- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 35,576
- Name
- The Dude
Howard Balzer posted on September 28, 2012 01:47
http://www.insidestl.com/insideSTLcom/S ... roach.aspx
If it was up to Michael Brockers, he would be on the field Sunday when the Rams play the Seattle Seahawks. But the Rams will make sure Brockers, who suffered a high ankle sprain, is ready just four weeks after the injury occurred on Aug. 30.
Perhaps impacting the decision is that the Rams will play two games in five days. Brockers' ability to stuff the inside against the run would be welcome against the Seahawks and running back Marshawn Lynch. Arizona, the opponent next Thursday, doesn't run the ball consistently, especially with power.
It's not out of the question that Brockers could see some snaps Sunday and then sit down until the Oct. 14 game against Miami.
Coach Jeff Fisher won't give away the plan, but he did say, "If he's back and able to play he would have an impact on our front, from the pass-rush standpoint and as a run defender. Obviously, he's clearly behind because he's missed some valuable time. But he's very talented. That's why he's here."
Assistant head coach Dave McGinnis said, "He's coming along. Each day he's getting better, so that'll be a decision that we'll make. But the last couple of days, I think, it's going pretty good for us."
After returning to practice on Wednesday, Brockers said, "I think there's a pretty good chance I'll play Sunday. I did pretty well today. A little limited, but it felt good on the ankle. The ankle held up."
How much did he try and lobby to get back on the field before this week? Brockers said he often tried to convince trainer Reggie Scott to let him loose.
Brockers told the Post-Dispatch, "I would tell Reggie, 'Man, I feel good today. Let's go.' You throw some slick comments in there like, 'I'm ready for Chicago.' Stuff like that."
Fisher said Brockers was making steady progress under the tutelage of line coach Mike Waufle when the injury occurred in the final preseason game. He said, "Yeah, he was coming on. He got a little tired there at training camp, but he improved since the rookie minicamp all the way through camp. Coach Wauf has done a great job with his hands and the pass rush, and all those kinds of things.
"He's been studying. He knows exactly what to do. He's maintained his upper-body strength throughout. So he should be in good shape when he returns."
Brockers acknowledged being somewhat behind the 8-ball when he started practicing again, but he wasn't worried that it would take too long to get back in the swing of things.
He said, "Not being able to run, not being able to run on the field, you're gonna be a little off. But running to the ball, getting some extra conditioning, will help me a lot."
Facing Seattle: The Rams will have their hands full with Seattle’s defense Sunday. The Seahawks have allowed the fewest points in the league (39) and are fourth in yards allowed.
However, the offense, with the exception of running back Marshawn Lynch, has struggled. This could be a game decided on defense. Seattle is 26th in points scored with 57 (the Rams have 60), and they are last in passing offense, averaging just 127.7 yards per game.
Naturally, Seahawks fans are oblivious to the fact that the team is starting a rookie quarterback (Russell Wilson), and they have found fault with Wilson as well as the play-calling of coordinator Darrell Bevell.
When some of those issues were raised with head coach Pete Carroll this week, he took the bullet for Bevell.
Said Carroll, "I really think this is me holding the lid on it right now. And I'm overseeing all of that, and making sure that what's more important to us is that we take care of the football - more than anything. I don't care about the yards.
"And the thing that we're concerned about is we've got to convert on third downs. We did a poor job on third down (against Green Bay), particularly in the second half. And we have to get better there. But as it fits together, we're growing."
Bevell admitted there have been times he’d like to see Wilson stay in the pocket longer, but his ability to run plus inexperience often leads to different results.
Bevell said, "In this game (Packers), there were a couple times where Russell probably could have stayed in the pocket and bought a little bit more time. So that's still a work in progress. There's improvements that we can make, and as that goes I think you'll see some of that start to happen.
"We do have a rookie quarterback. We have a great defense. We have great special teams. We can run the football. We can protect the football. And all of those have been a great recipe to win the game. And that's really what the bottom line comes down to - winning the game. You can say they're ugly wins or beautiful wins - however they are, they're wins. And that's what our goal is."
Follow Howard Balzer on Twitter @HBalzer721
