BRITT:

Get Kenny Britt’s postgame reaction to the victory over the Denver Broncos.

http://www.stlouisrams.com/videos/videos/Postgame-Reaction-Kenny-Britt/f2fa2a04-14d4-4c93-924c-83e4f06f2178

FISHER & HILL:

St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher and quarterback Shaun Hill shed some light on the teams 22-7 defeat of the Denver Broncos.

http://www.stlouisrams.com/videos/videos/St-Louis-Rams-Press-Conference/b58768da-e3cf-424e-a5f2-5ec41a306ec0

Rams set to combat Manning’s wizardry

By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-set-to-combat-manning-s-wizardry/article_5366c659-b3c1-5cf2-bef8-5ea6587124c6.html

New Rams safety Mark Barron has faced Peyton Manning only once, two years ago as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer.

It wasn’t the most monstrous of Manning performances: three touchdown passes, 242 yards in a 31-23 Denver victory. Even so, in the minds of Barron and his teammates, it was as if Manning knew every call by the Tampa defense. It’s like he knew what was coming.

“We came away from the game thinking he had cheated or something, the way he was calling it out,” Barron said. “Seriously. He’s a smart guy, man. He knows the game.”

Prof. Manning brings his act to St. Louis — along with the rest of the Denver Broncos — for a noon kickoff Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome. Of course, the show comes complete with all the gestures, gyrations and verbal signals that have become part and parcel of Manning’s game over these many years.

“Omaha! Omaha!”

“I did hear ‘Omaha,’” Barron said of that 2012 game. “He’s been doing that for years. He has a lot of terminology that he uses. It’s like he really has his own language.”

But is it real? Or fake?

“You don’t really know,” Barron said. “You don’t know if something he’s saying is actually real or if it’s a dummy call.”

Since Manning won’t be supplying decoder rings Sunday, it’s up to the Rams to figure that all out. Or … just ignore it.

“You try not to think about that at all,” linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar said. “I think he has way too many code words.”

Nothing personal Peyton, but Dunbar doesn’t plan on listening.

“You don’t want to play that cat-and-mouse game with him,” Dunbar said.

Defensive tackle Kendall Langford agrees.

“It’s crowd noise,” Langford. “You can’t get caught up in listening to that because it’ll slow you down. Just go out there and play your game. Do your job. Do your 1/11th, and hopefully we can get it done.”

Teams have tried just about everything in an effort to slow Manning down over the years. Blitzing like crazy. Dropping eight men in coverage. Distracting him with circus clowns. Not much seems to work, unless you have Seattle’s defensive personnel or Bill Belichick’s brain.

Make no mistake, the Rams have studied those tapes, looking to beg, borrow or steal anything they can to slow Manning.

But even for a defensive coordinator as creative as Gregg Williams, you don’t reinvent the wheel 10 games into the season. Especially when you’re facing Manning.

“Really, you don’t change a lot of things you’re doing,” Williams said. “When people start doing that type of stuff is when big accidents happen. We’ve just got to be who we are. We’ve got to be a lot more focused in a couple of situations, in a couple of formations, that they’ll present.”

So at its most basic level, the Rams will try to change looks as much as possible in an effort to keep Manning from zeroing in on what they’re doing — or decipher any pattern to what they’re doing.

Hard as it may seem, if they can take away Manning’s first read, that might give the Rams’ pass-rush — which has been coming on lately — an extra split-second to get in Manning’s face.

Manning doesn’t like getting hit. He has been known to get angry at his blockers when that happens. But he doesn’t get hit much, in large part because he almost always knows where he’s going with the ball and gets the ball out so quickly.

And of course, give the Broncos’ offensive line, re-shuffled as it has been lately, a healthy share of the credit. Manning has been sacked only nine times, a league low, and has been hit only 24 times this season, again a league low.

It’s that way almost every year, which has allowed him to keep upright and keep firing over his 17 NFL seasons in an amazingly consistent and productive fashion.

He enters the Dome on Sunday having thrown at least two touchdown passes in an NFL record 15 consecutive games.

He has thrown at least one TD pass in 48 straight contests, the third-longest such streak in league history.

The only player in NFL history to win five MVP awards, Manning set the NFL all-time record for career TD passes earlier this season. That mark is at 520 TD passes and counting. Should the game somehow be close in the fourth quarter, well, the 13-time Pro Bowler has led a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime 50 times.

(Yes, that’s also a league record.)

There are few head coaches this side of Belichick who know Manning as well as Rams coach Jeff Fisher. Since Manning entered the league as the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1998, Fisher faced him 19 times as head coach of the Tennessee Titans.

Fisher went 6-13 in those games, with one of those victories coming in a 1999 divisional playoff game the season the Titans advanced to the Super Bowl against Dick Vermeil’s Rams. That’s a winning percentage of just .316, but it’s slightly above the career winning percentage of all opponents against Manning in the regular season: .301, on 75 wins and 174 losses.

“I’ve said this before, it’s like playing a computer,” Fisher said. “That’s what he is. He runs that offense. He’s going to put them in the best possible position. He’s nearly impossible to fool and is hard to get down.”

There were years when Fisher had his entire defense wear wristbands with numbers on them signifying various defensive calls. Not only that, Fisher had the Titans’ defense switch to different wristbands every quarter.

“We couldn’t talk (on the field) because he recognizes your terminology and your calls and things like that,” Fisher said.

So they’d play defense by numbers. Numbers that changed every quarter. If the call was ”Three!” in the second quarter, it would signal something entirely different than what ”Three!” meant in the first quarter.

Did that work?

“No,” Fisher said, laughing. “It may have for a quarter. I don’t know.”

Over the years, Fisher has tried just about every way imaginable to defend Manning.

“Yeah, and we’ve had some success,” Fisher said. “And we’re expecting to again. That’s the way you go into it.”[/quote]

nittany ram wrote:

No one will confuse the Rams offensive live with the Hogs or anything, but I think some of that poor pass blocking efficiency can be laid at Davis’ feet. Defensive coordinators know Davis struggles against the blitz so they blitz him a lot. That leads to a lot of QB pressures. If Davis could recognize a blitz was coming and check out of the play called and/or find his hot receiver, then DC’s would be forced to dial back the blitzing a little bit. Then you would have fewer QB pressures and an o-line that’s ranked better than 30th in this regard.

Well I think all that too.

Couple of games from now…we’ll see if it’s right.

Rams-Broncos: Matchup breakdown

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/13607/rams-broncos-matchup-breakdown

EARTH CITY, Mo. — A look at three individual matchups to keep an eye on when the St. Louis Rams and Denver Broncos meet this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald vs. Broncos right guard Manny Ramirez/Whoever starts at right guard

Clearly, the Broncos are unhappy with the production they are getting from the interior of their offensive line. They’ve played musical chairs over the past few weeks and even went so far this week as to bring in former Ram Richie Incognito for a workout and a visit. Denver didn’t sign Incognito but left the door open to add him later on.

Ramirez started for the Broncos against Oakland last week after spending the season at his more traditional spot at center. All of that movement isn’t good for an offensive line that will be tested by the Rams’ surging pass rush. The Rams have 17 sacks over the past four weeks (including one for Robert Quinn that the league plans to credit but hasn’t yet), most in the NFL. That production coincides nicely with the emergence of Donald as the starter at left defensive tackle.

Donald has been a terror from day one, posting three sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Rams coaches have credited him with 18 quarterback pressures and eight quarterback hits. Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is the best in the world at getting the ball out quick which can help neutralize the pass rush off the edge but if nobody can slow Donald, things will get much more interesting in this one.

Rams left tackle Greg Robinson vs. Broncos right defensive end DeMarcus Ware

After watching Ware throttle Rams left tackle Jake Long in the Dallas game in 2013, many Rams fans are probably happy not to have to watch a rematch here. But that doesn’t mean that things will be any easier when it comes to blocking Ware. One of the best pass-rushers of his generation and still productive in his new home, Ware has eight sacks this season.

The reality is that when the Broncos get in a groove, coordinator Jack Del Rio will move Ware and fellow pass-rusher extraordinaire Von Miller all over the formation which means Robinson will get plenty of different looks throughout the game. But the primary matchup he’ll face is Ware. Robinson has seen some good pass-rushers in his first two starts at left tackle but none the caliber of Ware.

Robinson is still refining his understanding of angles and getting into his set. Physically, he has the ability to keep up with Ware but Ware will challenge him in ways he hasn’t been with his array of pass-rush moves and intellect.

Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins vs. Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas

Earlier this season, the Rams used Jenkins to shadow the opponent’s top wide receiver. The results of that experiment were mixed with good moments against the likes of Dallas’ Dez Bryant to go with bad ones. Jenkins has been hobbled by a knee injury of late and returned last week against Arizona. This week, he appears to be closer to full strength and should see his workload get back close to normal levels.

But the challenge awaiting Jenkins is perhaps the biggest of the season. Thomas has 1,002 receiving yards with six touchdowns, and at 6-foot-3, 229 pounds is one of the most physically impressive wideouts in the league. For whatever reason, Jenkins has always seemed to fare a bit better against bigger receivers but Thomas is also one of the best. Jenkins has a knack for staying with a top wideout for a number of plays then giving up a big one. It remains to be seen if the Rams will use Jenkins or anyone to shadow Thomas but either way, they can ill afford to allow yet another big play for a touchdown in the passing game.

How are gifs widely available? Explain. Maybe I am just uninformed about this. I thought that whenever we saw gifs of a plays in a post, the poster made them, just like with screen caps.

Rams Vs. Broncos: Shane’s Select Seven

Shane Gray

http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLc…5401/Rams-Vs-Broncos-Shanes-Select-Seven.aspx

While the St. Louis Rams finalized a daunting three game road trip last week and will return to home action this weekend for the first time in a month, the Denver Broncos remain road warriors as they conclude their own three game road trek with a matchup at the dome.

The Broncos stand alone atop the AFC West with a 7-2 season record. The Rams, on the other hand, sit in the solitude of the NFC West’s cellar with a 3-6 mark.

Help From Hill

After posting strong ratings of 98 or above in four of his first five starts, quarterback Austin Davis came back to earth in generating 75.4, 44.6 and 62.6 ratings in his last three outings.

With Davis struggling of late, Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher felt it was prudent to reevaluate the quarterback position and, in doing so, decided it was time to lean on veteran Shaun Hill, 34.

“We looked at things Monday night and I had lengthy discussions with the offensive staff and just felt that the best thing to do, at this point moving forward, was to lean on the experienced quarterback,” Fisher explained. “I told the team today in front of Austin (Davis) how much I appreciated Austin and his work ethic and his poise, his dedication and the tireless effort that he put in to prepare himself to play. He’s much better now than he was when he started, but made the decision to go ahead and play with Shaun (Hill).”

“We’re moving forward with an experienced quarterback that for all intensive purposes lost his job because of injury,” Fisher continued. “You all understand why we went that way because of the production that we got earlier out of Austin. Again, I don’t want to present anything that appears to be cloudy, but this is in my opinion and the offensive staff’s opinion, what’s best for this football team right now.”

According to Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, the decision to demote Davis was most influenced by his recent propensity for turnovers. In his first five starts, he threw a total of three interceptions. However, in just his last three games, Davis has racked up five picks.

“Obviously, we went back and looked at things and Austin (Davis) has played really well for the most part,” Scottenheimer said Wednesday. “I think the big thing for us was the turnovers. It’s hard to win in this league when you’re turning the football over.”

While Davis has handled his return to the backup role in the classy manner that one would expect of the Southern Mississippi product, Hill is understandably excited to step back into the lineup after a 10-week hiatus.

“Obviously there’s some excitement that kicks in and things like that,” Hill admitted. “Now it’s kind of back to business as usual. I’m just 1/11th on offense. You go out and you prepare the best you can for Sunday.”

While Hill is happy to be back on the field, many wonder how much rust he will need to shake off after a two-and-a-half month layoff from live action on the gridiron.

Schottenheimer, however, does not seem overly concerned about that and feels Hill will be ready.

“He looked really good out here,” Schottenheimer said of Hill’s practice outings this week. “He’s been preparing. He’s a pro. He’s been in this role before. We were teasing a little bit that he looked a little out of shape and maybe had too many snacks over the last couple weeks, but he’s looked really pretty good and done a nice job. The ball’s coming out of his hand well. He’s making good, clean decisions. I don’t see the rust.”

In 27 career starts, Hill has compiled a 13-14 career record. He and the Rams hope he reaches the .500 mark Sunday in St. Louis.

The St. Louis Secondary

The extremely green St. Louis secondary has struggled against the pass for much of the season while also dealing with injuries to the likes of Trumaine Johnson, Janoris Jenkins and LeMarcus Joyner. The stats bear out the difficulties they have had in dealing with opposing air attacks, with the Rams giving up the highest completion percentage in the league (69.6) and the fourth highest passer rating (102.6).

While the St. Louis defensive backfield is the youngest in the NFL overall, Fisher credits his youthful group of safeties with helping to hold things down while dealing with the aforementioned injuries to several of the defense’s cornerbacks.

“I think T.J. (McDonald) is playing the safety position right now as good as any safety in the league,” Fisher asserted. “The last couple weeks I think that his play and body of work speaks for itself. He’s making plays. He’s all over the field. He’s going to continue to do that. We got production out of Mark (Barron) last week in a package. Rod’s (Rodney McLeod) been playing very well. These guys have been holding the corners together because we’ve been rolling the young corners. Obviously, now that (CB Trumaine Johnson) Tru’s back and (CB Janoris Jenkins) Jenks is back, (CB E.J. Gaines) E.J.’s going to get some work inside because (CB) Lamarcus (Joyner) looks doubtful for this week. Those guys (at safety) have pretty much been the glue in the secondary.”

This week against future first ball Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning, that glue and this group is going to face perhaps its stiffest test of the season. Entering this game, Denver is second in points per game, third in offensive yardage per contest, second in passer rating, third in yards per pass attempted and fifth-best on third downs.

Measuring Manning

Coaches have used almost every adjective and cliche imaginable in attempting to desribe the dynamic and other-wordly production of 13-time Pro Bowler and seven-time All-Pro Manning over his illustrious career.

During a mid-week question and answer session with reporters, Fisher compared Manning to playing against a computer. Yes, a computer.

“I’ve said this before, it’s like playing a computer,” Fisher said. “That’s what he is. He runs that offense. He’s going to put them in the best possible position. He’s nearly impossible to fool and is hard to get down. If you rush more than four, the balls coming out and he’s not going to take the hit. That’s just how he is. He puts that offense in the best possible position every snap. If the run’s not there, then he’s going to pick it up and he’s going to change and he’s going to put the ball down the field. He’s prepared. He’s prepared week after week, year after year.”

Fisher went on to explain that he feels that Manning’s career is just now reaching its pinnacle state.

“There’s no doubt, Peyton’s playing his best football right now,” Fisher continued. “Faced him many, many times. He’s playing his best football. It’s amazing the things he’s doing with the football. The cast that they have surrounded him with is outstanding. It really tests your defense. It requires patience. You have to run the football and get their punter on the field. I’m trying to simplify things for you, but you run it on offense and your goal is to get their punter on the field. Then you have a chance.”

In looking at the numbers, it is tough to argue strongly against Fisher’s notion, what with Manning having 29 touchdowns as compared to just seven interceptions to this point in the campaign. His 112 rating this fall is the third-best of any in his career and his QBR is his second best ever.

According to Denver Head Coach John Fox, it it his preparation and adaptability that sets him apart from almost all other NFL signal callers.

“I just think the way he prepares himself, whether it’s physically or whether it’s mentally,” Fox stated. “He has a ‘raise all boats’ type of approach. It’s been huge for our offense. I think what he’s accomplished kind of speaks for itself. Coming off a year of not playing football, stepping into a new organization after being with one team for so long and the same teammates for so long. His ability to adjust and change and do it in a new place is pretty remarkable in my estimation.”

Obviously, Fisher has a long history of facing Manning after coaching against him at least twice per year while with the Titans in the AFC South. With that considered, Fisher readily realizes the difficulties his defense will face this week against the future first ballot Hall of Famer.

“It’s a tremendous challenge,” Fisher said. “One of the biggest challenges I’ve been associated with a staff is defending him and his offense.”

All that said, Fisher maintains he has high expectations for Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams’ unit.

“We’ve had some success (against Manning),” Fisher said. “And we’re expecting to again. That’s the way you go into it.”

Considering the Clock

Sometimes, the keys to success in a football game are so simple they get overlooked by the masses. In facing Manning and the Broncos bold offensive arsenal, the most basic approach is the best: keep the football out of his hands as much as humanly possible.

Schottenheimer explained why this is important on Thursday.

“Every time that Peyton’s (Manning) on the bench that certainly is important, and their offense is on the bench,” explained Schottenheiemer. “Certainly have played him a lot of times. The times we’ve played well against him, going back to the days with the Jets in division playoff games and stuff like that, you win the time of possession battle. You stay on the field.”

“Again, part of that is getting into third down and manageable, converting third downs and sometimes avoiding third downs with explosive plays,” Schottenheimer continued. “It’s a rhythm thing. Again, I think the big thing for us this week because of time of possession is going to be running the football and throwing completions.”

Against a dynamite Denver defense, though, winning the time of possession battle may be easier said than done.

Denver’s Defense

Even though it’s the Broncos boisterous offense that gets most of the credit throughout Colorado and the broader pro football world, the defense has managed to become a top-tier unit while flying primarily under-the-radar.

On the year, the Denver D has been the league’s best in allowing just 3.2 yards per garry and 67 rushing yards per game. The longest run they have given up all season is a 25 yarder. Facing such a strong ground defense is highly problematic to the St. Louis offense as they need to run the ball effectively to use clock and keep the Broncos’ prolific offense off of the turf.

In addition to their dominance in run defense, Denver has the fifth fewest defensive penalties, ranks seventh in interceptions, seventh-best on third downs, tenth in sacks, ninth best (or lowest) passer rating allowed, tenth best (or lowest) passing completion percentage against and fourteenth in passing yards per game relinquished even while leading big in many of their contests.

“They’re awfully good, yeah,” Fisher said. “What happens typically when you have an offense that’s so potent and making so many big plays and has a scoring average per game that’s so high. The opposing offenses are playing catch-up. Those yards…you don’t want to call them garbage yards, but the defense is going to soften a little bit, give up some plays to win the game.

That happens to an outstanding defense. They are very difficult to run against. Both the edge rushers are outstanding and they get inside push. They’ve done a great job rebuilding their secondary, which was obviously a focus. I think they’ve got a great group of linebackers. We’re going to have to play very well.”

As good as the Denver defense has been, former All-Pro linebacker Von Miller feels they are only going to continue to improve.

“I feel like we still haven’t got to playing the type of football that we know we’re capable of playing,” Miller said. “I feel like we’re getting better and better every week. Our run defense is probably our identity right now. A good first- and second-down defense makes a good third-down defense. I think we’re just starting to get better, preparing for this stretch that we’ve got coming up.”

Dynamic Duo

It isn’t often that we find ourselves halfway through November and find one team touting two of the top 10 indivual sack artists.

In Denver, though, three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Von Miller has nine sacks while seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Ware has eight—good for sixth and tenth in the NFL, respectively.

The duo doesn’t spend its time competing or trying to top the other in production, though, but instead works hard to help each other be the best they can be.

We’ve got a healthy work-minded relationship,” Miller said in a conference call with Rams reporters Wednesday. “Every day he (Ware) pushes me. I go out there and push him. It’s all healthy and it’s helping our team. I enjoy DeMarcus. I love coming to work every single day, being around him and watching the way he prepares and I think it’s helped me with my game as well.”

Schottenheimer is certainly well aware of the problems the carnivorous combo will present to his offense.

“They create a lot of problems and they play really hard,” Schottenheimer suggested. “It’s a little bit of a benefit obviously, playing them at home, not having to go into the noise. The guy that’s really jumped out just because they move him around quite a little bit is Von (Miller). He’s just really explosive, great spin moves, but we certainly respect them both and they’re really, really good players. Nothing surprising there. You’ve got to do things to keep them off balanced and we’ll certainly try to do that, but it will be a long day if we can’t control those guys.”

“In most of the passing situations he’ll (Miller) be on our right going against (RT) Joe (Barksdale). DeMarcus (Ware) will be on the left. Again, two elite pass rushers, not only are they great rushers, they have great technique and they play extremely hard. They don’t give up and a lot of the sacks they get are second effort plays.”

Obviously, the St. Louis pass protection better be on its collective “A” game come noon Sunday. If not, it will likely be a long day for Hill and the Rams air attack.

Home Sweet Home

After a three-game stretch away from home, St. Louis returns to the dome on Sunday for some home cooking. While away, the Rams were competitive, but won just one of those three contests outside of the Gateway City.

This week, Fisher and the Rams are excited to be playing back under the mighty shadow of the Gateway Arch.

“It’s been an eventful three weeks,” Fisher said. “This young team’s learned how to travel, but you can’t beat playing at home.”

This week, however, a relatively nearby Denver club comes to town with a 7-2 record.

That, along with the pressing stadium issue, the current 3-6 record and a decade-long run of futility may make the dome feel more like a neutral-crowd atmosphere.

Either way, the Rams will have a lot more fans pulling for them this week at home than they have in any of the games they have played in roughly a month.

That alone should be helpful to this still young Rams roster. It just may not be quite as helpful as it would be under more ideal conditions.

This is good stuff.

Keep an eye out for the “in gifs” threads, they’re always good.