Rams at Packers: 7 things to watch

[RamBill]

Rams at Packers: 7 things to watch
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_af88b01f-122c-54f0-a268-2af408d5b298.html


MR. RODGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD

By his lofty standards anyway, Aaron Rodgers was just a little off last week at San Francisco, narrowly missing connections on some throws we’re used to seeing him make. The 49ers’ cornerbacks played pretty tight at the line of scrimmage, and their secondary as a whole didn’t allow much separation. But Rodgers is back at the friendly confines of Lambeau Field this week where he never — and we mean never — throws an interception. It’s 580 passes and counting without an INT by Rodgers at home.

BETTER BE READY

It’s tough to play catch-up against Green Bay, and the Packers have been getting out of the gates quickly this year. They have outscored the opposition 38-6 in the opening quarter in four games this season, and scored on their first possession last week although it took a penalty against the 49ers to keep the drive alive and prevent Green Bay from punting. That score came on a TD pass to tight end Richard Rodgers on a play in which Aaron Rodgers roamed in and out of the pocket waiting for someone to get open.

LEAK ON THE LINE?

Pinch-hitting for the injured Bryan Bulaga at right tackle, fourth-year pro Don Barclay had a brutal game against San Francisco, allowing three sacks and seven pressures. Rodgers avoided a fourth Barclay sack only by throwing a very short pass lefthanded as he was going down. Bulaga returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since suffering a knee injury Sept. 17 in practice, but he’s questionable for Sunday. If it’s Barclay, this is a matchup advantage Chris Long must exploit.

BACKFIELD BUSINESS

Green Bay is getting more help out of its running game than usual, rushing for 120 yards-plus in each of the first four games. That hasn’t happened since 1971 and the days of coach Dan Devine. Eddie Lacy, the 2013 NFL offensive rookie of the year out of Alabama, is seeking his third consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season. He’s been slowed by an ankle injury, and looks overweight, but has still been successful running more like a power back. Veteran James Starks is a capable backup.

BANGED UP RECEIVERS

The Packers miss the downfield ability of Jordy Nelson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury during exhibition play. Davante Adams has missed all but three plays the past two games because of a high ankle sprain and isn’t expected to play this week. Randall Cobb has a team-high 25 catches but is playing through a painful shoulder injury. Veteran James Jones, who returned to Green Bay after ill-fated stints with Oakland and the New York Giants, has been a godsend but has a hamstring issue.

GURLEY’S TASK

After his breakout 146-yard rushing performance against Arizona, Rams rookie running back Todd Gurley will be challenged by an improving Green Bay run defense. After allowing 189 yards rushing against the Matt Forte-led Chicago Bears, the Packers yielded fewer than 50 yards rushing in successive weeks to Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch (41), Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles (49), and San Francisco’s Carlos Hyde (20). A rejuvenated B.J. Raji has anchored the run defense up front.

IN A RUSH

The Packers’ pass rush has gotten to the passer 17 times this season, tied for second in the league with the Rams. Thirteen of those sacks have come in the past two contests, marking the first time since 1978 that the Packers have gotten six or more sacks in back-to-back games. Ageless Julius Peppers and five-time Pro Bowler Clay Matthews key the pass-rush, but the Packers have five players with two or more sacks already this season — four of whom are linebackers in the team’s 3-4 scheme.

 

[RamBill]

Green Bay provides another tough test for Rams
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_be942514-a79e-583c-b842-d84194f750f7.html

Two weeks ago, the Rams limited what was the league’s most explosive offense at the time to 12 points and knocked its star quarterback — Ben Roethlisberger — out of the game.

Last week, the Rams knocked a sizzling Arizona Cardinals team that had been averaging 40-plus points a game from the ranks of the unbeaten. In their house.

And now, a grueling three-game gantlet against the league’s elite comes to an end at Lambeau Field — a magical place where the home team never loses and the quarterback never throws an interception.

Or so it seems. The Green Bay Packers (4-0) have won 11 straight at home, the longest current home winning streak in the NFL. Their quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, has not thrown an interception in his last 580 passes, a period encompassing 19 regular-season and postseason games.

No one expected the Rams to beat Pittsburgh, and they came within a play of doing just that in a hard-fought 12-6 defeat at the Edward Jones Dome.

No one expected the Rams to beat Arizona, but they did with three touchdown passes by Nick Foles, 146 yards rushing by rookie Todd Gurley, and a defense that forced the high-powered Arizona offense to kick one field goal after another.

“We’ve taken a lot of criticism and deservedly so — our lumps the last couple weeks,” defensive end Chris Long said after the Arizona triumph. “A lot of people said a lot of things about us.”

Losing to a mediocre at best Washington team, and then failing to capitalize on a chance at an upset against Pittsburgh will do that. After those games, most observers believed the team would be staring at 1-4 two weeks later, after the trips to Arizona and Green Bay.

But then came last weekend’s big upset, and for a week at least, all things seem possible.

“We just keep believing and keep trying to get better,” Long said.

So at 2-2, the Rams have avoided the 1-3 curse that helped doom their last two seasons. Should they pull off another upset in Sunday’s noon kickoff, they’d be 3-2 for the first time since 2012 — coach Jeff Fisher’s first season with the team.

Even with a loss Sunday, the Rams at 2-3 entering their bye week still could compete for a playoff berth. But at 3-2 with victories over Seattle, Arizona, and Green Bay on their résumé? Well, things could get exciting — a word not used much at Rams Park over the past decade-plus.

Of the Rams’ 11 remaining opponents following Green Bay, only two currently have winning records. The combined record of the five Rams foes immediately following Green Bay is 6-14.

The Rams had more bounce in their step this week in practice. Momentum and confidence seemed to be the words of the week. But the Fisher Rams have been down this road before and crashed. Just ask wide receiver Tavon Austin.

Defeating Arizona, Austin said, “will definitely boost our confidence up.”

But he cautioned: “We beat Seattle and our confidence was pretty high, then we lost two straight. So it’s all about focusing in, playing Rams football.”

For two decades, ever since the ascendancy of quarterback Brett Favre and the Mike Holmgren-coached Packers, Lambeau Field has been a place where confidence goes to die and momentum hits a wall.

“It’s hard to win in the NFL,” Foles said. “Every game is going to be tough. Every game we’ve played this year has been really close and really tough. We’re going into an environment where they play really well at home. It’s a great challenge for us.”

Or as offensive guard Rodger Saffold put it: “This is not gonna be any type of picnic.”

It has been Dec. 2, 2012 (against Minnesota) since Rodgers last threw a home interception. If anything, the law of averages should kick in any time now. But Fisher isn’t dreaming that big — not right now.

“You now what?” Fisher asked. “If the ball hits the ground, I’ll be happy. So that’s the starting point. Get the ball to hit the ground. If it happens to fall in one of our arms, however that happens, then we’ll try to make the most of it.”

Not unlike the Arizona game last week, it’ll probably take a couple of turnovers — however they come — for the Rams to hang with the Packers. Or a return touchdown.

Although the outcome never appeared to be in jeopardy, the Packers weren’t overwhelming in last week’s 17-3 victory at San Francisco. Rodgers was harassed more than he liked by the 49ers’ pass rush.

Green Bay’s skill position group is beat up. The Packers, at the moment, don’t appear as explosive offensively as the Cardinals or the Steelers were when they played the Rams.

Then again, this has the makings of one of the most balanced Packers teams since Mike McCarthy took over as their coach in 2006. The Packers are ranked among the NFL’s top 10 in both total offense and total defense for the first time since the 2010 season.

On offense, associate head coach Tom Clements has taken over the play-calling duties from McCarthy this season. The Packers have been more methodical, but that’s by necessity minus injured wide receivers Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams, and with Randall Cobb, James Jones, and Eddie Lacy all nicked.

Not that anyone’s feeling sorry for the Packers; they’re still finding ways to keep scoreboard operators busy. Only five teams have scored more points.

“As a defense, we love these challenges,” safety T.J. McDonald said. “We love going up against great offenses. I feel like we’ve stood up to the challenge every week we’ve had an offense like this, or someone that’s highly-touted at quarterback.

“We were just talking about how great Arizona’s offense was last week. Before that, how great Pittsburgh’s offense was. And both of those games we held our own and gave up one touchdown.”

The question is: Can the Rams do it again?

 

[DenverRam]

I am worried the Rams shallow depth at Linebacker will exploited by Rodgers today

 

[jap]

I am worried the Rams shallow depth at Linebacker will exploited by Rodgers today

I expect them to use our version of Dr. Death, SS/LB Barron, quite a bit today.

 

[DenverRam]

I expect them to use our version of Dr. Death, SS/LB Barron, quite a bit today.

could be good if they try to beat us with the short pass

 

[DaveFan'51]

Bulaga returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since suffering a knee injury Sept. 17 in practice, but he’s questionable for Sunday. If it’s Barclay, this is a matchup advantage Chris Long must exploit.

"This^ Works for me!" :yess:'Hat-Trick' for Long!?!

 

[…..]

I think their sack totals are a bit misleading. I don't expect them to be hanging around the top 5 all year.

 

[ReddingRam]

Bulaga is playing today. Hopefully he has a little hitch in his giddy-up for us to exploit.