Pundits and others seem to be far more concerned about the St. Louis Rams transition to a new offense in 2011 than the players are. Sure, there is gap to be bridged between informal, player-led workouts and putting the Xs and Os together against a live defense, but Rams players are pretty confident in their knowledge of Josh McDaniels' system as well as Sam Bradford's mastery of the playbook. Rams receiver Brandon Gibson was the latest to echo those feelings.
Naturally, I asked Gibson about the Rams new offense over the phone earlier this week. Asked how the workouts went:
It's been good. I feel like we got a lot of work done. Sam is our offensive leader, so we look up to him and follow him. He did a great job this offseason staying in the playbook and understanding everything. We have also done our best studying, and I think we know our offense pretty well.
The differences between last year's offense and the new one:
I really feel like this offense has the chance to be explosive. Each position, we know our plays. They may not all be home run type plays, but I guess we’ll see.
More from Gibson after the jump. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @BGibson04.
Naturally, after the Rams drafted two receivers this year to give them an even dozen on the roster - and at least another half dozen linked to the team in free agent rumors - Gibson's roster spot is not guaranteed. I asked him about that.
They drafted two receivers, so...we're all going to be competing for a spot. My rookie year I was drafted by Philadelphia, a team no one thought I'd make. I'm not afraid of the competition at all. I actually look forward to it. I feel like in the end it'll make us a better team. Whatever happens, happens.
What were the big differences, in his eyes, between the 2009 and 2010 Rams, spanning his first two seasons in the league?
I can honestly say that Sam was a huge help. Coming in with a quarterback as talented as him, the team kind of rallied around him.
Once players are in the second year of their system, they're going to get more comfortable and just relax and play fast; that's what the second season was about. We're starting over offense-wise, but we don't want to take any steps backwards. We're going to work as hard as we can to become a very potent offense and make sure we put up points.
And where do the Rams and Gibson need to improve offensively this season?
I feel like all around we could be better. We have one of the best running backs in the NFL, Steven Jackson. He's been a consistent force over the past few years. We know we're going to get a solid running game. At the end of the day it just comes down to making plays, and I feel like we'll be a lot better at doing that in the 2011 season.
From a fan perspective, it's hard not to look at this Rams team and expect better results this year.
Thanks again to Brandon Gibson for taking the time to talk to TST.
Be sure to read the first part of our interview with Gibson here.