Begins at 2:00 Eastern, NBC, and peacock game also streams
on peacock, Leonard. Fournette. A key member of the Tampa Bay,
Buccaneers
participated in portions of practice on Thursday.
They need the running game. This is something that Sims was
harping on yesterday. And I think he's 100% accurate. When
the Buccaneers and Rams have gotten together, the pastor
regular seasons
too much throwing
from Tom. Brady, a stubbornness
when it comes to throwing and throwing
the Rams. Are a team that you can beat
up front? If you can run the ball effectively, we're look at
the 49ers did on the Monday night in the regular season
when they manhandled and dismantled the Rams and then
week 18, even when they were down 17, nothing, they kept running
because that's where the weaknesses
and the Rams defense, you're not going to pass them into
submission. You're going to run them into submission. So they
need for a net back. He's been out for several.
It's now with a hamstring injury Peter, but they desperately
need him back and need him healthy.
You know, what's interesting Mike.
I remember when Leonard fournette got cut in late
August of 2020
and I was like everybody else even though he had a good year
in 2019. I thought he was such damaged goods that
I would have been surprised if anybody picked him up for any
sort of prominent role
and
right away the Bucks, wanted him and and he goes into
the Bucks and Still is kind of bitter about being cut
and he doesn't realize what he's walking into
and what he was walking into it. First was a job share with
Ronald Jones, but soon
everybody sees by the end of the season. Everybody sees
he is not only a good running back.
Okay, but he is a battering ram and no one really saw the full
part of his game.
You know, battering ram running back, an excellent receiver out
of the backfield and when he pulled his hamstring whatever
6-8 weeks ago.
I think that was really damaging
to the Bucks long-term chances
and I'm going to be very curious to watch on Sunday, a
what is workload is going to be and B.
Does he look like Leonard? Fournette.
Does he look like a guy
who can be the most?
Important offensive weapon
other than Tom Brady
for the bucks to get a return trip to the Super Bowl.
Yeah, and you know the reality is this year for net morphed
into one of Tom's guys. He had his guys Mike Evans, Antonio
Brown, Rob Gronkowski, Leonard, fournette. Ronald Jones
has been injured lately as well. They've relied on Keshawn
Vaughn in the running game. Le'Veon Bell has been kind of
a my a although when he plays. He looks like a shadow of what he
wants was
Gio Bernard. Hard still a little banged up Heap. He
contributed some last weekend in the running game, but they
just need somebody to move the chains and run between
the tackles and take some of the steam out of the pass rush and
just
demoralize the Rams. They become demoralized. If you can
consistently run the ball and run the ball and run the ball
and that's what they need to do. If they want to hold off
a team that has beaten them. Each of the last two
regular seasons. Now, they last played in week 3 and the Rams
have added pieces since then. Cam Akers. They didn't have
because he had torn his Achilles tendon in July just
before the start of training camp. He's back. He's
a difference-maker when it comes to taking some of
the heat off of Matthew, Stafford obj and Matthew Stafford. Are
finding their Rhythm. They're finding their groove and that's
helped the Rams in recent weeks
and Von Miller has settled in realizing. Hey, life is easy.
When I'm not the guy who's being double teamed with a chip
on my way to the
quarterback, because everyone's focused on Aaron Donald. So
the Rams are Better than they were
when they beat Brady in the Buccaneers back in week three
and you look at some of the injuries and the changes and
know a b.
It's hard to say the Buccaneers are even as good as they were
back in week 3. Peter but even but but but they still have
Tom, Brady and single elimination time. Everything is
different for him.
a look, you know, the biggest thing for the Bucs now is
the impact of the Tristan worse injury, you know, it's
you know,
I think people sometimes
get tired of listening to the discussion of at times, like,
this battle of attrition, you know, in the postseason,
but it absolutely, unequivocally is true
if you lose or, you know, the best, right tackle in football
in my opinion, which is what Seen worse is
if you lose or he is damaged going into a game like this
particularly against a dangerous defensive front
like the Rams. Have I think that's when you're going to see
some adjustments
on the part of Tampa Bay and that's why the running game
becomes so important because you really don't know
if the time that Tom Brady is used to having throwing the ball
if he's going to.
Have that on Sunday.
Your right? And look, he
has made it clear. He knows where he's going to go with
the ball before he even has it in his hands, but that guy still
has to get open. And if the walls close in on him
before the guy, he wants to throw to his in a position where
it can be thrown.
What have we seen Tom Brady, doing recent years. What did he
do? Multiple times last year in the NFC Championship? That
helped open the door for the Packers to come back.
When in doubt, when the heat is on
the ball, gets thrown up into the air
and it's up for
And there were multiple interceptions by the Packers
last year and that would have been regarded as one of
the all-time great playoff meltdowns. If the Packers have
come back and won that game down 2810, because it would
have been a fueled,
it would have been fueled by Tom Brady's
willingness to throw the ball up for grabs in order to avoid
taking a hit to his then. 43 year old Now, 44 year old body
and
look at hey, you know,
this is a scary matchup for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Years
now, I still give them the edge because
nobody understands how to deal with the pressure. Nobody
thrives on, it's not even pressure anymore. It's
familiar. It's like a pair of slippers. It's been fully
broken. In Tom, Brady loves it. It's home for him.
Whereas Matthew Stafford. This is the farthest I've ever
advanced in his career that dates back to 2009. So I just
think from the standpoint of nerves,
the standpoint of
comfort, the standpoint of
who's going to settle in,
if it's closed. In the fourth quarter and take over. I give
all those checkmarks to Tom Brady, but you got to get there
and this Rams team is good enough and have I'm Sean
McVeigh
when I'm trying to do is deliver the earliest possible
knockout punch to the Buccaneers, so I don't have to
worry about Tom Brady in the fourth quarter.
Mike, you know, the
the other advantage to Tampa Bay really is the fact that
the Rams
played Monday night
going 2,900, miles across the country
and you know, they've got those sort of edges, Tampa Bay does
possibly facing a little bit more
of a tired team,
you know, in this game, but I do think that
once the game starts in the adrenaline starts, most of that,
you know, is just frittered away.
I think one of the important things
for,
for the Rams is not putting the entire game
on Matthew Stafford. Shoulders is being able to run the ball.
Even if you're only going to be able to run it with a modicum
of success against that V2 Vella LED defensive front of
the Bucks.
You simply can't put the ball
in Stafford's hands 48 or 50 times
and hope that you have a positive outcome. At least in
my opinion. I just don't think that's the way. This game is
a winning formula for the Rams
17 throws on Monday night for Matthew Stafford. The fewest of
his career in any game that he did not leave early due to
injury, that's amazing, both. He and Sean McVeigh said
earlier this week. It was just flow of the game. Short Fields
Pick
6, but having cam Akers back, even though he didn't have
gigantic numbers. Having him back as a compliment for now
to Sony Michelle. But able Take over potentially a game like
this and really provide balance. They were way out of
balance, 38 runs
and 17 Matthew Stafford passes
on Monday night. Maybe they need something like that again.
Because you know, there's
even though Stafford is a much better quarterback than Jimmy
Garoppolo. There's still that what we'd seen in recent weeks
that propensity to short-circuit
and serve up a pick six, even though he recovers from it. Well,
you know, after that,
that first half,
Debacle in Baltimore, he was 14 for 14 in the second half, but
you don't want to give the Buccaneers an unwarranted and
unearned touchdown because there's an unforced error for
Matthew Stafford. So that is one of the key.