Bradford and the o-line versus the Pats pass rush
by Ryan Van Bibber on Aug 24, 2010 1:33 PM CDT
in 2010 St. Louis Rams preseason
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All eyes will be on the St. Louis Rams rookie QB Sam Bradford as he gets the first start of his NFL career Thursday night against the New England Patriots. Last week, Rams watchers were eager to see how the offensive line fared after a six sack performance in the preseason opener. The two plots merge into a more complete narrative for week three of the preseason as the line will have to do its part in keeping Bradford upright and giving him time to connect with his receivers, while the QB needs a better showing than his 44.4 completion percentage.
Thus far in the preseason, the Patriots have not been aggressive on the blitz, mirroring last season when they were strictly middle of the pack in terms of their sack rate. In fact, the Patriots haven't been among the league leaders in sacks rates since the 2007 season. So far in the preseason the Patriots have recorded just two sacks, one in each of their games.
Will that change this week against the Rams? I don't follow the Patriots close enough to know how Belichick approaches the preseason, but I have read somewhere recently that his Pats don't typically open up the playbook much in the preseason. If that is the case, then the Rams aren't likely to see the kind of aggressive approach that the Vikings second team used to cause such chaos in week one.
However, several of New England's top defensive players returned to action this week, including OLB Tully Banta-Cain, CB Leigh Bodden and DE Damione Lewis, who you may remember from his days as a Ram. Their other sack specialist is OLB Derrick Burgess, who Spags knows from their time together in Philly.
The third week of the preseason is an important one as teams shift from training camp to regular season mode. The starters often get more time together in week three before the final preseason game is used mostly to evaluate individual roster battles. Whether the New England pass rush is aggressive or not, the Rams o-line and Bradford have big expectations on their shoulders.
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I don't follow the Patriots either.
Partially because they are in the AFC and I really don’t care for AFC teams but mostly because I really dislike the Patriots more than any other team. Yes, part of that is due to losing a Super Bowl to them but mostly because I despise Belichick. I think he’s snealy and underhanded, but hey, that’s just me.
As far as the game with the Patroits goes lets face it, they are a better team (at least for now, hee hee hee) but even if our two teams were dead even on how good they were, the Rams had only 4 days since their last game, the Patroits have had six. The Rams have to use a day for travel to New England and of course that also means the Patriots are the home team. All those things combined, they have to have a big edge on winning the game.
The good news is that this game doesn’t count and will be forgotten once the regular Season starts.
Go Rams!
"We can't run. We can't pass. We can't stop the run. We can't stop the pass. We can't kick. Other than that, we're just not a very good football team right now." --- Bruce Coslett, New York Jets Head Coach circa 1990s
"I don't follow the Patriots close enough to know how Belichick approaches the preseason"
Don’t worry, I don’t think anyone does. As far as I know, Belichick keeps the Patriots off limits to the media during the preseason.
>> “I really dislike the Patriots more than any other team.”
You mean the whole New England area? You forget about the 2004 World Series sweep over the Cards already?
*sneaky (not snealy)
"We can't run. We can't pass. We can't stop the run. We can't stop the pass. We can't kick. Other than that, we're just not a very good football team right now." --- Bruce Coslett, New York Jets Head Coach circa 1990s
Make a Good Impression
Like ‘em or not, the Patriots are one of the elite group of teams in the NFL while the Rams at best are NFC-W cellar dwellars. Hopefully, the Rams can show some spunk, make a good impression and stay with the Pat’s for at least the first half. It’s a foregone conclusion that the Pat’s will WIN the game in a cake walk.
I hate the Pats. I fear they will make Sammy scramble for his life.
It’s time for old soft-head, Bell, and new guy Saffold to live up to their contracts. Jason Brown will do good as usual. Gotta keep the likes of Fraley, Greco, etc. out of the lineup till Null comes in to relieve.
I'm still sour
I don’t care what anyone says there were two seconds left on the clock in that superbowl. Other than that, I look forward to any chance we get to stick it to the Pats. This will be a good test for the o-line and Sam. I hope Shurmur gives him a chance to throw it more than 10-yards down the field.
Hell yeah there were still 2 seconds on that clock!
Agreed 100%. Not saying that a miracle would’ve happened but where the hell did those seconds dissappear to after the FG?!? Should’ve had one more chance.
I hate all team Boston (I normally use expletives to accompany anything with Boston sports and fans but edChop gets real sensitive).
I should be working right now...
I live in Boston I hate the Pats from early 70's
Funny thing is T. Brady is such a hero for the fans up here but he is building a house in Cali lol they wont have him for long the talk is he will be SF bound soon after this season
Brady to SF?
From one team I despise to another I guess.
I am a Lakers fan and an Angels fan so I hate all of Boston’s main three sports teams….so you might as well throw the NE Revolution and Boston Bruins in the mix too to round it out….
I should be working right now...
Brady grew up in the Bay Area
His family is from here, he went to high school here, he was a Niners fan as a kid. That’s why he’s building a house here, so he can come “home” when his playing days are over.
by CoachConnors on Aug 25, 2010 3:58 PM CDT up reply actions
Does anyone know if Selvie is healthy again yet?
Man I like what I’ve seen with that kid. Hopefully we get to see more of him before the final cut. He is a playmaking kid with alot of burst. He just might be what we need opposite of Long
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