with our front 4. We also do alternate who plays man in zone coverage. Usually it’s Jenkins on their #1, but sometimes it’s the other side as well, or both. It’s constantly changing to give different looks, and I don’t really have a problem with the cushions they give. I’d rather get nickel and dimed all day and get tight in the red zone than take the chance that one slip-up, bad read, or miscommunication during a CB-S pass-off will result in a 14 second drive culminating in a score.

If you play press man, take the inside shoulder and run the WR up the sidelines, what happens when it’s a run? You’re already in full sprint mode away from the play. Conversely, if it’s a run play and you’re in off coverage, the WR has to run block, can’t get hands on you right away, and you can crash top down towards the RB. I mean, there are inherent weaknesses in all coverage shells, and that’s why offensive coordinators try to exploit those weaknesses with what typically works at the time. In the meantime, defensive coordinators are constantly making in-game adjustments to what they think the OC is gonna do and vice-versa. It’s a chess match. Williams shows blitz just as much as he actually does blitz too. That forces a quick decision by the QB who didn’t really have to make one.

The way Williams’ defense is set up, he relies on 4-man pressure to allow his back 7 to play zone coverage and clog the throwing lanes while giving his corners the latitude to play the QB and the ball. Those cushions you see are designed, in some cases, to account for dropping linemen after showing blitz during pre-snap. Takes away slants. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn’t. If coordinators could predict (cough, NE, cough) what an offense is going to do with 100% accuracy, there would be pure dominance out of any defensive unit. As of now, our pass defense really isn’t a huge issue. Now when the run defense sputters, that’s gonna effect everything. ESPECIALLY pass defense. Because now you have to commit to stopping one thing which produces vulnerabilities in the other.

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Some follow-up to a post already posted, above.

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CoachO

* If you look closely at the actual yardage you will find they are not 12 yards off the ball. Regardless. If you use the example of 3rd and 8, the CBs will close ground so you can’t assume that in the 2 seconds the QB has to get the ball out that the distance is still somehow 8-10 yards between the receiver and the CB.

* This defense is designed to force the check downs and throws in front of the defense. Williams screams about flying to the football and tackling. Everything is to be funneled underneath and then come up and tackle. When you look closely at the types of completions, there just aren’t many in that intermediate (15-20 yard) throws. That’s not to say there aren’t plays that result in those gains. But again, it mostly the byproduct of missed tackles.

* Not every play call is designed to end up in a sack. And when opposing offenses scheme to get the ball out quickly, as most do against the Rams, the pass rush, no matter how good the front four are, is not “getting home”. In fact, sometimes the plan is to force a bad read or better yet a bad throw resulting in a turnover. It’s not always about getting sacks.

Rams’ first order of business: Corralling Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger

Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/21811/rams-first-order-of-business-corralling-steelers-ben-roethlisberger

EARTH CITY, Mo. — The St. Louis Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers meet Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at the Edward Jones Dome. Here’s three things to watch in that matchup:

1. Wrangling Roethlisberger: Surrounded by talent all over what is perhaps the league’s best offense, it’s still quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that drives the Steelers’ car. And Roethlisberger is playing as well as he’s ever played two weeks into the season. This week, Roethlisberger is looking to pass Terry Bradshaw as the winningest quarterback in Steelers history.

At 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, Roethlisberger is as big as most NFL linebackers and is completely unafraid to stand in the pocket and take hits or get on the move and make something happen with his feet while keeping his eyes open to get the ball down the field. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley has even given Roethlisberger permission to switch tempo and go no-huddle, letting the quarterback call all the plays along the way.

Rams defenders marvel at Roethlisberger’s willingness to simply stand in the pocket, almost flat-footed at times, knowing that if the pass rush comes, he can use his size and strength to escape and make something happen. Which is why when the Rams get in the backfield — and they will — they have to be extra-diligent about wrapping up and bringing Roethlisberger down.

There’s no quarterback in the league better at breaking away from a would-be sack and turning it into a big play. The Rams have a bad habit of allowing big plays. Too many in this one and they’ll be out of it before it ever gets started.

2. Keeping pace: The Steelers offense is so dynamic that they offer another case of the best defense against it being a good offense. It sounds simplistic and it is in theory but not in execution. For the Rams to slow down Roethlisberger & Co., the best thing they can do is keep them on the sideline as much as possible.

That could be a big problem for the Rams, who have been among the worst offenses in the league when it comes to sustaining drives. Through two weeks, the Rams’ average time of possession is 25 minutes, 24 seconds, which is 30th in the NFL. They’re 31st in first downs (30).

This is an offense that is supposed to lean on a strong running game to move the chains and control the clock. So far, it’s done neither. Even getting rookie running back Todd Gurley back in the mix, which looks possible if not likely, probably won’t be enough to serve as a magic potion as the Rams work him back into shape.

The hope for the Rams lies in Pittsburgh’s vulnerable secondary, which is 27th in the league in passing yards allowed per game at 289.5. There will be some chances for Rams quarterback Nick Foles to make some plays and he must take advantage but the Rams don’t want to get into a shootout with the Steelers, either.

Instead, for the Rams to have a chance to win, they need an offense that gets some traction in the run game, keeps drives going by converting on third down and hitting on the occasional big pass play to supplement the run.

3. Going for two: If this game is close, the new extra point rule and the decisions teams make because of it could turn the outcome in either direction. Specifically, the Steelers’ penchant for going for two-point conversions could be especially important in a close game.

Through two weeks, the Steelers have embraced the two-point try instead of the longer extra point to the tune of converting all three of their two-point attempts. The Steelers practice the conversions every day and have made it clear that they intend to keep doing it.

The Rams, meanwhile, have yet to attempt a two-point conversion under the new rules, which could be a disadvantage if they find themselves in position to have to try it this week.

Next three games will define Rams defense

Ben Frederickson

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ben-frederickson/benfred-next-three-games-will-define-rams-defense/article_46930f95-7c71-5bfd-86c5-93bf8b12ba2d.html

Gregg Williams was back in good spirits Friday, joking with William Hayes after the 6-3, 278-pound defensive end tiptoed behind a pop-up partition the team uses for interviews and mimicked the defensive coordinator’s comments to reporters.

It’s no secret Williams and his players, the Mob Squad according to their T-shirts, like to have fun.

The unit’s status as one of the best in the NFL is supposed to be just as certain.

Washington’s 17-point first-half lead and game-clinching second-half touchdown drive in Sunday’s 24-10 loss challenged the theory.

And that was before Washington lost by 11 to the New York Giants on Thursday.

No one was horsing around in the Rams’ film room Monday.

“I was not disappointed, I was (upset),” Williams said, spelling the word for added emphasis.

“Everybody felt the same way he (Williams) did,” nose tackle Michael Brockers said.

Hayes and linebacker James Laurinaitis settled on the same phrase: “That wasn’t us.”

Is this the defense that clinched a season-opening win by stopping Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch on a fourth-and-one, or is it the defense that turned Washington rookie running back Matt Jones into Christian Okoye circa 1989?

Maybe it’s a defense that will fluctuate between the former and the latter all season, driving fans batty as they ride the Rams Roller Coaster.

We will know soon enough, thanks to upcoming games against Pittsburgh, Arizona and Green Bay.

“We’ll find out how good we are,” Laurinaitis said.

Sunday brings the Steelers and their NFL-best average of 458.5 offensive yards per game. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger just won AFC player of the week. Running back DeAngelo Williams leads the AFC in rushing yards (204), but his carries could decrease since All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell, last year’s AFC rushing leader, is back from a two-game suspension. And don’t forget receiver Antonio Brown, who led the NFL in receiving yards last season and already has 121 more than second-place Rob Gronkowski this season.

Arizona, led by the trio of quarterback Carson Palmer, running back Chad Johnson and receiver Larry Fitzgerald, ranks first in points per game (39.5) and 11th in yards per game (363.5).

Green Bay, the safest Super Bowl bet thanks to quarterback Aaron Rodgers, is averaging a fifth-best 29 points per game.

“You look at our schedule, and see the teams we have, people are counting us out,” Brockers said. “We look at it as, we are up there with those guys, too. They shouldn’t look past us either.”

Beat Seattle and SportsCenter has your players on for an interview. Get ran over by Washington and you start thinking like an underdog. Sometimes hard lessons are learned in bad losses.

After its what-the-heck performance against Washington, this defense is kicking itself for its slow start, a trap it warned itself about all offseason. Seattle’s first three offensive drives against the Rams ended in punts. Washington punted its first, snapped off a 39-yard touchdown run on its second and kicked a 46-yard field goal on its third.

Stopping the run is now Priority No. 1. After the Rams held Lynch to 74 yards and never let him find the end zone, Washington churned out 182 yards, an average of 4.9 yards per carry, and scored two touchdowns on the ground.

“Until you put that fire out, it’s going to burn a little bit,” Laurinaitis said.

There’s also a sense that the defense needs to play smarter as a whole. Getting off the ball is great. Ending up so far in the backfield you create lanes for the offense isn’t.

Make no mistake. The Rams will keep attacking. Williams wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We can’t sit, read and react,” he said. “We are always behind in that situation. How do you keep the offense on edge, so they have to react to us? We are not going to react to them.”

But better gap assignments, and better tackling, would have made it harder for Washington to turn the Rams’ penetration into a positive. Other opponents would be wise to make the Rams prove they are fundamentally sound.

“Those are things we learn from,” Brockers added. “Sometimes, we can’t just shoot up the field and make running lanes, make big creases between the defense. From that loss, we did gain a little bit of confidence, knowing we can fix the problems that happened in that game. We can get better.”

“We just have to play more sound football,” added Hayes. “That product we put out there on the field (against Washington), we can’t be doing that week in and week out. That will lose us some games. Guys just have to lock in a little bit more this weekend. Play good, solid football. Don’t try to do too much. Just do our job.”

The Rams’ defense has a hard job. It has to carry this offensively-challenged team. The next three games will show us if Williams and his guys are up to the task.

from the net

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CoachO

When you bring as much pressure (blitzes) as Williams is known to, you are risking giving up the home run by playing press coverage.

The concept is to force them to get to ball out fast. Underneath and fly to the ball. This is the very foundation of his defense. They work on it more than any other facet of their defense.

If you play press coverage and are isolated in man coverage, all it takes is one missed chuck at the line of scrimmage and the QB throws a quick fade and its bye bye.

Whether you agree with the the concept or not, this is the reason they do it. Completions are not the thing that matters. It’s closing on the receiver and tackling that is the key to limiting the damage. When they went on their run last year over the last 8 games of the season, they didn’t change the design, they improved (dramatically) their tackling.

You force them to throw underneath and jump the route. Johnson already has one INT from this design. And Jenkins is one of the best at it. It’s also where they miss Gaines. As he may have been the best of the CBs at reading and closing on the receiver.

More often than not, they are going to be in some sort of zone coverage when they utilize this concept. So playing tight “in your face” coverage is asking for trouble. It’s nothing more that “risk vs. reward”.

Some people say, I’ve seen this team get crushed on too many 3rd and mediums and 3rd and longs in the passing game with that stupid off man coverage

And when that happens, its usually because someone either missed a tackle at the point of attack or missed an assignment allowing for a big play.

A lot of people think that this front four will “get home” every time a QB drops back. When teams are game planning a ton of 3 step drops, the pass rush just isn’t going to be a factor on every play.

Again. It’s risk vs. reward and the odds say that if they tackle, more often than not teams are not going to sustain 10 play drives against them.

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.