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Peyton Manning toughest test for improved Rams defense
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...nning-toughest-test-for-improved-rams-defense
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Finding respect for Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning in the St. Louis Rams' locker room is as simple as mentioning his name.
"He’s a Hall of Fame guy," linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar said. "They might change the five-year wait for him. He’s that guy."
In other words, he's the guy that can quickly erase all of the goodwill the Rams' defense has built up with its performances over the past few weeks. Yes, the Rams' defense has finally started to emerge as the type of group many thought it could be before the season. In the past two weeks, it has allowed just 299 yards per game, only 54 rushing yards per game and has posted 11 sacks. The Rams have stopped the run and rushed the passer exactly how they envisioned at the outset of the season.
But few players in the history of the league are as good or as quick at laying waste to the best laid plans of surging defenses as Manning. Listing his accomplishments would take all day but all that really needs to be known is that Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who has coached against Manning 19 times in his career, says the 37-year old quarterback is playing the best football of his life with the best supporting cast he's ever had.
"Peyton is playing his best football right now," Fisher said. "I’ve faced him many, many times. He’s playing his best football. The things he’s doing with the football and the cast that they have surrounded him with is outstanding. It tests your defense and requires patience."
Fisher points to two keys to slowing the Broncos: running the ball and getting the opposing punter on the field. Neither is easy against the Broncos since they also happen to boast the league's best run defense. For the purpose of this discussion, though, let's focus on the part about how to get the punter on the field.
In an ideal world, the Rams can make like Seattle did in the Super Bowl and lean on their front four to create the pressure that will make Manning's day hectic. That sounds good in theory. It isn't, however, very realistic because the Seahawks not only had a talented front four but the type of secondary that could take away Manning's first and second reads to go with the defensive line pushing the pocket quickly.
The Rams have the front four that would be capable of generating the pressure but the secondary doesn't match up nearly as well. In fact, Manning is second fastest in the league at getting the ball out quickly, releasing his average pass just 2.29 seconds after taking the snap. That wouldn't be such a daunting figure if the Rams were better in coverage but they are last in the league in completion percentage allowed at 69.6 percent.
That means Manning's ability to quickly identify coverages and pressures pre-snap can nullify the Rams' aggressive blitzing approach (they're first in the league in blitz percentage) by getting the ball out with little time wasted.
Aaron Donald, DeMarco Murray
Aaron Donald's ability to put pressure up the middle could be key for the Rams this Sunday.
Before the snap, when Manning is often derided for all of his antics and dummy calls, the key for the Rams is holding their water and not tipping off blitzes and coverages. That can be difficult because Manning has a knack for changing his cadence and timing of the snap from down to down. The bigger picture pre-snap for the defense is offering a variety of different looks but, more important, having multiple things they can do from that look.
"You try to show him certain things and try to give consistent looks and do certain things out of the same look," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "So he can’t just look and see this and know it’s this coverage or this blitz is a certain look. If you have a safety down every time and you’re in Cover 3 then, OK, it’s obvious. But sometimes if the safety is down and you are playing [Cover] 2 it can mess with him. You try to change it up."
Once the ball is snapped, the job then becomes to take away Manning's first read to at least buy a little bit of time for the pass rush to get home. Manning is fast enough at moving through his progressions that he can get to a second or third read before the pass rush can get home. That means the best route to get Manning off his spot is a straight line up the middle. Attacking the "A" gaps is something Seattle excelled at against the Broncos and would seem to be one of few favorable matchups the Rams will have this Sunday.
Rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald is extremely disruptive on the inside and the Broncos have been playing musical chairs with the interior of their offensive line.
"You want to get him off his spot," Laurinaitis said. "I don’t care how athletic [pass-rusher Robert Quinn] is, two-point, whatever, around a big old tackle is hard. You have to be able to pressure the middle, you have to get him when he looks at his first read get him to reset and kind of take it back down and look the other way to help with that. Goodness he’s been doing this well for a really long time. Like our linebacker coach said, he’s going to Canton on roller skates downhill. So a lot of respect for him and what an awesome challenge."
A challenge the likes of which the Rams haven't seen in 2014.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...nning-toughest-test-for-improved-rams-defense
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Finding respect for Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning in the St. Louis Rams' locker room is as simple as mentioning his name.
"He’s a Hall of Fame guy," linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar said. "They might change the five-year wait for him. He’s that guy."
In other words, he's the guy that can quickly erase all of the goodwill the Rams' defense has built up with its performances over the past few weeks. Yes, the Rams' defense has finally started to emerge as the type of group many thought it could be before the season. In the past two weeks, it has allowed just 299 yards per game, only 54 rushing yards per game and has posted 11 sacks. The Rams have stopped the run and rushed the passer exactly how they envisioned at the outset of the season.
But few players in the history of the league are as good or as quick at laying waste to the best laid plans of surging defenses as Manning. Listing his accomplishments would take all day but all that really needs to be known is that Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who has coached against Manning 19 times in his career, says the 37-year old quarterback is playing the best football of his life with the best supporting cast he's ever had.
"Peyton is playing his best football right now," Fisher said. "I’ve faced him many, many times. He’s playing his best football. The things he’s doing with the football and the cast that they have surrounded him with is outstanding. It tests your defense and requires patience."
Fisher points to two keys to slowing the Broncos: running the ball and getting the opposing punter on the field. Neither is easy against the Broncos since they also happen to boast the league's best run defense. For the purpose of this discussion, though, let's focus on the part about how to get the punter on the field.
In an ideal world, the Rams can make like Seattle did in the Super Bowl and lean on their front four to create the pressure that will make Manning's day hectic. That sounds good in theory. It isn't, however, very realistic because the Seahawks not only had a talented front four but the type of secondary that could take away Manning's first and second reads to go with the defensive line pushing the pocket quickly.
The Rams have the front four that would be capable of generating the pressure but the secondary doesn't match up nearly as well. In fact, Manning is second fastest in the league at getting the ball out quickly, releasing his average pass just 2.29 seconds after taking the snap. That wouldn't be such a daunting figure if the Rams were better in coverage but they are last in the league in completion percentage allowed at 69.6 percent.
That means Manning's ability to quickly identify coverages and pressures pre-snap can nullify the Rams' aggressive blitzing approach (they're first in the league in blitz percentage) by getting the ball out with little time wasted.
Aaron Donald, DeMarco Murray
Aaron Donald's ability to put pressure up the middle could be key for the Rams this Sunday.
Before the snap, when Manning is often derided for all of his antics and dummy calls, the key for the Rams is holding their water and not tipping off blitzes and coverages. That can be difficult because Manning has a knack for changing his cadence and timing of the snap from down to down. The bigger picture pre-snap for the defense is offering a variety of different looks but, more important, having multiple things they can do from that look.
"You try to show him certain things and try to give consistent looks and do certain things out of the same look," linebacker James Laurinaitis said. "So he can’t just look and see this and know it’s this coverage or this blitz is a certain look. If you have a safety down every time and you’re in Cover 3 then, OK, it’s obvious. But sometimes if the safety is down and you are playing [Cover] 2 it can mess with him. You try to change it up."
Once the ball is snapped, the job then becomes to take away Manning's first read to at least buy a little bit of time for the pass rush to get home. Manning is fast enough at moving through his progressions that he can get to a second or third read before the pass rush can get home. That means the best route to get Manning off his spot is a straight line up the middle. Attacking the "A" gaps is something Seattle excelled at against the Broncos and would seem to be one of few favorable matchups the Rams will have this Sunday.
Rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald is extremely disruptive on the inside and the Broncos have been playing musical chairs with the interior of their offensive line.
"You want to get him off his spot," Laurinaitis said. "I don’t care how athletic [pass-rusher Robert Quinn] is, two-point, whatever, around a big old tackle is hard. You have to be able to pressure the middle, you have to get him when he looks at his first read get him to reset and kind of take it back down and look the other way to help with that. Goodness he’s been doing this well for a really long time. Like our linebacker coach said, he’s going to Canton on roller skates downhill. So a lot of respect for him and what an awesome challenge."
A challenge the likes of which the Rams haven't seen in 2014.
