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By Gregg Rosenthal
Around The League editor
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100000 ... e-patriots
Each week, we watch as much Game Rewind as possible. And it's still not enough. On Fridays, we'll share a few things we learned and apply to the upcoming weekend's biggest matchups.
New England Patriots @ St. Louis Rams (in London)
Rams have the recipe to give Patriots problems
The template to bother New England's offense isn't that complicated. It's just difficult to execute: Create pressure with your front four and have physical cornerbacks that can harass the Patriots' receivers in man coverage.
St. Louis has the talent to pull it off. Chris Long and Robert Quinn rival any edge-rush duo in the NFL. Patriots offensive tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer have done a nice job this year, but they will have their hands full Sunday.
Cortland Finnegan is one of the premier cornerbacks in football, especially in the slot. He's the rare player who could give Wes Welker problems for 60 minutes. Rookie Janoris Jenkins started the season well, but he has given up more plays in recent weeks. Look for the Patriots to test him. No defense completely stops the Patriots, but the Rams have the ingredients to slow them down.
Sam Bradford needs to use his big arm
There isn't a worse secondary in football going after contested passes than the Patriots. Bradford needs to be aggressive giving his receivers such as Brandon Gibson and Chris Givens a chance to make plays. Bradford has a great arm, but his accuracy can be erratic. He still seems to process things slowly. Givens has a 50-plus-yard gain in four consecutive weeks.
Around The League editor
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100000 ... e-patriots
Each week, we watch as much Game Rewind as possible. And it's still not enough. On Fridays, we'll share a few things we learned and apply to the upcoming weekend's biggest matchups.
New England Patriots @ St. Louis Rams (in London)
Rams have the recipe to give Patriots problems
The template to bother New England's offense isn't that complicated. It's just difficult to execute: Create pressure with your front four and have physical cornerbacks that can harass the Patriots' receivers in man coverage.
St. Louis has the talent to pull it off. Chris Long and Robert Quinn rival any edge-rush duo in the NFL. Patriots offensive tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer have done a nice job this year, but they will have their hands full Sunday.
Cortland Finnegan is one of the premier cornerbacks in football, especially in the slot. He's the rare player who could give Wes Welker problems for 60 minutes. Rookie Janoris Jenkins started the season well, but he has given up more plays in recent weeks. Look for the Patriots to test him. No defense completely stops the Patriots, but the Rams have the ingredients to slow them down.
Sam Bradford needs to use his big arm
There isn't a worse secondary in football going after contested passes than the Patriots. Bradford needs to be aggressive giving his receivers such as Brandon Gibson and Chris Givens a chance to make plays. Bradford has a great arm, but his accuracy can be erratic. He still seems to process things slowly. Givens has a 50-plus-yard gain in four consecutive weeks.