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Rams-Pats: 5 Things To Watch
By Jim Thomas
Life without Law
The New England secondary that muscled the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI will not be found Sunday in the Edward Jones Dome. CB Otis Smith, a former Mizzou player, just turned 39 and is out of football. Free safety Tebucky Jones was traded to New Orleans in April 2003. Strong safety Lawyer Milloy, a St. Louis native, was released in September '03 and now plays for Buffalo. That leaves four-time Pro Bowler Ty Law. He's still with the Pats, but is out after suffering a fractured left foot last week. Law is one of the league's best cornerbacks and will be tough to replace.
"He's a great player ... and he's definitely one of the shutdown corners," Rams QB Marc Bulger said. "But they have a lot of great players, and the structure of their defense is pretty sound."
The Patriots already are missing veteran Tyrone Poole (knee), so the Rams could face a pair of unproven cornerbacks in second-year man Asante Samuel and undrafted rookie Randall Gay. Samuel was effective last year as the Patriots' nickel back, but is on the small side and sometimes struggles against bigger receivers. Gay was only a part-time starter in college, but played for Bill Belichick disciple Nick Saban at LSU in a Patriots-style defense.
Gay was shaken up against Pittsburgh, so there's a chance the Patriots could move free safety Eugene Wilson to cornerback and bring Dexter Reid off the bench to safety. But no matter what the alignment, the Rams should be able to exploit the New England secondary if Bulger gets enough time to throw.
What's up front
New England has three former first-round picks in its 3-4 defensive alignment in ends Ty Warren and Richard Seymour and nose tackle Vince Wilfork. Seymour is one of the league's top young defensive linemen. The two-time Pro Bowler has excellent size (6-6, 310), a huge wingspan, a non-stop motor and good quickness and burst. In short, he's the total package.
Normally, Seymour lines up on the side of Rams LT Orlando Pace. But he has been known to line up over center on passing downs. The Patriots also move him to the other end, which could be the case Sunday if New England tries to create a matchup advantage with Rams RT Grant Williams. The X-factor for opposing blockers is New England's outside linebackers, mainly Mike Vrabel, Willie McGinest and Rosevelt Colvin. The Patriots move them around, which can create confusion and mismatches.
"They'll use a four-man front, they'll use a three-man front," Rams C Andy McCollum said. "They'll use linebackers as ends - down guys. You've got to be able to determine who's blocking where, and if you consider somebody a rusher, or if you consider him a linebacker."
As imposing as the Patriots can be, the power-rushing Steelers pounded them for 221 rushing yards last week.
What's up front, II
There is no Pace-like presence on an anonymous but effective Patriots offensive line. LT Matt Light is the best of the group, but he's on the small side by NFL standards at 6-4, 305, and must rely on toughness, athleticism and footwork. Light couldn't finish the game after getting shaken up in Pittsburgh, but wasn't listed on New England's injury report for the Rams game. RT Tom Ashworth missed the Steelers game because of a bad back, but is expected to play. The Patriots are an assignment-sound group up front. Rarely does a blitzer get through cleanly.
"They just play good, fundamentally sound football," Rams DT Ryan Pickett said. "They never blow assignments."
Tom Brady, Superman
OK, he committed three turnovers last week against Pittsburgh. But is there a better big-game, crunch-time quarterback in the league right now than Tom Brady? He is the winningest QB in the Super Bowl era (minimum 40 starts), with a 40-13 record and a .755 winning percentage.
In his fourth season as a starter, Brady already has registered 16 fourth-quarter or overtime comebacks - including that famous one against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
"You start with his leadership and watch his presence," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "And then you go into the physical part of it. The accuracy. The ability to come from behind and win, and put as many wins together as he has. ... On all the things, on and off the field, I think you have to give him very high marks."
Dillon & Co.
The addition of Corey Dillon has given the Patriots the strong running game they lacked in '03. Dillon missed the Pittsburgh game with a thigh injury but is expected to play Sunday. The Rams limited him to 37 yards in seven carries last season, but that was with the Cincinnati Bengals, not the Patriots. In six games this season, Dillon has 637 yards rushing, just 5 yards shy of Antowain Smith's team-leading rushing total in all of '03.
New England spreads the ball around in the passing game and will take its share of deep shots, particularly to WRs David Givens and David Patten. TE Daniel Graham has a team-high five touchdown catches. Givens has been hot lately, with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, but is questionable with a knee injury.
After missing four games with an injury, third-down threat Troy Brown returned against Pittsburgh and caught five balls. Bethel Johnson has only five catches but is one of the league's fastest players and a definite long-ball threat.
"It's somebody different every week," Rams safety Adam Archuleta said.
By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
11/06/2004Life without Law
The New England secondary that muscled the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI will not be found Sunday in the Edward Jones Dome. CB Otis Smith, a former Mizzou player, just turned 39 and is out of football. Free safety Tebucky Jones was traded to New Orleans in April 2003. Strong safety Lawyer Milloy, a St. Louis native, was released in September '03 and now plays for Buffalo. That leaves four-time Pro Bowler Ty Law. He's still with the Pats, but is out after suffering a fractured left foot last week. Law is one of the league's best cornerbacks and will be tough to replace.
"He's a great player ... and he's definitely one of the shutdown corners," Rams QB Marc Bulger said. "But they have a lot of great players, and the structure of their defense is pretty sound."
The Patriots already are missing veteran Tyrone Poole (knee), so the Rams could face a pair of unproven cornerbacks in second-year man Asante Samuel and undrafted rookie Randall Gay. Samuel was effective last year as the Patriots' nickel back, but is on the small side and sometimes struggles against bigger receivers. Gay was only a part-time starter in college, but played for Bill Belichick disciple Nick Saban at LSU in a Patriots-style defense.
Gay was shaken up against Pittsburgh, so there's a chance the Patriots could move free safety Eugene Wilson to cornerback and bring Dexter Reid off the bench to safety. But no matter what the alignment, the Rams should be able to exploit the New England secondary if Bulger gets enough time to throw.
What's up front
New England has three former first-round picks in its 3-4 defensive alignment in ends Ty Warren and Richard Seymour and nose tackle Vince Wilfork. Seymour is one of the league's top young defensive linemen. The two-time Pro Bowler has excellent size (6-6, 310), a huge wingspan, a non-stop motor and good quickness and burst. In short, he's the total package.
Normally, Seymour lines up on the side of Rams LT Orlando Pace. But he has been known to line up over center on passing downs. The Patriots also move him to the other end, which could be the case Sunday if New England tries to create a matchup advantage with Rams RT Grant Williams. The X-factor for opposing blockers is New England's outside linebackers, mainly Mike Vrabel, Willie McGinest and Rosevelt Colvin. The Patriots move them around, which can create confusion and mismatches.
"They'll use a four-man front, they'll use a three-man front," Rams C Andy McCollum said. "They'll use linebackers as ends - down guys. You've got to be able to determine who's blocking where, and if you consider somebody a rusher, or if you consider him a linebacker."
As imposing as the Patriots can be, the power-rushing Steelers pounded them for 221 rushing yards last week.
What's up front, II
There is no Pace-like presence on an anonymous but effective Patriots offensive line. LT Matt Light is the best of the group, but he's on the small side by NFL standards at 6-4, 305, and must rely on toughness, athleticism and footwork. Light couldn't finish the game after getting shaken up in Pittsburgh, but wasn't listed on New England's injury report for the Rams game. RT Tom Ashworth missed the Steelers game because of a bad back, but is expected to play. The Patriots are an assignment-sound group up front. Rarely does a blitzer get through cleanly.
"They just play good, fundamentally sound football," Rams DT Ryan Pickett said. "They never blow assignments."
Tom Brady, Superman
OK, he committed three turnovers last week against Pittsburgh. But is there a better big-game, crunch-time quarterback in the league right now than Tom Brady? He is the winningest QB in the Super Bowl era (minimum 40 starts), with a 40-13 record and a .755 winning percentage.
In his fourth season as a starter, Brady already has registered 16 fourth-quarter or overtime comebacks - including that famous one against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
"You start with his leadership and watch his presence," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "And then you go into the physical part of it. The accuracy. The ability to come from behind and win, and put as many wins together as he has. ... On all the things, on and off the field, I think you have to give him very high marks."
Dillon & Co.
The addition of Corey Dillon has given the Patriots the strong running game they lacked in '03. Dillon missed the Pittsburgh game with a thigh injury but is expected to play Sunday. The Rams limited him to 37 yards in seven carries last season, but that was with the Cincinnati Bengals, not the Patriots. In six games this season, Dillon has 637 yards rushing, just 5 yards shy of Antowain Smith's team-leading rushing total in all of '03.
New England spreads the ball around in the passing game and will take its share of deep shots, particularly to WRs David Givens and David Patten. TE Daniel Graham has a team-high five touchdown catches. Givens has been hot lately, with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, but is questionable with a knee injury.
After missing four games with an injury, third-down threat Troy Brown returned against Pittsburgh and caught five balls. Bethel Johnson has only five catches but is one of the league's fastest players and a definite long-ball threat.
"It's somebody different every week," Rams safety Adam Archuleta said.
