SaintsBro

I don't know if it's all that much to do with Gregg Williams. I do think the league has just gotten more physical, in general. Players on all levels of the league are playing at a higher, faster, harder, more intense level than the "eyeball test" would have seen, watching a preseason game 10 or 15 or 20 years ago.

I also think the Rams are turning things around; they have been building up steam with draft picks and free agents for a while now. To compete in their division with Seattle, SF and Arizona, they need to be a methodical ball control team to keep the other team's offense off the field (Sam Bradford, even though I know he didn't play, it is their style). Combine that with a hard-hitting, physical defense designed to stack up with the physicality of SF and Seattle, so the Rams are a tough team that matches up in interesting ways, against the Saints. I know he didn't play either, but they have the particular kind of defense that gives Drew Brees fits. So the Rams/Saints teams in general are a very interesting, physical matchup.