| NEW ORLEANS — The assignment: how to defense the
Rams’ offense. To a certain degree, this may be as futile as trying to figure out
how to keep the sun from rising. Some forces of nature can’t be extinguished. The
Rams’ offense may be one of them.
"At times they can be unstoppable," Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi said.
That said, no team ever pulled an upset without trying, so here are some ideas for what
can be attempted against the Rams’ juggernaut of an offense.
Attack, disrupt, pressure
To have any chance of slowing down the St. Louis offense, the Patriots must get
pressure on Rams QB Kurt Warner.
"I’d start with pressure," Rams WR Isaac Bruce said. "I’d
start with my defensive front line, make sure I get guys who can pressure that
quarterback, who can defeat a double-team, who can annihilate a 1-on-1 contest and get
after the quarterback."
Rams DE Grant Wistrom said, "I think they are going to come after us. I don’t
think you can just sit back and let Kurt throw the football."
If the defensive line can’t get enough pressure, then blitzes will be necessary.
Blitzes are also dangerous, however, so if that is required, New England must be sound
in its tackling.
"When they throw it, can you tackle a guy after he catches the ball?" Jets
head coach Herman Edwards said. "That’s a problem you have with a guy if they
start blitzing and things of that nature. You put those guys in 1-on-1 situations where
they have to tackle the receiver. If they miss the tackle, it becomes a big play."
How to avoid the big play
Avoiding the big play against the Rams is about as possible as avoiding paying your
taxes. Sooner or later you have to pay the price.
Nonetheless, limiting yards after the catch is critical.
"If you contain them and keep them in front and don’t let them behind you,
they get frustrated because when they throw the ball, they would like to hit the 20-yarder
where a guy misses a tackle and all of a sudden he’s out of the back end for a 30- or
40-yard gain," Edwards said. "That’s how they operate on the big explosion
plays."
If a defense can keep the Rams receivers in front of them, then what they need to do is
make them pay the price.
"What you want to do is hit them," Edwards said. "Philadelphia did a
nice job of that."
Don’t be predictable
Although it is important to attack Warner, the Patriots can’t simply pin their
ears back and charge ahead like an angry bull all game long. The saying goes that variety
is the spice of life, and it will be a necessary ingredient for New England’s
defense.
"You can play man with a guy helping you inside," Edwards said. "You can
play some cover-2. You have to try to mix it up because the QB is very smart. Their
offense in zones is going to try the dead seams in zones because every zone has some dead
areas. They do a nice job of throwing in those dead areas and letting the receiver catch
it and run through it. In zones, you have to come back, you have to read the QB and break
on the ball, and there always has to be more than one defender hitting the guy once he
catches it."
Warner said, "We see a lot of different looks. We’ve played some teams that
do that, when you’re talking about the Packers and Eagles. They do a lot of different
things and switch it up consistently. I think we’ve got a good chance of being able
to adjust to that. That’s what it’s all about. You’ve got 11 guys that have
to be able to adjust to different things at the same time. If we’re able to do that,
it’s obviously going to bode well for us. They’ll throw a lot of different looks
at us like they did the first time we played them. How well we can adjust to that is going
to tell the tale."
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is a master of changing defensive schemes and will
no doubt try to come up with something creative.
"What he’s going to do is take your weapons away," Edwards said.
"He’s going to come into the game and say, you know what, if Isaac Bruce is one
of the weapons and Marshall Faulk is one of the weapons, I’m going to take those two
guys away. You are going to have to beat me with (Torry) Holt and the tight end."
Patience is a virtue
The problem with taking away a couple of offensive stars from the Rams — aside
from the easier-said-than-done issue — is that the remaining options are still
extremely capable of making large contributions. The problem with mixing up the play calls
is that when the Patriots are in zone coverage, there will be openings for the Rams'
receivers. The problem with blitzing is that if it doesn’t get there on time, the
secondary will probably have a difficult time staying with the receivers. Rams players
will make plays. The Patriots must deal with that fact. The Patriots must limit the
damage.
For example, here is what Edwards said about when the Patriots’ 3-4 defense is in
zone coverage: "They will do things a little different with the 3-4 that will allow
them to drop some more guys in coverage. There’s always a problem when you rush three
guys and drop the other guy back. All of a sudden, some of those areas are closed (for the
offense). You have to have patience on defense, knowing they’ll drop the ball off and
complete it. But if you tackle them and don’t let them have the big explosion plays,
that frustrates their offense some."
Survive the initial shock
When the Patriots faced the Rams earlier this season, it was on New England’s home
field. That was a plus for the slower team, which of course was the Patriots. The Super
Bowl will be on turf. That should be a plus for the faster team, which of course is the
Rams.
"There’s still another gear we’re going to have to get used to with
their speed because we’re on turf," Bruschi said. "We were in Foxboro on a
damp night, and the turf wasn’t as tight as the Superdome turf is going to be —
we were on grass, of course — so we’re going to need a couple of plays, maybe a
series, to get used to their speed again."
Patriots S Lawyer Milloy said, "As far as their team speed, they have a lot of
thoroughbreds. This is going to be a week where we eat a lot of salad instead of steaks,
trying to stay light."
Salad as a part of the game plan? It sounds rather strange. Then again, nothing else
has worked against the Rams’ high-powered offense in recent years. |
