- Joined
- Nov 24, 2012
- Messages
- 2,624
- Name
- News Bot
[wrapimg=left]http://i.imgur.com/Dn2PF5j.jpg[/wrapimg]By Brent Lancaster
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.sportsmedia101.com/st.louisrams/2013/08/05/st-louis-rams-offensive-identity-should-be-revealed-this-week/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.sportsmedia101.com/st.louisr ... this-week/</a>
With the first preseason game occurring in less than a week, the St. Louis Rams have now installed most, if not all, of the offensive playbook, and are close to unveiling the new look, “spread ‘em out” offense glimpsed by fans and media during OTA’s, training camp and the Rams’ Fan Fest scrimmage.
While offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s playbook is the theoretically the same as last year’s, new personnel have allowed the Rams to bring some plays from the back pages to front and center in the offensive game plan. Recently QB Sam Bradford indicated that after the offseason addition of position-flexible personnel like TE Jared Cook and WR/RB Tavon Austin, on top of existing players like TE/H-back Lance Kendricks, Coach Schottenheimer is finally able to explore more pages and allow Bradford to exploit more matchups. This is very good news for Rams fans looking for more creativity and explosiveness from a unit that, in 2012, mustered just 18.7 points per game (25th in the league). Bradford's 6.7 yards per attempt was 26th in the league.
Traditionally Coach Jeff Fisher has heavily emphasized the run game, going back to his Tennessee Titans days with RB’s Eddie George and Chris Johnson. Coach Schottenheimer did the same while calling plays for the New York Jets. Thomas Jones carried 331 times in 2009 and the Jets ran the ball nearly two-thirds of the time that season.
In other words,don't expect Fisher and Schottenheimer to turn into Vermeil and Martz and start airing it out all over the Edward Jones Dome. Early observations indicate the scheme no longer emphasizes traditional 2-back personnel since only one FB is listed on the roster, rookie Eric Stevens (with TE’s like Lance Kendricks and Cory Harkey shifting into the backfield as a lead blocker on power runs).
From all accounts, a single-back/single-TE set (11 personnel) is expected to be the bread and butter for the current personnel, including shotgun sets with a RB to the left or right of Bradford and TE Jared Cook in the slot. This base set would play to the strengths of the smaller backs like Isaiah Pead and Daryl Richardson, who tend to thrive in space and are strong pass catchers, and add wrinkles in formations to create optimum receiving matchups.
Here are the general traits of the new receiving weapons brought in for Bradford this offseason, and how each presents a matchup challenge/wrinkle in formations:
Jared Cook
Elite size, speed and catch radius at the TE position. He is a matchup problem for any linebacker not named Patrick Willis, and is capable of lining up all over the field.
Tavon Austin
Elite quickness, speed and elusiveness at the WR position. He is a threat to score from anywhere on the field, and is also capable of playing in the slot, backfield, and in motion.
Stedman Bailey
Elite hands, concentration and instincts at the WR position. He is already an excellent route runner, and can play all of the receiver positions.
For example, the Rams could go 1 RB (Pead/Richardson), 1 inline TE (Kendricks) and 3 TE/WR (let us say Austin/Cook/Chris Givens). The defense would likely need to go into a nickel look, with a LB or CB assigned to the slot position. Putting Austin, Cook, Givens or even Kendricks in motion would create headaches for a defense, as a defender could not effectively reroute him at the line of scrimmage and the defense must reassign responsibilities real-time.
On top of this burden, the defense must respect the unique gifts of each weapon on the field, from the size/speed combo of Cook to the speed/quickness combo of Austin. And we can’t forget the threat of Pead and Richardson out of the backfield. With the personnel now available, the combinations to create matchup problems (at least on paper) really are limitless.
Perhaps the year away from football allowed Coach Fisher to study the evolution of offenses, and to realize building around a smart, young QB like Bradford was the key to success. While it is expected that Rams’ running backs will still receive lots of touches, it would not be surprising for Sam to sling the ball 40 times in a game, with no single receiver having double-digit catches. This was emphasized by Rams’ COO Kevin Demoff:
“The goal this year is for Sam to be able to throw to the open player, and I expect that we will get meaningful contributions from all 5 WR's, the 2 TE's and the running backs. I think you could see this offense resemble an offense like the Saints where you have 4 or 5 players catch 40-50 balls but nobody who catches 70 or 80. I'm not saying that we are the Saints offense. We need to improve to become that, but more that style where anybody can be a threat on any play. I think that is where we are evolving, letting the down, distance, scheme and coverage dictate who becomes the targeted player.”
It appears that the Rams’ front office and coaches have all of the confidence in the world in Bradford. That won't be changing anytime soon. With a supporting cast being assembled that plays to his strengths, and with Coach Schottenheimer scheming to take advantage of the new personnel, this could certainly be the year Bradford proves that he can be “the man” to lead the Rams back to the postseason and beyond.
As Demoff stated to a group of fans during the Rams’ Fan Fest:
“Coach Fisher came to St. Louis for two reasons: one was owner, Stan Kroenke, the other was Sam Bradford.”
Is the offensive Identity therefore becoming a reflection of Sam Bradford, the way the Patriots are a reflection of QB Tom Brady? So it seems, and that is one of the developments to watch this preseason.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.sportsmedia101.com/st.louisrams/2013/08/05/st-louis-rams-offensive-identity-should-be-revealed-this-week/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.sportsmedia101.com/st.louisr ... this-week/</a>
With the first preseason game occurring in less than a week, the St. Louis Rams have now installed most, if not all, of the offensive playbook, and are close to unveiling the new look, “spread ‘em out” offense glimpsed by fans and media during OTA’s, training camp and the Rams’ Fan Fest scrimmage.
While offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s playbook is the theoretically the same as last year’s, new personnel have allowed the Rams to bring some plays from the back pages to front and center in the offensive game plan. Recently QB Sam Bradford indicated that after the offseason addition of position-flexible personnel like TE Jared Cook and WR/RB Tavon Austin, on top of existing players like TE/H-back Lance Kendricks, Coach Schottenheimer is finally able to explore more pages and allow Bradford to exploit more matchups. This is very good news for Rams fans looking for more creativity and explosiveness from a unit that, in 2012, mustered just 18.7 points per game (25th in the league). Bradford's 6.7 yards per attempt was 26th in the league.
Traditionally Coach Jeff Fisher has heavily emphasized the run game, going back to his Tennessee Titans days with RB’s Eddie George and Chris Johnson. Coach Schottenheimer did the same while calling plays for the New York Jets. Thomas Jones carried 331 times in 2009 and the Jets ran the ball nearly two-thirds of the time that season.
In other words,don't expect Fisher and Schottenheimer to turn into Vermeil and Martz and start airing it out all over the Edward Jones Dome. Early observations indicate the scheme no longer emphasizes traditional 2-back personnel since only one FB is listed on the roster, rookie Eric Stevens (with TE’s like Lance Kendricks and Cory Harkey shifting into the backfield as a lead blocker on power runs).
From all accounts, a single-back/single-TE set (11 personnel) is expected to be the bread and butter for the current personnel, including shotgun sets with a RB to the left or right of Bradford and TE Jared Cook in the slot. This base set would play to the strengths of the smaller backs like Isaiah Pead and Daryl Richardson, who tend to thrive in space and are strong pass catchers, and add wrinkles in formations to create optimum receiving matchups.
Here are the general traits of the new receiving weapons brought in for Bradford this offseason, and how each presents a matchup challenge/wrinkle in formations:
Jared Cook
Elite size, speed and catch radius at the TE position. He is a matchup problem for any linebacker not named Patrick Willis, and is capable of lining up all over the field.
Tavon Austin
Elite quickness, speed and elusiveness at the WR position. He is a threat to score from anywhere on the field, and is also capable of playing in the slot, backfield, and in motion.
Stedman Bailey
Elite hands, concentration and instincts at the WR position. He is already an excellent route runner, and can play all of the receiver positions.
For example, the Rams could go 1 RB (Pead/Richardson), 1 inline TE (Kendricks) and 3 TE/WR (let us say Austin/Cook/Chris Givens). The defense would likely need to go into a nickel look, with a LB or CB assigned to the slot position. Putting Austin, Cook, Givens or even Kendricks in motion would create headaches for a defense, as a defender could not effectively reroute him at the line of scrimmage and the defense must reassign responsibilities real-time.
On top of this burden, the defense must respect the unique gifts of each weapon on the field, from the size/speed combo of Cook to the speed/quickness combo of Austin. And we can’t forget the threat of Pead and Richardson out of the backfield. With the personnel now available, the combinations to create matchup problems (at least on paper) really are limitless.
Perhaps the year away from football allowed Coach Fisher to study the evolution of offenses, and to realize building around a smart, young QB like Bradford was the key to success. While it is expected that Rams’ running backs will still receive lots of touches, it would not be surprising for Sam to sling the ball 40 times in a game, with no single receiver having double-digit catches. This was emphasized by Rams’ COO Kevin Demoff:
“The goal this year is for Sam to be able to throw to the open player, and I expect that we will get meaningful contributions from all 5 WR's, the 2 TE's and the running backs. I think you could see this offense resemble an offense like the Saints where you have 4 or 5 players catch 40-50 balls but nobody who catches 70 or 80. I'm not saying that we are the Saints offense. We need to improve to become that, but more that style where anybody can be a threat on any play. I think that is where we are evolving, letting the down, distance, scheme and coverage dictate who becomes the targeted player.”
It appears that the Rams’ front office and coaches have all of the confidence in the world in Bradford. That won't be changing anytime soon. With a supporting cast being assembled that plays to his strengths, and with Coach Schottenheimer scheming to take advantage of the new personnel, this could certainly be the year Bradford proves that he can be “the man” to lead the Rams back to the postseason and beyond.
As Demoff stated to a group of fans during the Rams’ Fan Fest:
“Coach Fisher came to St. Louis for two reasons: one was owner, Stan Kroenke, the other was Sam Bradford.”
Is the offensive Identity therefore becoming a reflection of Sam Bradford, the way the Patriots are a reflection of QB Tom Brady? So it seems, and that is one of the developments to watch this preseason.
