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Westbrooks is trying to make his own story
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_20cf7af4-f410-5e3e-a368-3767c104dad3.html
Last year at this time, defensive end Ethan Westbrooks was nothing short of a camp sensation, a small-college find from West Texas A&M. He’s the guy that kept Michael Sam off the Rams’ roster when the final cuts were made in early September.
“To be honest, I felt like last year was Michael Sam’s story,” Westbrooks said. “I felt like I was just a little subtitle in there — a big paragraph.”
And this year?
“I’ve gotta kinda make it more my year than riding in on somebody’s coattails to be honest,” he said. “I’m definitely trying to do that.”
To a large degree, he’ll be doing it at a different position. Yes, he played all four defensive line positions in the Rams’ preseason opener at Oakland. But he got a heavy dose of defensive tackle Sunday night in Tennessee, nose tackle to be precise.
Although he’ll retain that positional flexibility, he’s being groomed as Michael Brockers’ backup at nose tackle. Why would the Rams move a skilled pass rusher inside? Well, have you seen the Rams’ depth chart at defensive end? Backups William Hayes and Eugene Sims could start for some teams in the NFL.
“I felt like with our defensive ends and how loaded we are, that it would be better for him to move inside,” defensive line coach Mike Waufle said. “Then, I had to find a place for him. Then Nick Fairley came along (in free agency), so he just fell into the nose tackle spot.”
Fairley backs up Aaron Donald at the “3-technique” spot in the defensive line rotation. Waufle first approached Westbrooks about playing defensive tackle late last season.
Perhaps Westbrooks’ greatest asset is his ability to get off the line of scrimmage quickly, but there’s more to his game than that.
“He’s more powerful than what his weight is,” Waufle said. “So he’s powerful enough to play inside even though he might not weigh (enough). He’ll eventually get there; right now he’s a little bit undersized.”
After playing in the 275- to 280-pound range as an undrafted rookie last season, Westbrooks is 10 pounds heavier this year. He’s thinking about gaining even more weight, because when you’re at nose tackle you have a tendency to run into 330-pound offensive guards on a regular basis.
“He has to play the A-gap,” Waufle said, referring to the gap between the guard and center, “and it’s a lot of new learning for him. He played well the other night. He graded well, so I was pleased.”
Westbrooks came in raw from West Texas A&M, but is a good learner in the classroom.
“He has nothing but upside,” Waufle said. “He just needs repetitions in there (at nose tackle). It’s different. It makes a man out of you real quick.”
Even at 285 or 290 pounds, if you use good leverage you can handle the position. In addition, Westbrooks feels he can combat size and strength with his speed and quickness.
“That’s one thing that Coach Waufle would rather have,” Westbrooks said. “He wants the fast guys, those horses up front. So I’m definitely trying to stay aware of my speed as well as still gaining weight.”
Although he’s far from a finished product, sound technique can help counter size as well, a point Waufle has continuously driven home to Westbrooks.
“Using my hands, lifting the blockers, speed, speed, speed,” Westbrooks said. “Shooting the gaps and stuff like ‘AD’ (Aaron Donald) does. He’s definitely trying to hammer that home with me, and that’s definitely what I’ve been trying to get down pat. Because I feel like 340 (pounds) can’t really touch a 280, 290 if they can’t catch ’em.”
Two games into the preseason, Westbrooks has been getting lots of reps. He has participated in 79 plays from scrimmage in exhibition play, second among Rams defensive players to rookie linebacker Bryce Hager (90 plays).
Westbrooks played a bit of defensive tackle last preseason, but his next regular-season snap there will be his first regular-season snap there.
“But it’s really no stranger to me because I played it in college,” Westbrooks said. “The more you can do, the more valuable you are to the team. So I’m just trying to do my best at each position, and be the best I can be at all, so hopefully they have a reason to keep me around.”
Although it seems like Westbrooks’ spot on the 53-man roster is secure, he’s taking nothing for granted. The first round of roster cuts follows Saturday’s preseason game against visiting Indianapolis.
“With a coach like Coach Waufle and Coach Gregg (Williams), you can never really feel safe,” Westbrooks said.
Williams is the Rams’ defensive coordinator.
“They definitely keep you on your toes,” Westbrooks said. “Me personally, I don’t really feel safe because I know the NFL — it’s not something that is always gonna be there. You’ve always got somebody else behind you that’s coming for you.”
Of course, Westbrooks has one other person on the coaching staff to please when it comes to making the roster again — the head man, Jeff Fisher.
“I’d like for him to go when the brown thing moves rather than beforehand, because he’s been offsides three times I think this preseason,” Fisher said. “He needs to slow down.
“But other than that, he’s explosive, he’s playing the run very well. And he can rush the passer.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_20cf7af4-f410-5e3e-a368-3767c104dad3.html
Last year at this time, defensive end Ethan Westbrooks was nothing short of a camp sensation, a small-college find from West Texas A&M. He’s the guy that kept Michael Sam off the Rams’ roster when the final cuts were made in early September.
“To be honest, I felt like last year was Michael Sam’s story,” Westbrooks said. “I felt like I was just a little subtitle in there — a big paragraph.”
And this year?
“I’ve gotta kinda make it more my year than riding in on somebody’s coattails to be honest,” he said. “I’m definitely trying to do that.”
To a large degree, he’ll be doing it at a different position. Yes, he played all four defensive line positions in the Rams’ preseason opener at Oakland. But he got a heavy dose of defensive tackle Sunday night in Tennessee, nose tackle to be precise.
Although he’ll retain that positional flexibility, he’s being groomed as Michael Brockers’ backup at nose tackle. Why would the Rams move a skilled pass rusher inside? Well, have you seen the Rams’ depth chart at defensive end? Backups William Hayes and Eugene Sims could start for some teams in the NFL.
“I felt like with our defensive ends and how loaded we are, that it would be better for him to move inside,” defensive line coach Mike Waufle said. “Then, I had to find a place for him. Then Nick Fairley came along (in free agency), so he just fell into the nose tackle spot.”
Fairley backs up Aaron Donald at the “3-technique” spot in the defensive line rotation. Waufle first approached Westbrooks about playing defensive tackle late last season.
Perhaps Westbrooks’ greatest asset is his ability to get off the line of scrimmage quickly, but there’s more to his game than that.
“He’s more powerful than what his weight is,” Waufle said. “So he’s powerful enough to play inside even though he might not weigh (enough). He’ll eventually get there; right now he’s a little bit undersized.”
After playing in the 275- to 280-pound range as an undrafted rookie last season, Westbrooks is 10 pounds heavier this year. He’s thinking about gaining even more weight, because when you’re at nose tackle you have a tendency to run into 330-pound offensive guards on a regular basis.
“He has to play the A-gap,” Waufle said, referring to the gap between the guard and center, “and it’s a lot of new learning for him. He played well the other night. He graded well, so I was pleased.”
Westbrooks came in raw from West Texas A&M, but is a good learner in the classroom.
“He has nothing but upside,” Waufle said. “He just needs repetitions in there (at nose tackle). It’s different. It makes a man out of you real quick.”
Even at 285 or 290 pounds, if you use good leverage you can handle the position. In addition, Westbrooks feels he can combat size and strength with his speed and quickness.
“That’s one thing that Coach Waufle would rather have,” Westbrooks said. “He wants the fast guys, those horses up front. So I’m definitely trying to stay aware of my speed as well as still gaining weight.”
Although he’s far from a finished product, sound technique can help counter size as well, a point Waufle has continuously driven home to Westbrooks.
“Using my hands, lifting the blockers, speed, speed, speed,” Westbrooks said. “Shooting the gaps and stuff like ‘AD’ (Aaron Donald) does. He’s definitely trying to hammer that home with me, and that’s definitely what I’ve been trying to get down pat. Because I feel like 340 (pounds) can’t really touch a 280, 290 if they can’t catch ’em.”
Two games into the preseason, Westbrooks has been getting lots of reps. He has participated in 79 plays from scrimmage in exhibition play, second among Rams defensive players to rookie linebacker Bryce Hager (90 plays).
Westbrooks played a bit of defensive tackle last preseason, but his next regular-season snap there will be his first regular-season snap there.
“But it’s really no stranger to me because I played it in college,” Westbrooks said. “The more you can do, the more valuable you are to the team. So I’m just trying to do my best at each position, and be the best I can be at all, so hopefully they have a reason to keep me around.”
Although it seems like Westbrooks’ spot on the 53-man roster is secure, he’s taking nothing for granted. The first round of roster cuts follows Saturday’s preseason game against visiting Indianapolis.
“With a coach like Coach Waufle and Coach Gregg (Williams), you can never really feel safe,” Westbrooks said.
Williams is the Rams’ defensive coordinator.
“They definitely keep you on your toes,” Westbrooks said. “Me personally, I don’t really feel safe because I know the NFL — it’s not something that is always gonna be there. You’ve always got somebody else behind you that’s coming for you.”
Of course, Westbrooks has one other person on the coaching staff to please when it comes to making the roster again — the head man, Jeff Fisher.
“I’d like for him to go when the brown thing moves rather than beforehand, because he’s been offsides three times I think this preseason,” Fisher said. “He needs to slow down.
“But other than that, he’s explosive, he’s playing the run very well. And he can rush the passer.”
