Suburban Life • mysuburbanlife.com • Thursday, November 21, 2013 • CD
| SPORTS
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Rams’ playmakers among NFL’s best-kept secrets Hub Arkush
Get ready, Bears fans. You’re about to meet some of the best-kept secrets in the NFL. The Bears will face the St. Louis Rams in week 12, and while the sum of its parts is a pedestrian 4-6, there are some young studs on this ballclub who can do some real damage. On paper, this looks like a team the Bears should be able to handle. That’s what the Indianapolis Colts thought two weeks ago before the Rams stormed into Indianapolis and blew them off the field by a 38-8 margin. There are other danger signs. This will be only the second game the Bears have played indoors this year. Their first was in Detroit, where they played their worst game of the season, falling 40-32. The Rams will be the second team
the Bears have faced this year coming off a bye. The Lions came into Chicago for their second meeting after their weekend off and knocked off the Bears, 21-19. Let’s meet Tavon Austin. The Rams traded up eight spots in the first round of this year’s draft to take the 5-foot-8-inch, 176-pound mighty mite out of West Virginia, who, until the Colts game, appeared to be just kind of finding his way. In Indianapolis, he caught 57- and 81-yard touchdowns, and returned four punts for 145 yards, including a 98-yard touchdown. Think Devin Hester, but this guy can play wide receiver, too. St. Louis features a quartet of young running backs – Zac Stacy, Daryl Richardson, Benny Cunningham and Isaiah Pead. Stacy is the new No. 1, with 129 rushes and 537 yards, a 4.2 average and three touchdowns rushing. He also has caught 15 passes for 97 yards and one touchdown receiving. All four backs catch the ball out of the backfield. Richardson has been banged up, and Pead,
the highest draft choice of the four, is buried on the bench. The Rams struggle at receiver. Chris Givens is their No. 1 with 28 receptions and 463 yards for a 16.5 average. Beyond Austin, who has 33 receptions for 345 yards and four touchdowns, Austin Pettis and Brian Quick fill out this pedestrian group. While the Bears were recruiting Martellus Bennett in free agency, the Rams went shopping for Jared Cook. He has 33 receptions for 428 yards and three touchdowns. No. 2 tight end Lance Kendricks is a factor as well with 23 receptions, 172 yards and three touchdowns. Like the Bears, the Rams are in the hands of their backup quarterback, Kellen Clemens. With the franchise, Sam Bradford, out for the year with an ACL tear, Clemens has completed 46 of 86 throws, a 53.5 completion rate, for 634 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and a 79.3 passer rating. He’s been OK, but nowhere near as effective as Josh McCown. Clemens may be the weak link right now.
The best matchup of the game will feature Jake Long, who is once again healthy and one of the best left tackles in the game, going head-to-head with Julius Peppers. Third-year player Robert Quinn is the NFL’s breakout defensive player of the year. Known as “Little Julius” at North Carolina – an ode to Peppers – before the Rams chose him with the 14th pick in the 2011 first round, Quinn already has 12 sacks and five forced fumbles. He is complimented on the other end by Kyle Long’s big brother, Chris, the second player taken in the 2008 draft. Chris Long has 6½ sacks, one forced fumble and two recovered. Linebackers James Laurinaitis and Alec Ogletree and defensive tackle Michael Brockers are three more first round picks, and Janoris Jenkins, who the Rams took with the 39th pick in the 2012 draft, are all playmakers. This is a big-play defense that is getting better every week. Bears fans best hope they aren’t catching it at the worst possible time.
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