SB Nation - Milford Brown

Three questions for the Rams vs Falcons: #2 Testing the depth chart

VanRam — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:31:26 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

St. Louis Rams offensive lineman John Greco will get a chance to prove himself against the Falcons in the Rams preseason home-opener.

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Anyone who has watched the St. Louis Rams over the last three years (especially those that actually watched all 16 games) knows just how damaging injuries and the team's lack of depth on the offensive line was for the team, not to mention the well-paid guys playing behind said line.

This year, the Rams look to have much improved o-line depth behind their starters. Tonight, against the Falcons, two starters will sit out: LT Alex Barron and LG Jacob Bell. Which brings us to the question:

Is the Rams offensive line depth good enough?

This week, with Barron and Bell out, the left of the Rams line will have quite a different look. Adam Goldberg has filled in at LT during the regular season. Next to him will be John Greco, as well as Mark Setterstrom and Roy Scheuning who'll get some time with the first team.

The Falcons totaled 34 sacks last season, for a 6.9% adjusted sack rate. That put them solidly in the middle of the pack. They sacked Marc Bulger three times last season, which was really no great feat for opposing defenses. They were, however, rather costly sacks considering how close the game was. One came late in the second quarter, on 4th-and-3 with the Rams leading 7-3. The Falcons scored on their next possession. The last sack came on the Rams final possession of the game, just after the two minute warning with the Falcons leading 31-27. It was 2nd-and-2, and the sack made it 3rd-and-10. The rest is history.

None of those three sacks came from the Falcons' sack leader John Abraham, who had 16.5 last year. However, the Falcons move him from side-to-side to play the matchup, so this could create problems for the Rams blockers. Atlanta uses LB Stephen Nichols against the pass, mostly because of his coverage skills, but he did get a sack against the Rams last year.

Atlanta struggled against the run last year. Staring in the are 2009 first round pick Peria Jerry and Jonathan Babineaux; both players are good one-gap technique tackles who could figure heavily in the team's pass rush, but could struggle against the run. The Rams tough middle linemen should be able to handle both players, and I'm curious as to whether or not the Falcons will double team Jason Brown. The guards filling in for Bell have a decent matchup with either of these two DTs.

Players to watch:

Jason Smith - He'll be starting on the right side tonight. Smith has shown real aplomb in run blocking but Abraham and other Atlanta rushers will be looking to give him a proper introduction to NFL-level pass blocking. I suspect the Rams, on passing plays, will put the TE on the right side or assign someone from the backfield to reinforce pass protection on Smith's side of the line. This is Smith's golden opportunity to play himself into a starting job.

John Greco - Last year's third round pick, Greco got his first NFL start against the Falcons, making a good impression and giving us all reason to believe that the line's depth was indeed better.

Mark Setterstrom - Had a great debut filling in for injured starters in his rookie season, 2006, playing both guard positions. His injury early in 2007 hurt the Rams line, making Milford Brown the starter. A serious preseason knee injury put him out all last season. Setterstrom has proven his ability, and now needs to prove that he's 100% ready to play again.

Thursday Notes: Lions Sign Two, Release Two

Sean Yuille — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:22:29 -0000

Individual game tickets for the Lions go on sale at 10 a.m. on August 27. For more information, check out the Lions' official website.
The Lions have signed offensive guard Milford Brown and safety Calvin Lowry. To make room on the roster for the two new players, the Lions released defensive tackle John Gill, who was the first undrafted free agent to sign with Detroit earlier this year, and tight end Jake Nordin.

Brown started four games for the Jaguars last season and is generally considered to be a guard. He has been in the league since 2002, when he was selected by the Texans in the supplemental draft.

Lowry was a fourth-round pick in 2006 by the Titans, where he played for Jim Schwartz for a couple seasons. He started three games for the Broncos last season. His signing could be a hint that Daniel Bullocks isn't going to return anytime soon. We learned yesterday that Bullocks was out indefinitely, but Schwartz didn't really provide a timetable for his return.
No players were actually ruled out yet, but Tom Kowalski speculates that the list of injuries for Saturday's game against the Falcons will be pretty big.
Usually rookies experience hazing at the hands of veteran players, but that was not the case with the Lions, as Jim Schwartz made sure that didn't happen from the start. He thinks players should be professional and worry more about teaching rookies than messing with them. I like that attitude, as these players are here to do a job, and while hazing can be fun, winning is even better.
Bryant Johnson was able to return to practice sooner than expected thanks to an experimental treatment.
If you're in the main or overflow #1 fantasy football leagues, check your inboxes, as invites have been sent. I will try to get the other two leagues up and running later today, so if you're in one of those leagues, keep on the lookout for it. (Note: The current draft date/time is not set in stone by any means. It is just what the site had when I created the league, as both the date and time will be discussed on here at another time before it is finalized.)
Madden 10 officially comes out at 12:01 a.m. tonight. I probably won't pick it up until tomorrow afternoon, but once I do, expect me to be missing from the site for a few hours. Based on everything I've heard, the game is amazing, so here's to hoping it lives up to its expectations.

Bills must prepare for creative Jags offensive attack

Brian Galliford — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:00:06 -0000

Garrard missing key portions of O-Line (NFL.com)

It's a good thing Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard is mobile. He, like his entire team, will be doing a lot of scrambling on Sunday as they play their home opener against the Buffalo Bills.

The Jaguars dropped their season opener for the second straight season to the Tennessee Titans, a 17-10 loss that was devastating to more than just their early-season record. Jacksonville lost its most dominant run blocker - left guard Vince Manuwai - and stellar right guard Maurice Williams to season-ending injuries. Center Brad Meester is already hurt, meaning that the Jaguars will be taking on the Bills with three reserves in the middle of their offensive line. The team was scrambling early in the week, signing street free agents including Chad Slaughter, Milford Brown and Todd Wade to help fill the void inside.

Despite the losses, the Jaguars will still be a dangerous offense on Sunday. Why? Precisely because they're in scramble mode.

Game plans should change
You can bet that, hell-bent on getting off to a quick start, the Bills have been game-planning for the Jaguars for a number of months now. A certain percentage of that game plan, however, likely goes out the window simply because the Bills are about to play a different Jags team than they expected to play, specifically offensively.

Jacksonville will likely concentrate less on running the ball up the middle due to their injuries, instead utilizing their backs' cutting ability to exploit the edges of Buffalo's defense. They will likely have to alter their pass protection schemes to handle the Bills' stunting and blitz packages, and there's a very good chance that they'll utilize Garrard's mobility on bootlegs and moving behind slide protections. Literally, Garrard will be scrambling more so that he has time to deliver the ball.

There's a point where talent overwhelms, however, and Buffalo's depth along the defensive line - as well as their ability to blitz with linebackers Kawika Mitchell and Paul Posluszny, as well as cornerback Ashton Youboty and safety Donte Whitner - should do just that to the revamped Jaguars front. Still, Buffalo's back seven should be challenged by the accurate Garrard, especially when he's on the move.

Jags getting healthy in areas, too
One area where the Jaguars look to improve on Sunday is in the wide receiver corps. Jerry Porter, the team's biggest free agent acquisition this off-season, missed the season opener in Tennessee, but it's likely he'll make his Jaguars debut against the Bills. Porter, while flawed, is a playmaker - something Jacksonville's offense sorely lacked last week. To boot, receiver Matt Jones - busted for cocaine possession earlier this off-season - has re-emerged in the offense, boosting the Jags' depth in their big, physical receiving corps.

Garrard completed 23 of 35 passes in Tennessee, but only one receiver - Jones (6 catches, 80 yards) - averaged over 10 yards per reception. Garrard was throwing intermediate routes in most cases; he'll likely be doing that again on Sunday with the Jags' offensive line in flux. The Jaguars will, however, continue to take shots downfield, especially with Porter and speedster Troy Williamson in the lineup. They have to; otherwise, the Bills will stack the box against Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones Drew (who are still quite dangerous, and containing this duo is an absolute must), and the Jags could be staring another 10-point outing in the face.

How the Bills can do enough to win
You can put a lot of bank on the fact that barring unforeseen circumstances, Marcus Stroud is going to have a big day. The Jags will do all they can to take Stroud out of the equation, but after seeing him dominate the Seahawks, I don't think the big man can be denied. Look for the Bills to spy Garrard's movement with Mitchell, Posluszny, Whitner or Youboty; all four have the ability to keep Garrard's rushing in check and make plays coming forward, a necessity to slowing down the Jags' attack.

As the Bills proved in their win over Seattle, the easiest way to win football games is to have all three phases involved and making plays. The Bills will try to follow the formula that helped them beat Seattle (and for the record, it's the best way to win a football game handily) - grab an early lead, stop the run, and tee off once the Jags are one-dimensional. But this is a big game, and you can bet the Jags will be prepared. Avoiding the big play is an absolute must if the Bills want to stay competitive; big plays (along with turnovers) killed the team's chances at pulling off an upset in Jacksonville in 2007, and they'll need to reverse that trend this Sunday.

The Bills might be able to pull it off - and if they do, the Jags will be scrambling once again.