Halo

There was a lot of hype with Gregg Williams on the other sidelines playing against his former team. I noticed the game as a whole was a lot more physical than the normal player-shuttle first pre-season game.

Did anyone else notice this? The Rams defense was really going-for-it, especially at the start. Then our defense picked up the pace by second quarter. Although there were the usual mistakes made by both teams, I felt it was a more physical game for a first pre-season than usual.

Your thoughts?

Beastmode

Early on but it looked like PS to me overall as the game wore down. I have a lot of respect for GW and no issues if he wants to send blitzes all day long in PS or get very physical. You train how you are going to fight. If you are going through the motions in practice and scrimmages with a reduced effort then that will absolutely manifest itself in a real game.

Bring it as Brees has stated.

blackangold

Cant say i noticed anything unusual. You might be looking into it to much because of the GW factor.

Jack Vegas

It was pretty physical for the first game of preseason. Usually it looks like that by the 3rd game. There was a lot of hitting out there. Mostly early, but there was a point in the fourth quarter where both defenses were bringing lots of blitzes and different coverages. both defensive coordinators wanted it. I like that personally.

|Mitch|

It looked like G.W. was bringing blitzes on every down, that's why we were gashing them like we were.

I guess that's all he has though...

spkb25

looked like it to me at times, agree.

homerj07

Greg Williams - what a *****. That stupid beard made him look like Spock from the evil,alternate, universe.

http://media.nola.com/tpphotos/photo...8-standard.jpg

hagan714

there is no love lose between these two teams. never really has been, i for one believe some of the old NFC West is still alive between the two.

The Saints and Rams have played 70times with St. Louis holding a 39-31 edge

add in the last few meeting of these two teams

Since Sean Payton became head coach in 2006, the Saints and Rams have split their four meetings. Three of the last six games between the two clubs in the series have been decided by a eight points or less

then you got Jim Fisher and SP battling egos on top of it all?

Roy Boy splitting from the Rams to come to the Saints and the Rams then signing Williams?

talk about even more fuel to the fire.

yep hard hitting from square one and a bunch of players playing a lot more than you would have expected on both sides.

* New Orleans Saints vs St. Louis Rams series history

"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins

Utah_Saint

I don't hate the Rams. I'd have to think about them more for it to be hate. But ever since John Robinson said the Saints would sink back to the bottom of the division after we whooped him, I've hoped the Rams would lose each game they've played in a glorious fashion. (I may need to learn to let things go)

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.