Rams defensive line - how much disruption will it cause?

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Looking for someone who really understands the game, beyond just citing rush/pass defense rankings. I’m looking at the Patriots offensive line this season, particularly postseason, and two things stand out to me:

1. They’ve been dominant in both run blocking and pass blocking
2. The Chargers and Chiefs both have great edge rushers, though their interior line is not their strength.

Historically, teams built with edge rushing seem to be exactly what the Patriots feast on. Brady neutralizes the effect of these guys by making them drop into coverage and also negating the effect of collapsing the pocket by releasing the ball so quickly. Hence, DE pairings like Watt-Clowney and other “sack brother” duos have been relatively dominated by #12.

Some of the teams with defensive success against the Patriots (Giants, Ravens, last years Jags, etc.) have been able to get pressure up the middle. While the Giants were celebrated for their DEs, Justin Tuck was the most damaging lineman. The Ravens caused most issues up the middle with a blitzing Lewis and Ngata. The 2015 Broncos had Miller and Ware teeing off, though the problems caused by Malik Jackson and the secondary were what prevented Brady from doing his typical thing. In fact, it may be fair to say that all of these defenses who were successful at constantly pressuring Brady were really good on all levels (line, linebackers, secondary.)

So, what can we expect with all-universe DT Aaron Donald, a guy who graded out on PFF as the most dominating player ever at a position, and Nd...errrr...NDominator Suh? Will the Patriots be able to block them since the linebackers and other Rams aren’t as concerning as some of these other great defenses? Or is this just one matchup where it’s going to be big trouble no matter what? I don’t recall facing a team which is so great at defensive tackle - Brady’s biggest vulnerability - but lacking overall dominance on the rest of the defense.

Thoughts?

 

[VectorPrime]

Donald’s one weakness has to be that he’s relatively small, I would hope our OL can get push on him in the run game.

 

[EddardSnow67]

The obvious strategy is to work the wham concepts to try to neutralize penetration in the run game. The Rams will probably expect that going in, though. In the passing game, unfortunately there are going to be a lot of plays on which Thuney, Andrews and Mason will just have to beat Donald and Suh without a lot of help.

 

[PP2]

The obvious strategy is to work the wham concepts to try to neutralize penetration in the run game. The Rams will probably expect that going in, though. In the passing game, unfortunately there are going to be a lot of plays on which Thuney, Andrews and Mason will just have to beat Donald and Suh without a lot of help.

Suh and Donald will be coached to expect wham blocks, but they're not going to be able to guess where it's coming from, and from whom. Each of them will get blocked by a rotating corp of OL/TE's and it'll wear them down.

 

[Redman443]

The obvious strategy is to work the wham concepts to try to neutralize penetration in the run game. The Rams will probably expect that going in, though. In the passing game, unfortunately there are going to be a lot of plays on which Thuney, Andrews and Mason will just have to beat Donald and Suh without a lot of help.

No doubt they’ll double Donald. It’s important to hold the blocks on brockers, Fowler and suh

 

[Roboturner913]

The Saints pretty much dominated the Rams up front in their first matchup. The Rams had their number in the NFCCG, but all five of our OL starters were playing hurt and 3 of them had really significant injuries.

So it can be done. Take away Donald (he can't be totally shut down, but he can be contained) and you've won the LOS on offense. Suh is only a part-time player at this point, Brockers is a good nose tackle but he's not going to scare you on the pass rush. Fowler is a one-trick speed rusher that most any good tackle will have figured out by the end of the 1st quarter.

 

[50-yard-line]

Well, this is THE question of the game, I think. The interior OL (and Josh's game-planning) has to give Brady the time to win the game. I expect a lot of off tackle running, maybe some Cordarelle Patterson specials and a whole lot of old-school thumping.

Donald is soooooo good, sure, and Suh remains a force. Patriots have to take that big LA advantage away.

 

[BobDigital]

Not as much as the Rams would like. They'll do well but we shouldn't over estimate their d line. They have talented guys but no truly great DEs and Suh isn't a guy they haven't dealt with before.

This line lives and dies by Donald. He needs to dominate for them to be very effective. He won't be allowed to.

 

[Observer]

The O lines lately haven’t been the collapsible O lines of years past. In fact they have been very solid in the running game too which hasn’t been the case in many prior years. I am very optimistic that they will do well and I expect they will use White and Patterson effectively to check the pass rush.

 

[RayClay]

Donald’s one weakness has to be that he’s relatively small, I would hope our OL can get push on him in the run game.

Trent Brown sits on him a couple times, he might start questioning his existence.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Trent Brown sits on him a couple times, he might start questioning his existence.

I'm thinking Fowler will be completely neutralized... What's the weight difference

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Rams line is in for a long day... Didn't realize they play a 3-4... Very light.. both Ilbs are around 230... They are gonna wear down... I can see karras coming in at times... This is gonna be some old time smash mouth

 

[Roboturner913]

The Saints game plan in the first game was lots of twin and duo and they controlled the game with the run for the most part. The Rams edge does not hold up well. In the second game the Saints simply didn't have enough bodies on the OL to bring in an extra lineman and both tackles were hurt so they couldn't get horizontal in the run game.

But I expect the Pats will play a very blue collar game on offense with more or less the same plan. Sony should probably come in with his big boy pants on and get ready to run it 25 times.

I gotta be honest, I was very much down on football after least weekend and told myself I wouldn't even watch the SB but I am getting pretty geeked up because I know the Pats have the healthy bodies to do what the Saints weren't able to do, which is cram the ball down their throats and demoralize them.

 

[Redman443]

Running game is key. In 2007 our offense was crazy good but very one dimensional which made it difficult to tire out the giants D line. In 07 we had Maroney, 11 was BGE and 15 was the ghost of Steven Jackson. Now we have sony who is a beast. I’ve watched him since he was in college and I know what he’s capable of.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Running game is key. In 2007 our offense was crazy good but very one dimensional which made it difficult to tire out the giants D line. In 07 we had Maroney, 11 was BGE and 15 was the ghost of Steven Jackson. Now we have sony who is a beast. I’ve watched him since he was in college and I know what he’s capable of.

Sony playing in the same stadium as last yr

 

[Redman443]

Sony playing in the same stadium as last yr

Hopefully it works out this time.

 

[Patjew]

Running game is key. In 2007 our offense was crazy good but very one dimensional which made it difficult to tire out the giants D line. In 07 we had Maroney, 11 was BGE and 15 was the ghost of Steven Jackson. Now we have sony who is a beast. I’ve watched him since he was in college and I know what he’s capable of.

Sony is great and Rex has his moments, but I think the back that really tires out the front 7 is Develin. Who wants to see that thing running at him 25 times.

 

[UFGatorPat]

Sony playing in the same stadium as last yr

Good point. It may seem inconsequential but stuff like that matters to athletes, and that environment was even more crazy.

 

[BobDigital]

The Saints game plan in the first game was lots of twin and duo and they controlled the game with the run for the most part. The Rams edge does not hold up well. In the second game the Saints simply didn't have enough bodies on the OL to bring in an extra lineman and both tackles were hurt so they couldn't get horizontal in the run game.

But I expect the Pats will play a very blue collar game on offense with more or less the same plan. Sony should probably come in with his big boy pants on and get ready to run it 25 times.

I gotta be honest, I was very much down on football after least weekend and told myself I wouldn't even watch the SB but I am getting pretty geeked up because I know the Pats have the healthy bodies to do what the Saints weren't able to do, which is cram the ball down their throats and demoralize them.

Over here we are all pretty sad we didn't get the Saints. You tend to be the unanimous 2nd favorite team here. Also Brees Brady would be the best QB match up ever in a SB. As a fan I wanted to see it.

 

[WHPats]

Running game is key. In 2007 our offense was crazy good but very one dimensional which made it difficult to tire out the giants D line. In 07 we had Maroney, 11 was BGE and 15 was the ghost of Steven Jackson. Now we have sony who is a beast. I’ve watched him since he was in college and I know what he’s capable of.

You know, I think you make an excellent point. I never really thought about those Giants Super Bowl losses for what they were. A strong D-line could tee off on TB12 because there just wasn't a threat to run. Last year too we didn't do that great on the ground. But Philly sure did. If you look at our 5 titles vs. our 3 losses, the 5 title teams all had pretty good run games. Antowain Smith was unsung in '01 & '03, Corey Dillon was probably the AFC's top back in '04, Blount was a beast in '14. '16 might be the only exception because they kind of went away from Blount against Atlanta after his fumble, but we still had 100+ on the ground as a team. The Falcons just wore out. I think we're going to do something very similar to what we did against the Chargers and Chiefs. Like you guys said, smash-mouth football!