Rams borrow Steelers' blueprint to beat Broncos

[RamWraith]

September 12, 2006

Nothing takes a bat to the piñata of optimism like losing a season
opener. And the Broncos certainly shattered the local love into
confetti Sunday with a loss to a Rams team that most - guilty as
charged - believed they would not lose to.
It didn't help that the Broncos offense looked out of sorts for most
of the afternoon despite running for a win-worthy 161 yards or that
they turned over the ball a loss-worthy five times.

Given all that, all roads in much of the public discourse are leading
to Jake Plummer.

Jake fumbled and threw three interceptions. The Broncos lost. For
some, that's all there is in the Broncos' math.

Plummer having thrown five interceptions in his past two games - two
in the AFC Championship Game to go with his three Sunday - is cause
for at least some concern. But connect the dots, and there are some
similarities in the two games that go beyond the call for rookie Jay
Cutler to play quarterback.

The question the Broncos need to answer at the moment is not whether
Plummer can be the starter. The question is, can Plummer, and the
Broncos, find a way to deal with this kind of defensive pressure
before everybody left on the schedule tries to imitate it?

Pittsburgh's 3-4 defense consistently put defenders in Plummer's face
in January, especially when the Steelers got the lead. They varied the
blitzes, played stout through the middle of the field and never really
let the Broncos settle in because they did not surrender the lead.

It's no accident the Rams followed suit. St. Louis defensive
coordinator Jim Haslett spent three years working for Pittsburgh coach
Bill Cowher as the Steelers' defensive coordinator, and Haslett
certainly turned back the clock Sunday.

He varied the Rams' defensive look, even showing a three-man line at
times - much as he played in Pittsburgh - that he had not shown in his
4-3 defense during the preseason.

The Rams often lined up the defensive end wide, putting a linebacker
between the defensive tackle and the end. And they blitzed, blitzed
and blitzed some more, with almost any player, from any angle.

In short, Haslett played it much like the Steelers did 7 1/2 months
ago - and got much the same result. Haslett got it done despite
leaving some cutback lanes for the Broncos' running backs because he
believed the pressure on Plummer, and keeping Plummer in the pocket,
would outweigh the damage done by Denver's runners.

Not everybody on the Broncos' schedule can play it that way, but
plenty are going to try until the Broncos make them stop.

BREAK IT DOWN

Mismatches lead to Plummer's fumble

St. Louis forced Jake Plummer's fumble in the first quarter by winning
a couple of one-on-one situations.

On the play, left defensive end Leonard Little was lined up on the far
hash mark with the ball on the opposite hash mark. He was out wide
enough that he was 2 yards off the outside shoulder of Broncos tight
end Stephen Alexander, and the Rams stuck a linebacker in the gap
between Little and defensive tackle La'Roi Glover.

At the snap, Alexander went downfield into his pass route and right
tackle George Foster blocked on Glover. Right guard Cooper Carlisle
moved over and joined center Tom Nalen for a double team on left
defensive tackle Jason Fisk to take the play to the left.

That left Little an unimpeded route into the backfield. Little
hesitated briefly - Rams ends did that most of the day to try to
contain the Broncos' rollout game - and once he saw Plummer was going
to stay in the pocket, Little charged into running back Mike Bell.

Little tossed Bell out of the way - Bell hit Little high instead of
going low at the lineman's legs - and hit Plummer just before Glover
hit the quarterback.

In essence, the Rams ended up with their two best pass rushers -
Little has had four career seasons with at least 9 1/2 sacks; Glover
is a six-time Pro Bowl selection - against one Broncos lineman
(Foster) and Bell.

Plummer also drifted a bit to the right when the action of the play
seemed to be directing him left, taking him into the danger zone.

"Sometimes that happens to a quarterback; you still have to hang on to
the football . . . ," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. "It's a team
situation where everybody's got a responsibility, but ultimately you
have to protect the football."

GET IT DONE

Change for a nickel

With running backs such as the Chiefs' Larry Johnson, the Patriots'
Corey Dillon and Laurence Maroney and, after the bye, the Ravens'
Jamal Lewis looming, the Broncos might find more teams trying to run
against their nickel (five defensive backs) look.

The Rams did on five plays in the first half, gaining 20 yards. Steven
Jackson had runs of 6, 1, 1, 9 and 3 yards against the Broncos'
nickel. Three of the runs came on first down, two on second down.

Most offenses like the idea of running against a defensive formation
that features only two linebackers. The Broncos usually can deter
teams from running against the nickel because safety John Lynch, left,
is lurking around the line of scrimmage, and they often will play
their "big nickel" with safety Sam Brandon as the fifth defensive
back.

[Fat Pang]

I think this is one of the more interesting articles to come out of the game regarding Haslett's shenanigans. Creative, attacking defence with a strategy and real idea's regarding how and when to move personnel around.

[jjigga3000]

I'm telling you guys right now. As I've said before our defense will be a Top 5 defense this year.

[RAM-BO]

Poor jjigga.