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June 18, 2003 The St. Louis Rams stumbled badly last year - and some have attributed a large part of it due to the loss of the centerpiece of their defense - London Fletcher. Fletcher led the Rams in tackles for several years and was the emotional leader of the crew as well. Fletcher landed in Buffalo and had a good season, recording 149 total tackles, 108 of which were solo. However, watch for Fletcher and the Bills linebacking crew to take it to another level, as they should be greatly improved this year with the addition of All-Pro Takeo Spikes. Spikes was one of the most-sought after free-agents in the linebacking position. The linebacking approach in the NFL is going in two divergent paths. One theme is to get as many big, nasty linebackers as possible. The other is to go with a smaller, quicker linebacking group. Perhaps the epitome of each style is seen in the Minnesota Vikings and the St. Louis Rams. The Minnesota Vikings have stacked their linebacking corp over the past two years, first picking up Greg Bickert last year, then adding Chris Clariborne and drafing E.J. Henderson of Maryland this year. Some believe the Vikings may be looking at putting four linebackers on the field at once this year. The Viking linebackers are a big, powerful group. Clairborne played at 260+ pounds last year; Henderson is large and hits like a brick wall as well. The one knock on this group is that they are not that fast. No one could accuse Bickert or Clairborne of being speed demons, and Henderson was passed over in the first round partially due to lack of overall speed. This crew should play very well against the run but will be somewhat suspect against the pass. Teams that can put four good receivers on the field at once will probably find some tantalizing match-ups against the Vikings. The St. Louis Rams lie at the other end of the spectrum, opting for speed over size and brute strength in their linebacking crew. The Rams linebacking unit is being built to handle the pass. The Rams will put Tommy Polley, Robert Thomas, and newcomer Pisa Tinoisamoa (yes, that’s really his name) on the field, the youngest linebacking group in the NFL - a rookie, a second year man, and a three year starter. The Rams want the linebackers to get to the receiver fast. Thomas will be one of the quicker middle linebackers in the league, and the two outside linebackers can both fly. Visions of Polley’s quick pick and TD sprint against the Packers in the playoffs two years ago are what the coaching staff hope to see a lot of from this group. The Rams are even working a converted safety, Hakim Akbar, into the rotation to keep the speed at a premium. The obvious weak spot for the fast Ram group would be the power running game. The Rams hope that their number one draft choice, big Jimmy Kennedy, can fill the middle and attack the running game of the opponent, freeing the linebackers up. One of the more interesting games of the upcoming season will occur on November 30th in St.Louis as the Rams and Vikings clash. The two different linebacking styles will be pitted against each opposing offense. The Ram linebackers will have to contain the Viking running game, which was one of the better ones in the league last year, while the Vikings get the task of trying to get all of the speedy Ram receivers covered. The Ram wideouts have a lot of speed, with a couple of the new guys putting down a 4.3 40 yard dash. If the bigger, slower Viking linebackers get set up with one of these guys, they are going to be giving up 5-7 yards in burst speed, and the Rams could really rack up a ton of yards. The other option that the Viking linebackers will face is not a bowl of fun either - Marshall Faulk coming out of the backfield on a swing pass. This should be a very interesting game - make a note to catch it if you can. The linebacking position in the NFL is headed in a couple of opposite directions and it will be interesting to see which way it goes. Will it be the bigger, slower linebacker that prevails, or will the smaller, quicker linebacker become the prototype? Or will a team get extremely fortunate and find the rare guy who possess both size and speed - such as Ray Lewis? This year should be a defining year for the direction of the NFL linebacker. ------------ About the author: Dwayne Hines currently has 12 books selling in major bookstores and writes for major magazines such as Physical and FitnessRX. Email Dwayne Hines: dhines@3dinet.com Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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