- Joined
- Jun 18, 2016
- Messages
- 2,622
Published: Aug. 23, 2018
With all 32 teams in the thick of the preseason, NFL.com's network of reporters collects the hottest news and notes from across the league, including:
But first, Steve Wyche spotlights the overlooked set-up man on one of the league's most star-studded teams ...
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Rams defensive lineman Michael Brockers hasn't watched the tape. Not even any cut-ups. Last season's 26-13 Wild Card Round loss to visiting Atlanta is still bitter to Brockers.
The result, of course, is the worst part. But for him, that's not the hard part.
Brockers tore his MCL in the second quarter of what was then a tight game. The Falcons racked up 23 of their 39 total rushes after the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder went down, many times running toward the spot where Brockers previously had been handling his business.
Of Atlanta's 124 total rush yards, 71 came in the second half, when Brockers occupied the sideline, wounded.
"That's just one example of how valuable that guy is to us," defensive line coach Bill Johnson said of Brockers this week, ahead of Saturday's preseason game against Houston. "Just one of many."
In an offseason defined by star-studded defensive additions, resulting hype and the holdout of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, Brockers has gone relatively unnoticed, which is kind of hard to understand -- but not every star in the sky shines equally bright.
Brockers, entering his seventh season, is one of three former first-round picks on the defensive line (along with Donald and Ndamukong Suh), and is coming off one of the most productive seasons in his NFL career.
Heading into 2018, Brockers, according to Johnson, is a vital cog in a rebuilt defense the Rams seriously upgraded this offseason, with hopes the unit can help lift L.A. to heights beyond last season's rare playoff berth.
"I've been under the radar my whole career," said Brockers, who is coming off a season that saw him post a career-high 55 tackles, including 4.5 sacks.
"I'm comfortable with how things are. I don't have any stresses, really. I don't have to live up to expectations. Nobody's booing you because you had 12 sacks the season before and just had 11.5 and that's a down year. I can fly around and have fun."
Added Johnson: "He doesn't have to prove anything to me or anyone here. He doesn't have to play backup to anybody. He's not flashy, but he is good."
In his second season as a defensive end in Wade Phillips' 3-4 scheme, Brockers is pretty much the set-up man who allows others to thrive. He is mainly used as a 4-technique (head up on the offensive tackle) and sometimes a 5-technique (outside shade/shoulder of the offensive tackle).
He could move inside closer to the center in some packages, but -- for the most part -- Brockers occupies blockers so Suh, Donald (once he shows up) and others can make plays.
Designs are for Suh and Donald to be used in different roles along the line, while Brockers has more of a set position -- and Brockers loves that.
His ambition isn't to be in a system where he could get more sacks or direct the spotlight his way. His ambition, in his own way, is simply to rumble.
"I'm a smash-mouth guy," he said. "I grew up playing in the SEC, so I am used to dealing with double-teams and coming downhill.
I played nose tackle before, and that gave me a lot of opportunities to learn a lot of things that are helping now. Yeah, I set things up, but I've learned this system well enough to set up different things."
Brockers, according to Johnson, has worked this offseason and through training camp at being a better finisher when there are sack opportunities. He'd often put himself in position to make plays, but now he has emphasized closing on the quarterback and sealing the deal, Johnson said.
He's putting in the work to be better. This week, Brockers, well after nearly every other player had left the practice field, worked with two other defensive linemen on leverage and hand-placement drills. No coaches. No orders. Just want-to.
"Focus," Brockers said. "That's all it is. Focusing on the play call, the down and distance, analyzing everything quickly and staying focused. It's all just so fresh."
Fresh. It's a description Brockers used multiple times. Not just about his approach, but how fresh things feel with the Rams. That's a good thing.
When an organization is so used to losing -- Brockers didn't enjoy a winning season in his first five years -- and then suddenly blazes to a season of success, trying to recapture that mode is often the fly paper that disables progress.
Each year, some team -- like the 2017 Raiders -- believes the previous season's positivity is a tide you can continue to ride. Doesn't always work that way now, does it?
"We have bought into the system so much," Brockers said. "We focus on each week, not the next week. Not on [what players] we got. We focus, as a team and individually, on that week. ... Yes, we have tremendous talent.
We picked up a lot of great talent, and being in L.A., people are going to eat that up.
We can't. We have to do what we have to do and get the job done. We have a ton of talent, but if we don't execute, we can get beat."
As for that new defensive talent -- Suh and cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib -- Brockers addressed the biggest concern some NFL coaches, players and personnel people outside of the organization seem to have: that there are too many combustible personalities joining forces all at once.
"They've just been grinding," Brockers said of the new, high-profile additions.
"I haven't seen the character issues the media portrayed of these guys.
At the end of the day, from what I've seen, they have the same mindset as the rest of us. They want to win a championship and want to win it this year."
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...-is-rams-secret-star-rookie-quarterback-intel
With all 32 teams in the thick of the preseason, NFL.com's network of reporters collects the hottest news and notes from across the league, including:
But first, Steve Wyche spotlights the overlooked set-up man on one of the league's most star-studded teams ...
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Rams defensive lineman Michael Brockers hasn't watched the tape. Not even any cut-ups. Last season's 26-13 Wild Card Round loss to visiting Atlanta is still bitter to Brockers.
The result, of course, is the worst part. But for him, that's not the hard part.
Brockers tore his MCL in the second quarter of what was then a tight game. The Falcons racked up 23 of their 39 total rushes after the 6-foot-5, 305-pounder went down, many times running toward the spot where Brockers previously had been handling his business.
Of Atlanta's 124 total rush yards, 71 came in the second half, when Brockers occupied the sideline, wounded.
"That's just one example of how valuable that guy is to us," defensive line coach Bill Johnson said of Brockers this week, ahead of Saturday's preseason game against Houston. "Just one of many."
In an offseason defined by star-studded defensive additions, resulting hype and the holdout of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald, Brockers has gone relatively unnoticed, which is kind of hard to understand -- but not every star in the sky shines equally bright.
Brockers, entering his seventh season, is one of three former first-round picks on the defensive line (along with Donald and Ndamukong Suh), and is coming off one of the most productive seasons in his NFL career.
Heading into 2018, Brockers, according to Johnson, is a vital cog in a rebuilt defense the Rams seriously upgraded this offseason, with hopes the unit can help lift L.A. to heights beyond last season's rare playoff berth.
"I've been under the radar my whole career," said Brockers, who is coming off a season that saw him post a career-high 55 tackles, including 4.5 sacks.
"I'm comfortable with how things are. I don't have any stresses, really. I don't have to live up to expectations. Nobody's booing you because you had 12 sacks the season before and just had 11.5 and that's a down year. I can fly around and have fun."
Added Johnson: "He doesn't have to prove anything to me or anyone here. He doesn't have to play backup to anybody. He's not flashy, but he is good."
In his second season as a defensive end in Wade Phillips' 3-4 scheme, Brockers is pretty much the set-up man who allows others to thrive. He is mainly used as a 4-technique (head up on the offensive tackle) and sometimes a 5-technique (outside shade/shoulder of the offensive tackle).
He could move inside closer to the center in some packages, but -- for the most part -- Brockers occupies blockers so Suh, Donald (once he shows up) and others can make plays.
Designs are for Suh and Donald to be used in different roles along the line, while Brockers has more of a set position -- and Brockers loves that.
His ambition isn't to be in a system where he could get more sacks or direct the spotlight his way. His ambition, in his own way, is simply to rumble.
"I'm a smash-mouth guy," he said. "I grew up playing in the SEC, so I am used to dealing with double-teams and coming downhill.
I played nose tackle before, and that gave me a lot of opportunities to learn a lot of things that are helping now. Yeah, I set things up, but I've learned this system well enough to set up different things."
Brockers, according to Johnson, has worked this offseason and through training camp at being a better finisher when there are sack opportunities. He'd often put himself in position to make plays, but now he has emphasized closing on the quarterback and sealing the deal, Johnson said.
He's putting in the work to be better. This week, Brockers, well after nearly every other player had left the practice field, worked with two other defensive linemen on leverage and hand-placement drills. No coaches. No orders. Just want-to.
"Focus," Brockers said. "That's all it is. Focusing on the play call, the down and distance, analyzing everything quickly and staying focused. It's all just so fresh."
Fresh. It's a description Brockers used multiple times. Not just about his approach, but how fresh things feel with the Rams. That's a good thing.
When an organization is so used to losing -- Brockers didn't enjoy a winning season in his first five years -- and then suddenly blazes to a season of success, trying to recapture that mode is often the fly paper that disables progress.
Each year, some team -- like the 2017 Raiders -- believes the previous season's positivity is a tide you can continue to ride. Doesn't always work that way now, does it?
"We have bought into the system so much," Brockers said. "We focus on each week, not the next week. Not on [what players] we got. We focus, as a team and individually, on that week. ... Yes, we have tremendous talent.
We picked up a lot of great talent, and being in L.A., people are going to eat that up.
We can't. We have to do what we have to do and get the job done. We have a ton of talent, but if we don't execute, we can get beat."
As for that new defensive talent -- Suh and cornerbacks Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib -- Brockers addressed the biggest concern some NFL coaches, players and personnel people outside of the organization seem to have: that there are too many combustible personalities joining forces all at once.
"They've just been grinding," Brockers said of the new, high-profile additions.
"I haven't seen the character issues the media portrayed of these guys.
At the end of the day, from what I've seen, they have the same mindset as the rest of us. They want to win a championship and want to win it this year."
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...-is-rams-secret-star-rookie-quarterback-intel
