ESPN.com - NFL - Take 2: Patriots vs. Rams
Scouts Inc.
Tuesday, our scouts filed their advance advance scouting report on this
week's matchup between the Patriots and Rams. Now they're back with a
second look.
The Patriots are often viewed as a "blitz happy" defense that likes to
take chances on every down, but the reality is that they put eight and
nine defenders in the box, making it look like a blitz, but then they drop
defenders into coverage on the snap of the ball. This makes it difficult
for offense's blocking assignments. When you add their ability to change
up 3-4 and 4-3 fronts, you have a confusing defensive scheme that does not
have to blitz all the time.
When Ty Law went down last week with a broken foot, it changed the
Patriots defensive philosophy. They went from an aggressive blitz package
with man-to-man schemes behind it, to a soft cover-two defense, because
they simply could not match up in the secondary. With Law out this week,
the Patriots will be forced to use more cover-two without much blitzing
and Rams WRs Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce are two of the best at working
against the cover-two zone.
RB Steven Jackson is quietly beginning to get most of the carries on first
and second down, making Marshall Faulk more of a third down back. Jackson
has good, speed, power and the ability to make yards after contact. There
were concerns earlier in the season about his ability to pick up the
blitz, the concern with most young backs, but he has shown dramatic
improvement in this area. The best part about all of this is that the
person helping him make all these improvements is Faulk.
The Rams have a tough decision to make in regards to the amount of
blitzing they do. Last week the Steelers had success attacking the
Patriots off the edge. If the Rams do blitz, it will force Tom Brady to
get rid of the ball quickly versus the cover-two, but blitzing Brady can
be dangerous. He is excellent at reading the blitz and getting the ball
out quickly to his "hot" receiver.
The Rams are struggling in their sub-packages, as they lack depth in the
secondary. When they have to put three or four corners on the field they
don't match up well, which could serve the Patriots well.
Mike Martz can look at the Patriots defense in two ways. The Steelers ran
the ball successfully last week, so using Steven Jackson with a power
inside run game would be productive. But he can also be looking at the
Patriots banged up secondary, Ty Law out with a broken foot and be
"licking his chops" at the prospect of attacking them with five receiver
sets, on the fast home turf. It doesn't take a genius to figure out which
way Martz would rather play it.
The Rams do a poor job of jamming tight ends off the line of scrimmage and
as a result, athletic tight ends have had success making plays down the
seams in the middle of the field. This bodes well for TE Daniel Graham,
but if he is forced to stay in and block next to the Patriots banged up
offensive tackles, which happened last week, then it could negate a real
advantage for the Patriots in the passing game. With added blocking
responsibilities last week, neither Graham nor TE Christian Fauria had a
single reception.
The Rams cover-two defense is giving up too many big plays and not making
enough big plays of their own. They have given up 27 plays of 10 yards or
more in their first seven games, while only recording two interceptions.
St. Louis lead the league in takeaways in 2003. The Rams are not showing
good gap discipline, they are not jumping routes and they don't always
tackle well. All of these factors could get them into trouble playing the
Patriots.
When the Patriots struggle offensively, they like to go to five receiver
empty backfield sets, which usually create better matchups for them. It
forces opposing defenses back on their heels and into more vanilla
schemes. However, the Steelers ignored the five receivers, came after
Brady and he couldn't get the ball out quick enough and the Patriots
looked out of sync. It will be interesting to see if the Rams adopt the
same philosophy and come after Brady in their nickel and dime defensive
package.
Special Teams
The Rams are really struggling on special teams, especially on cover
teams. They have a lot of young players on both sides of the ball. St.
Louis kickers are doing a good job, but the Patriots are well-coached and
are loaded with veterans, giving them a big advantage.
Prediction: Rams 30, Patriots 26
Scouts Inc.
Tuesday, our scouts filed their advance advance scouting report on this
week's matchup between the Patriots and Rams. Now they're back with a
second look.
The Patriots are often viewed as a "blitz happy" defense that likes to
take chances on every down, but the reality is that they put eight and
nine defenders in the box, making it look like a blitz, but then they drop
defenders into coverage on the snap of the ball. This makes it difficult
for offense's blocking assignments. When you add their ability to change
up 3-4 and 4-3 fronts, you have a confusing defensive scheme that does not
have to blitz all the time.
When Ty Law went down last week with a broken foot, it changed the
Patriots defensive philosophy. They went from an aggressive blitz package
with man-to-man schemes behind it, to a soft cover-two defense, because
they simply could not match up in the secondary. With Law out this week,
the Patriots will be forced to use more cover-two without much blitzing
and Rams WRs Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce are two of the best at working
against the cover-two zone.
RB Steven Jackson is quietly beginning to get most of the carries on first
and second down, making Marshall Faulk more of a third down back. Jackson
has good, speed, power and the ability to make yards after contact. There
were concerns earlier in the season about his ability to pick up the
blitz, the concern with most young backs, but he has shown dramatic
improvement in this area. The best part about all of this is that the
person helping him make all these improvements is Faulk.
The Rams have a tough decision to make in regards to the amount of
blitzing they do. Last week the Steelers had success attacking the
Patriots off the edge. If the Rams do blitz, it will force Tom Brady to
get rid of the ball quickly versus the cover-two, but blitzing Brady can
be dangerous. He is excellent at reading the blitz and getting the ball
out quickly to his "hot" receiver.
The Rams are struggling in their sub-packages, as they lack depth in the
secondary. When they have to put three or four corners on the field they
don't match up well, which could serve the Patriots well.
Mike Martz can look at the Patriots defense in two ways. The Steelers ran
the ball successfully last week, so using Steven Jackson with a power
inside run game would be productive. But he can also be looking at the
Patriots banged up secondary, Ty Law out with a broken foot and be
"licking his chops" at the prospect of attacking them with five receiver
sets, on the fast home turf. It doesn't take a genius to figure out which
way Martz would rather play it.
The Rams do a poor job of jamming tight ends off the line of scrimmage and
as a result, athletic tight ends have had success making plays down the
seams in the middle of the field. This bodes well for TE Daniel Graham,
but if he is forced to stay in and block next to the Patriots banged up
offensive tackles, which happened last week, then it could negate a real
advantage for the Patriots in the passing game. With added blocking
responsibilities last week, neither Graham nor TE Christian Fauria had a
single reception.
The Rams cover-two defense is giving up too many big plays and not making
enough big plays of their own. They have given up 27 plays of 10 yards or
more in their first seven games, while only recording two interceptions.
St. Louis lead the league in takeaways in 2003. The Rams are not showing
good gap discipline, they are not jumping routes and they don't always
tackle well. All of these factors could get them into trouble playing the
Patriots.
When the Patriots struggle offensively, they like to go to five receiver
empty backfield sets, which usually create better matchups for them. It
forces opposing defenses back on their heels and into more vanilla
schemes. However, the Steelers ignored the five receivers, came after
Brady and he couldn't get the ball out quick enough and the Patriots
looked out of sync. It will be interesting to see if the Rams adopt the
same philosophy and come after Brady in their nickel and dime defensive
package.
Special Teams
The Rams are really struggling on special teams, especially on cover
teams. They have a lot of young players on both sides of the ball. St.
Louis kickers are doing a good job, but the Patriots are well-coached and
are loaded with veterans, giving them a big advantage.
Prediction: Rams 30, Patriots 26
