- Joined
- Feb 9, 2014
- Messages
- 20,922
- Name
- Peter
To vote in the poll click the link below and scroll down.
**********************************************
http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2015/4/25/8466895/st-louis-rams-2015-the-number-to-watch-is-72
St. Louis Rams 2015: The Number To Watch is "72"...
By Douglas M @thenovelroad on Apr 25, 2015
I have mixed feeling after taking a look at the Rams 2015 schedule. Make no mistake: This is a tough season to come for St. Louis. But there's something about it you may not have considered as you try to predict the outcome...
In 1984, the Chicago Bear tallied 72 quarterback sacks, and set the NFL record for a team. (One of the Bears' players - Jeff Fisher - was at the end of his career...)
Wins and losses predictions aside, take a look at the Rams opponents, and think about their offensive lines... Now consider the Rams defensive front seven, considered by many to be the best in the NFL. So I'm putting aside W/L for a moment, and look at possible QB sacks for the Rams' "Wild Bunch"...
Weeks 1 & 16: The Seahawks started the 2014 season off slow, and their offensive line has taken a huge hit with the loss of Max Unger. Not the best unit on this team at the best of times in pass protection, it allowed Russell Wilson to be sacked 42 times in 2014...
In Week 2, the Rams face Washington. The dubious trio of Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, and Colt McCoy combined were sacked 58 times in 2014.
The Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3 have a great quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger, but he hit the turf 33 times in 2014.
In Weeks 4 & 13, the Rams play the Arizona Cardinals. I have to admit I'm a bit shocked at how few times Cardinals' quarterbacks were sacked last year. Their quietly improving offensive line only allowed 26 sacks.
Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers - who St. Louis faces in Week 5 - benefited from an improved offensive line. He only got mauled for 28 sacks in 2014.
The relentlessly quarterback challenged Cleveland Browns are in St. Louis for Week 7. Brian Hoyer - now with the Texans - and "12 Step Johnny" Manziel were sacked 27. The Browns added Tampa's Josh McCown, but more on him later...
Weeks 8 & 17 find San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick facing the St. Louis defense. "The Colin" was the second most sacked quarterback in the NFL for 2014 - 52 times! (Jacksonville's Blake Bortles wins the "Face Plant Trophy": 55 sacks.)
Minnesota's Teddy Bridgewater - the Rams Week 9 foe - was welcomed to the NFL 39 times in 2014.
The Bears in Week 10 bring the brooding Jay Cutler to the Edward Jones Dome. He had 38 opportunities to sulk last season...
In the 11th game of the 2015 season, the Rams play in Baltimore. Joe Flacco was sacked only 19 times; the least of any quarterback in the NFL other than Peyton Manning (17).
Andy Dalton gets loads of heat from NFL media folks. Winning in the post season may be his Achilles heal, but he managed to only be sacked 21 times last year.
Detroit's gun-slinging Matt Stafford had a career high in 2014. He was sacked 45 times, so he has that going for him... Which is nice...
2015 first pick in the NFL Draft Tampa bay may very well have Jameis Winston as their new quarterback this season. But his agent may want to point out to his client Bucs' quarterbacks were pummeled 52 times last season.
All totaled, the quarterbacks the St. Louis defense will face this season were sacked 447 times... Hmm?
Whether or not quarterbacks sacks actually lends to a winning record is anyone's guess. Yet - as I look at who the Rams will face in 2015 - I can't help but think their defense may very well be drooling at this point? It all comes down to how fast Fisher gets his defense to gel at the starting gate in Week 1. If they come out of the preseason with fire in their eyes, this defense could very well be a sight to see. If they do, keep the number "72" in mind as the season unfolds...
(Statistics source: NFL.com)
------------
What a poll! And 60% of people on here think we can beat 72 sacks...?
I need some of that good smoking stuff. Seems like I recall last year we were all predicting a dominating defense too? But it also seems like we had 40+ points scored against us in the home opener against the powerhouse Vikes. Then we had a total of 7 games where we gave up 30+ points and 2 more where we allowed 26+. So what makes us so much better this year? I guess I could argue the maturation of Donald and Ogletree will help? But getting a year older ain’t helping the experienced Chris Long, JL, Jo-Lonn, etc.
And, I don’t think Fairley is much, if any, better than Langford. Barron (who cost us 4th and 6th picks) doesn’t look like a starter. Mr. Jenks will still be offsetting his pick sixes by getting suckered on long TD bombs. Ayers, Tru, Joyner just don’t sound like All-Pros either. And, in the long run, the success of our D depends on whether the O can stay on the field, make first downs and score TD’s. No defense can routinely spend 35-40 out of 60 minutes on the field and be fresh enough to get crucial 4th quarter sacks.
---------
Yea. That sack city thing is not what I want driving us. We need to sack,pressure, and stop the team. The run is what absolutely killed us again and again!
---------
Rams had 40 sacks on the season last year and only 1 in the 1st 6 games. Just by avg in the last 10 games Rams had 4 sacks per game. So 64 sacks which is under. 72 is a big number.
---------
Yep. We started out 1-4. But I don't put much credence in the possibility of breaking any sack records for a couple good reasons.
(1) a 6 game run with hardly any sacks last year
(2) the inflated stats gained by the D during the 3-game stretch against awful Oakland and Washington teams plus the game against the QB less Cards (and we still lost it 12-6). Take those three games away and rank our D based on the other 13 games. It ain’t pretty.
----------
When I look at our schedule we face something like 5 QBs that are excellent at getting the ball out quick. This can hour us because of all the blitzing we do. If we blitz less I dony care what OLine we face, the odds are always in our favor. But because of the blitzing we have to get there in less than 2 seconds the majority of the time. Because when you blitz theres less coverage allowing guys to get open sooner. But our defensive line is so good we really don’t need to blitz as much as we do. It sounds odd but blitz and sack more…
----------
I think they won't have a slow start but 72 is a shit ton of sacks so I had to vote no.
When the Bears did it Buddy Ryan only had one thing on his mind, Getting to the Fin QB. He also was running the 46 defense that was ,dare i say revolutionary, at the time. While Williams also thrives on QB pressure and has exotic blitz schemes, or so I’ve heard, he isn’t creating a whole new defense for OCs to try to combat. Add in the Fact that the game itself is officiated so much different now than then I think it would be almost impossible for the Rams to hit that number, unless we get the 2012 Cards with Kevin Kolb for 16 games.
The fact that you could basically mug the receivers downfield back then(ala 2001 SB) goes a long way to create coverage sacks. I love our Defense but when you look position to position I think they need a bit more time(with the exception of Quinn) before they are spoken in the same breath as some of those Bears players. Anyway just my thoughts on my No vote. I think we have the best chance this year of any team to do it with our style, players and coaching but I just don’t think anyone will EVER do it again.
**********************************************
http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2015/4/25/8466895/st-louis-rams-2015-the-number-to-watch-is-72
St. Louis Rams 2015: The Number To Watch is "72"...
By Douglas M @thenovelroad on Apr 25, 2015
I have mixed feeling after taking a look at the Rams 2015 schedule. Make no mistake: This is a tough season to come for St. Louis. But there's something about it you may not have considered as you try to predict the outcome...
In 1984, the Chicago Bear tallied 72 quarterback sacks, and set the NFL record for a team. (One of the Bears' players - Jeff Fisher - was at the end of his career...)
Wins and losses predictions aside, take a look at the Rams opponents, and think about their offensive lines... Now consider the Rams defensive front seven, considered by many to be the best in the NFL. So I'm putting aside W/L for a moment, and look at possible QB sacks for the Rams' "Wild Bunch"...
Weeks 1 & 16: The Seahawks started the 2014 season off slow, and their offensive line has taken a huge hit with the loss of Max Unger. Not the best unit on this team at the best of times in pass protection, it allowed Russell Wilson to be sacked 42 times in 2014...
In Week 2, the Rams face Washington. The dubious trio of Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, and Colt McCoy combined were sacked 58 times in 2014.
The Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3 have a great quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger, but he hit the turf 33 times in 2014.
In Weeks 4 & 13, the Rams play the Arizona Cardinals. I have to admit I'm a bit shocked at how few times Cardinals' quarterbacks were sacked last year. Their quietly improving offensive line only allowed 26 sacks.
Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers - who St. Louis faces in Week 5 - benefited from an improved offensive line. He only got mauled for 28 sacks in 2014.
The relentlessly quarterback challenged Cleveland Browns are in St. Louis for Week 7. Brian Hoyer - now with the Texans - and "12 Step Johnny" Manziel were sacked 27. The Browns added Tampa's Josh McCown, but more on him later...
Weeks 8 & 17 find San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick facing the St. Louis defense. "The Colin" was the second most sacked quarterback in the NFL for 2014 - 52 times! (Jacksonville's Blake Bortles wins the "Face Plant Trophy": 55 sacks.)
Minnesota's Teddy Bridgewater - the Rams Week 9 foe - was welcomed to the NFL 39 times in 2014.
The Bears in Week 10 bring the brooding Jay Cutler to the Edward Jones Dome. He had 38 opportunities to sulk last season...
In the 11th game of the 2015 season, the Rams play in Baltimore. Joe Flacco was sacked only 19 times; the least of any quarterback in the NFL other than Peyton Manning (17).
Andy Dalton gets loads of heat from NFL media folks. Winning in the post season may be his Achilles heal, but he managed to only be sacked 21 times last year.
Detroit's gun-slinging Matt Stafford had a career high in 2014. He was sacked 45 times, so he has that going for him... Which is nice...
2015 first pick in the NFL Draft Tampa bay may very well have Jameis Winston as their new quarterback this season. But his agent may want to point out to his client Bucs' quarterbacks were pummeled 52 times last season.
All totaled, the quarterbacks the St. Louis defense will face this season were sacked 447 times... Hmm?
Whether or not quarterbacks sacks actually lends to a winning record is anyone's guess. Yet - as I look at who the Rams will face in 2015 - I can't help but think their defense may very well be drooling at this point? It all comes down to how fast Fisher gets his defense to gel at the starting gate in Week 1. If they come out of the preseason with fire in their eyes, this defense could very well be a sight to see. If they do, keep the number "72" in mind as the season unfolds...
(Statistics source: NFL.com)
------------
What a poll! And 60% of people on here think we can beat 72 sacks...?
I need some of that good smoking stuff. Seems like I recall last year we were all predicting a dominating defense too? But it also seems like we had 40+ points scored against us in the home opener against the powerhouse Vikes. Then we had a total of 7 games where we gave up 30+ points and 2 more where we allowed 26+. So what makes us so much better this year? I guess I could argue the maturation of Donald and Ogletree will help? But getting a year older ain’t helping the experienced Chris Long, JL, Jo-Lonn, etc.
And, I don’t think Fairley is much, if any, better than Langford. Barron (who cost us 4th and 6th picks) doesn’t look like a starter. Mr. Jenks will still be offsetting his pick sixes by getting suckered on long TD bombs. Ayers, Tru, Joyner just don’t sound like All-Pros either. And, in the long run, the success of our D depends on whether the O can stay on the field, make first downs and score TD’s. No defense can routinely spend 35-40 out of 60 minutes on the field and be fresh enough to get crucial 4th quarter sacks.
---------
Yea. That sack city thing is not what I want driving us. We need to sack,pressure, and stop the team. The run is what absolutely killed us again and again!
---------
Rams had 40 sacks on the season last year and only 1 in the 1st 6 games. Just by avg in the last 10 games Rams had 4 sacks per game. So 64 sacks which is under. 72 is a big number.
---------
Yep. We started out 1-4. But I don't put much credence in the possibility of breaking any sack records for a couple good reasons.
(1) a 6 game run with hardly any sacks last year
(2) the inflated stats gained by the D during the 3-game stretch against awful Oakland and Washington teams plus the game against the QB less Cards (and we still lost it 12-6). Take those three games away and rank our D based on the other 13 games. It ain’t pretty.
----------
When I look at our schedule we face something like 5 QBs that are excellent at getting the ball out quick. This can hour us because of all the blitzing we do. If we blitz less I dony care what OLine we face, the odds are always in our favor. But because of the blitzing we have to get there in less than 2 seconds the majority of the time. Because when you blitz theres less coverage allowing guys to get open sooner. But our defensive line is so good we really don’t need to blitz as much as we do. It sounds odd but blitz and sack more…
----------
I think they won't have a slow start but 72 is a shit ton of sacks so I had to vote no.
When the Bears did it Buddy Ryan only had one thing on his mind, Getting to the Fin QB. He also was running the 46 defense that was ,dare i say revolutionary, at the time. While Williams also thrives on QB pressure and has exotic blitz schemes, or so I’ve heard, he isn’t creating a whole new defense for OCs to try to combat. Add in the Fact that the game itself is officiated so much different now than then I think it would be almost impossible for the Rams to hit that number, unless we get the 2012 Cards with Kevin Kolb for 16 games.
The fact that you could basically mug the receivers downfield back then(ala 2001 SB) goes a long way to create coverage sacks. I love our Defense but when you look position to position I think they need a bit more time(with the exception of Quinn) before they are spoken in the same breath as some of those Bears players. Anyway just my thoughts on my No vote. I think we have the best chance this year of any team to do it with our style, players and coaching but I just don’t think anyone will EVER do it again.
)nwT!w~~60_35.JPG?set_id=880000500F)
