Bears @ Rams: 5 Questions for the Enemy Blogger

It's that time of the week again where we bring in the enemy blogger as a guest to answer some tough (all in good fun) questions and I do the same for his FanHouse.

This weeks Monday night showdown with the Rams brings us The Watchdog from the Rams FanHouse. This game should be a fun one to watch for several reasons. First and foremost, Lovie Smith will be returning for the first time as an enemy. Lovie of course was the master defensive coordinator (man, how much do they miss him?) that helped the Rams to the Super Bowl twice a few year's back. Secondly, this will be Sexy Rexy's second Monday night start of the season and all of us Bear's fans are hoping he doesn't take a crap in the woods and finds some sort of cure for his atrocious futility.

As usual, in the nature off fair play. There is a reciprocal post on the Rams FanHouse where you can see The Watchdog's question's for me.

On to the five questions!

1. Marc Bulger is known around the league to be a good guy and better teamate. When he called out players last week by saying they just don't care anymore, who exactly was he talking about?

While it's true he didn't specifically name any players, it was blatantly obvious that he was referring to 2nd year LT Alex Barron and rookie Center Richie Incognito. Barron leads the league this year in false start penalties with 8, and Incongnito is tied for the lead in holding penalties with four, plus he can't seem to keep his temper in check and has cost the Rams a touchdown and set back a first and goal all the way to the 23 yard line. The Rams lost both of those games and Bulger called them out for treating their opportunity in the NFL like a 9-5 job.

2. With Orlando Pace gone for the year, how do you think St. Louis will keep the Bears front four off of Bulger all day?

The great power of prayer is the first thing that comes to mind David. But secondly the Rams are counting on veterans like Todd Steussie to step up and fill those incredibly large shoes. The Rams will also have to sacrifice and extra man to stay in the box to help double team the great Bears pass rush – there just isn't any choice in the matter. This will greatly compromise Marc Bulger's options on pass plays, but may be an advantage on several run-block packages. Steven Jackson wants the ball badly this week and has made that no secret. We all know he's the first Ram in a while truly befitting of the horns on that helmet, so I for one am curious how that will play out.

3. Grant Wistrom is a great player and Adam Archuleta was a mainstay in St. Louis for quite some time. The absence of those two guys on defense can't be the only reason the Rams defense is so terrible this year. Do you think it's the system or the personnel?

Well, Wistrom is the only of the pair who can legitimately be called a stud, even with his Peter Brady style goldilocks wig, but he has been gone for several years now. As far as Archuleta goes, his replacement Corey Chavous has been an upgrade. The Rams pass defense surprisingly ranks 8th in the league, but maybe that's because opponents see no reason to pass. Why pay to park when you can walk for free?
System or personnel? Yes.

4. What are your opinions so far of rookie HC Scott Linehan? Do you think he will be around for a while with the Rams?

The jury is still out on Linehan and Jim Haslett, even for me. There was a lot to overcome in the wake of the Martz mess last year, and though there have been some very positive improvements this year, there are at the same time some time some pretty discouraging red flags, such as seeing no fire in the eyes of the players on the field, as well as the glaring deficiencies in basic fundamentals such as simple tackling techniques. But I do understand a change of this magnitude must be given time to take. But I am more worried about Haslett's fire than I am of Linehan's.

5. We know he's old and has lost a step but do you see Marshall Faulk coming back next year assuming he is healthy?

No. He's looking pretty fat and sassy in his off-white cheesy NFL network role up there with Adam whats-his-name and the gay looking bald guy who no one really pays attention to. But if Marshall would decide to come back to the team, I would hope it would be in a coaching role. He's a genius at the game, and could be invaluable in that capacity.

Bonus - Over/Under - 2 years before Leonard Little gets another DUI?

Under. As a matter of fact, I think he just zoomed past my house... in a lowered school bus?
Yikes, there goes the neighborhood ... again.

That's all folks. Thanks again to The Watchdog for his participation in this friendly little segment. Make sure you check out the reciprocal post on the Rams FanHouse.