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I guess it's a Good Thing....

I guess I felt pretty good about this.  I have said as much on multiple fan forums and said as much on this site on Sunday -

The boot-leg only works if there is a threat of the run and it was obvious the Rams felt confident that they could stop the run by thinking pass first.  Basically they were going to give up the 5 yard run if it meant avoiding the big pass play. By playing pass first, they gave up some decent runs but never let Jake get comfortable, and we know what happenes when Jake isn't comfortable.


Now, the article specifically talks about the strategy of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I partly agree.  The Steelers employ a 3-4 defense and lets face it, they have great personnel and are able to pull it off becuase of guys like Casey Hampton, Joey Porter and Troy Polamalu.  Most teams don't have 3 Pro Bowlers up the middle.

What I was speaking off was a gameplan that has the D-Line play pass first.  Hey, if you run into the runningback on your way to the qb, tackle him, until then, get to Plummer.  It's what the Steelers do in the 3-4, and it's what the Rams did in a base 4-3.  The proof is in the pudding; The Broncos ran for over 6 yards per carry, yet everytime they attempted to bootleg or play-action the Rams were all over it, almost like they thought it was coming.  Well, they did, becuase they played for it every down.  If the Broncos are going to be successful they are going to have to adjust to it.

What can the offense do?  First off, they need to get ahead.  The Broncos are a different team when they play from ahead.  Secondly, maybe even run the ball even more, or at least use the short passing game to slow down the rush.  On the only TD drive of the game Denver ran screens on consecutive plays, and were successful.  Maybe a little "trickeration", with some reverses and such.  

The NfL is the ultimate copycat league.  Teams saw what the Steelers did to teams like the Broncos and Colts last season and the Rams surely used a variation of that attack.  It isn't a new idea, Greg Robinson employed a similar tactic when he was the DC in Denver. Mike Shanahan will need to find a way to slow down defenders or risk more offensive output like the one witnessed Sunday.