Bernie Bytes: *****, Please Blitz Sam

[r8rh8rmike]

Bernie Bytes: *****, please blitz Sam

BY BERNIE MIKLASZ
Thursday, November 11, 2010


* The San Francisco ***** aren't a blitz-crazy defense. Unofficially they've blitzed opposing QBs 72 times when he's attempted to throw. If you're a Rams fan, you should hope to see the ***** go after Rams rookie QB Sam Bradford with the blitz on Sunday. Why? Because he's shown the ability to handle it, at least through the first eight games of his career. And when the ***** choose to blitz, they've gotten burned a lot.

-- Bradford ranks 6th in the NFL with a passer rating of 91.5 among quarterbacks that have thrown at least 100 passes against the blitz this season. He's completed 61.5 percent, with 5 TDs and 1 INT. He's been sacked five times. That's not a lot.

-- When the ***** blitz, opposing QBs have completed 66 percent with 5 TDs and 2 INTs for a passer rating of 98.8. They've been sacked five times.

* A quick follow-up to Thursday's column about the quiet effectiveness of the Rams' ball-control offense. Last season the Rams defense was on the field for 815 "touches" from the line of scrimmage. That ranked 26th; in other words only six defenses were on the field for more plays in 2009. This season, it's dramatically different. Only the NY Giants and NY Jets defenses have been on the field for fewer plays than the Rams' defense. And that makes a huge difference. That's an important factor in the Rams surprising showing on defense. We've seen what can happen when the Rams' defense is on the field too much, getting worn down. It happened in bad second-half performances at Oakland and Tampa Bay. So the Pat Shurmur offense is definitely helping the Rams defense stay energized.

[MACD]

And this is my fondest wish come true, that the offense would keep the defense fresher this year.

[MACD]

I just saw that the ***** rank 27th in passes over 21 yards allowed. Oh man, I hope Sam has a field day with that.

[laram0]

I take the fact that the Whiners are not a blitz crazy defense as a negative. I was looking forward to some big gainers by Jackson with the screen and dump off passes from Bradford. It could still happen but if the Whiners play a conservative containing defense finding room for Jackson to do his thing will be tough.

It will be interesting to see what type of game plan Shurmur comes up with.