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Rams-Vikings: Matchup breakdown
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11358/rams-vikings-matchup-breakdown
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- A look at three matchups to keep an eye on when the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings meet at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.
Rams defensive end Robert Quinn vs. Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil
These two squared off in 2012 when Kalil was a rookie and Quinn was in his second season. On that day, Kalil mostly kept Quinn in check, limiting him to a single tackle as Quinn played just 35 snaps because his run defense was still a work in progress.
Since, Quinn has blossomed into one of the league's elite pass rushers while Kalil has struggled to maintain the Pro Bowl form of his rookie season.
Even by his own admission, Kalil has said he has "wrinkles to iron out." He better get them ironed out in a hurry because Quinn has looked nothing less than the dominant force he was in 2013 when he had 19 sacks and seven forced fumbles.
Speaking to Minnesota media earlier this week, Kalil cited the need to get his "technique and form back." Things like footwork, technique and form are all things that can be exploited by any good pass rusher but also the types of things Quinn can use to completely wreck a game plan.
It's probably safe to expect the Vikings to provide Kalil help against Quinn from down to down. If they don't, it could be a long day at the office for Kalil.
Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree vs. Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph
One needs only to look at the history of Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner to realize how much he likes to use the tight end in his offense. There's no better example of that than Turner's work with Antonio Gates during their time together in San Diego. Turner's latest project is Rudolph, the 6-foot-6, 258-pounder who missed eight games last season with a broken foot.
Rudolph healed up, lost weight and signed a contract extension with the Vikings that indicates they view him as a key piece to the offense into the future.
The Rams, on the other hand, were notoriously tough on tight ends last season. No tight end had more than the San Francisco 49ers' Vernon Davis' 82 yards in any game against the Rams.
That required a team effort from the Rams secondary and linebackers. Then-rookie Ogletree entered the league with a reputation for his coverage ability as a converted safety but he struggled in that area in his first season. For what it's worth, Pro Football Focus had Ogletree with a negative-2.3 grade in coverage last season, allowing 72 receptions on 87 targets for 785 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Ogletree won't be asked to match up with Rudolph exclusively but the Rams must be cognizant of where Rudolph is at all times to prevent him from starting the year with a bang.
Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein (and coverage unit) vs. Vikings kick returner/receiver Cordarrelle Patterson
As a rookie, Patterson burst on the scene with his unique ability to change games as a kick returner. He had success as a receiver and coming out of the backfield as a runner but kick returns were his greatest asset. He led all qualifying returners with an average return of 32.4 yards and returned a pair of kicks for touchdowns.
In a league in which the kick return is barely still a thing, Patterson made it his specialty. He was so good at it that Vikings coaches have given him the green light to return kicks even when he's deep in his own end zone with the belief that the upside of it outweighs the bad.
Zuerlein was third in the NFL in touchback percentage in 2013 and the kickoff unit led the league in expected points added on kickoff and kickoff returns at 17.82. In other words, Zuerlein is capable of taking Patterson out of the kick return game without asking his teammates to make a tackle.
Earlier this week, Patterson even told the Minnesota media the story of how he asked Rams coach Jeff Fisher to kick to him when the teams meet Sunday. But the Rams and Zuerlein would be wise to avoid any sort of macho game playing and simply eliminate Patterson's chances for a return by booming it out of the end zone.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11358/rams-vikings-matchup-breakdown
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- A look at three matchups to keep an eye on when the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings meet at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.
Rams defensive end Robert Quinn vs. Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil
These two squared off in 2012 when Kalil was a rookie and Quinn was in his second season. On that day, Kalil mostly kept Quinn in check, limiting him to a single tackle as Quinn played just 35 snaps because his run defense was still a work in progress.
Since, Quinn has blossomed into one of the league's elite pass rushers while Kalil has struggled to maintain the Pro Bowl form of his rookie season.
Even by his own admission, Kalil has said he has "wrinkles to iron out." He better get them ironed out in a hurry because Quinn has looked nothing less than the dominant force he was in 2013 when he had 19 sacks and seven forced fumbles.
Speaking to Minnesota media earlier this week, Kalil cited the need to get his "technique and form back." Things like footwork, technique and form are all things that can be exploited by any good pass rusher but also the types of things Quinn can use to completely wreck a game plan.
It's probably safe to expect the Vikings to provide Kalil help against Quinn from down to down. If they don't, it could be a long day at the office for Kalil.
Rams linebacker Alec Ogletree vs. Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph
One needs only to look at the history of Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner to realize how much he likes to use the tight end in his offense. There's no better example of that than Turner's work with Antonio Gates during their time together in San Diego. Turner's latest project is Rudolph, the 6-foot-6, 258-pounder who missed eight games last season with a broken foot.
Rudolph healed up, lost weight and signed a contract extension with the Vikings that indicates they view him as a key piece to the offense into the future.
The Rams, on the other hand, were notoriously tough on tight ends last season. No tight end had more than the San Francisco 49ers' Vernon Davis' 82 yards in any game against the Rams.
That required a team effort from the Rams secondary and linebackers. Then-rookie Ogletree entered the league with a reputation for his coverage ability as a converted safety but he struggled in that area in his first season. For what it's worth, Pro Football Focus had Ogletree with a negative-2.3 grade in coverage last season, allowing 72 receptions on 87 targets for 785 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Ogletree won't be asked to match up with Rudolph exclusively but the Rams must be cognizant of where Rudolph is at all times to prevent him from starting the year with a bang.
Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein (and coverage unit) vs. Vikings kick returner/receiver Cordarrelle Patterson
As a rookie, Patterson burst on the scene with his unique ability to change games as a kick returner. He had success as a receiver and coming out of the backfield as a runner but kick returns were his greatest asset. He led all qualifying returners with an average return of 32.4 yards and returned a pair of kicks for touchdowns.
In a league in which the kick return is barely still a thing, Patterson made it his specialty. He was so good at it that Vikings coaches have given him the green light to return kicks even when he's deep in his own end zone with the belief that the upside of it outweighs the bad.
Zuerlein was third in the NFL in touchback percentage in 2013 and the kickoff unit led the league in expected points added on kickoff and kickoff returns at 17.82. In other words, Zuerlein is capable of taking Patterson out of the kick return game without asking his teammates to make a tackle.
Earlier this week, Patterson even told the Minnesota media the story of how he asked Rams coach Jeff Fisher to kick to him when the teams meet Sunday. But the Rams and Zuerlein would be wise to avoid any sort of macho game playing and simply eliminate Patterson's chances for a return by booming it out of the end zone.
